Black Dog Tribe 3

1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental illness at some point in their lives. Until now the support has been really locked into the realms of therapist chairs and GP´s office. Until now…

If you are a keen Twitterer you will have noticed there has been a movement called “The Black Dog Tribe” tweeting with a mission to bring depression and mental illness out of the closet and offer a social forum to help you no matter what your illness – or even if you are the care giver of someone with a mental illness.

Behind this movement is Ruby Wax – a sufferer herself – or in her own words “One of the chosen people” so you can guarantee that despite the seriousness of the subject matter, there is quite a few laughs.

Ruby Wax explains how she was inspired to start Black Dog Tribe

Four years and six months ago, I had the tsunami of all depressions where I had to be institutionalised and couldn’t leave a chair for five months. Depression doesn’t care if you’re well known or live in a mud hut or what colour you are, it just loves everyone.

When I recovered, my friend Judith Owen and I decided to write a show called, “Live from the Priory” which we performed at the actual Priory. We then toured NHS institutions for the following two years, which we loved and if you can make a catatonic laugh you’re half way to Broadway.

I only came out about having depression because they took a photo of me for Comic Relief. I thought it was going to be a small picture but no, I saw my enlarged photo, captioned that I had depression in every tube station I went in. I hurled myself in front of one and then saw another and hurled and then another going down the escalator. I just had to give up there were so many, so I came out of the closet and became the poster girl for mental illness.

Read more and go to the Black Dog Tribe Website click here

To watch Ruby explain more click here

If you or someone you love suffers from a mental illness why not visit the website? You can register for free and you will find your own tribe and an army of support to help you. If you need someone to hand why not contact your GP or give us a call? One of the qualified Mediterrenean Quality Care Services team would be happy to help you navigate through this hard path. But, whatever you choose to do, find support and don´t go it alone.

Disclaimer

All content on this website is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. Always consult your own GP if you’re in any way concerned about your health.

If you liked this article, you might enjoy these:

Fast Food linked to Depression

SAD

Coffee + Women = Less Depression