Right, so now I've finished watching the second part of Stephen Fry's documentary about manic depression. I have so many mixed feelings (news?) about the whole issue so it's kind of difficult for me to watch it with any hint of objectivity. What is excellent is that Stephen remains completely neutral, he doesn't really express any views apart from those that stem from his curiosity. This way he presents a whole array of different views. An exampel of this is how he juxtaposed the visit to the mental institution (where that annoying man told Stephen about how it works) with Liz Miller, an ex-mental patient who just contradicted everything that had been said previously. She told a story about the locked wards, how she was sectioned (and subsequently treated pretty roughly) and how she now approached the whole issue of being mentally ill. Beautiful, and inspiring.

I got really inspired by the story of Elaine Oakes too. Her children said some beautiful things about her, and I thought the mentality in the family was so happy, respectful and actually seemingly quite uncomplicated and untroubled. Elaine Oakes kept a mood diary, which I have been thinking about for a long time. And yesterday I spent a few hours working out my own personal diary to fill in every day (a chart). I found a couple on the internet, but it's essential to me that it reflects my own moods (which can be quite mixed). I can also swing rapidly from am to pm, and I think that is important to include. So I made my own, and I can recommend it.

Thank you Stephen, again, for taking the effort and having the curiosity!

Love, Annie