{"id":22992,"date":"2025-02-28T10:33:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T11:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=22992"},"modified":"2025-02-28T12:23:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T12:23:30","slug":"blumenthal-i-thought-the-tv-was-talking-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=22992","title":{"rendered":"Blumenthal: &#8216;I thought the TV was talking to me&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-0 haItSe\">\n<div class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-1 cjDa-dM\">49 minutes ago<\/p>\n<p><!--$!--><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 oYtVL dRvUPz dXDmtS\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 iQJDhl cCYQUA kItbpD\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Save<\/span><\/button><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-12 fcCDwR\">\n<div class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-5 evAEAB\">\n<div><span class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-7 kItaYD\">Nathan Briant &amp; PA Media<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>BBC News<!-- --><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--$!--><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 oYtVL dRvUPz dXDmtS\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 iQJDhl cCYQUA kItbpD\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Save<\/span><\/button><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 ejjhCR\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/b3121c60-f51d-11ef-9d71-cba46b08d97d.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Barney Cokeliss\/PA Media A close-up picture of Heston Blumenthal, who is wearing thick dark-rimmed glasses and has a white beard. \" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><span class=\"sc-a34861b-2 hesJxn\">Barney Cokeliss\/PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">TV chef and restaurateur Heston Blumenthal said his wife sectioning him was the &#8220;best thing&#8221; to have happened as he opened up about his bipolar symptoms.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The 58-year-old, <!-- --><a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/videos\/ckgdzjy5ll9o\" class=\"sc-c9299ecf-0 beIoQm\">who was diagnosed with the condition in 2023 after being admitted to hospital<!-- --><\/a>, told BBC Breakfast how he once &#8220;hallucinated a gun on the table&#8221;.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;This wasn&#8217;t all the time, but it was getting greater and greater, and being sectioned was the best thing that could happen to me,&#8221; he said.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Blumenthal, who runs several award-winning restaurants, including the three Michelin starred The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, has now become an official ambassador for <!-- --><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bipolaruk.org\/\" class=\"sc-c9299ecf-0 beIoQm\">Bipolar UK<!-- --><\/a>.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">According to charity, the mental health condition <!-- --><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bipolaruk.org\/pages\/faqs\/category\/what-is-bipolar\" class=\"sc-c9299ecf-0 beIoQm\">is an episodic disorder<!-- --><\/a> characterised by sometimes extreme changes in mood and energy which has the highest risk of suicide of any mental health condition.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;I laughed out loud after receiving a message from a woman who told me that during a manic episode she thought the TV was talking to her,&#8221; Blumenthal, who also has ADHD, said.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;The reason I laughed out loud was because I experienced the same thing.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The chef said it &#8220;was really difficult&#8221; for his wife, French businesswoman Melanie Ceysson, who he married in 2023.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;She had to decide how I would take it [being sectioned] and &#8230; my response was, I embraced it, but I never thought I was going to be diagnosed as being bipolar, I thought at the time, the highs and the lows were normal, but they weren&#8217;t.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;And they weren&#8217;t right for me, and they weren&#8217;t right for the people around me that &#8230; cared for me.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The NHS says a person can be detained, also known as sectioning, under the Mental Health Act and can be treated without their agreement if they &#8220;need urgent treatment for a mental health disorder and are at risk of harm to themselves or others&#8221;.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Famous for his experimental dishes such as snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, Blumenthal said medication initially dulled his culinary imagination.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;I was zombified &#8211; I had no energy at all.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;As my medications have been changed and my levels of self-confidence and self-awareness have gone up I realise my imagination and creativity is still there,&#8221; he said.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;It was at levels that were so extreme before&#8230; looking back I can remember during my manic highs I was interrupting myself with ideas.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">He said someone recently asked him &#8220;if there was a button I could press to turn off my bipolar &#8211; would I press it?&#8221;, to which he replied, &#8220;no, I wouldn&#8217;t, because it&#8217;s part of me&#8221;.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">He has since returned to the kitchen and said he was &#8220;thinking more clearly&#8221;.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Bipolar UK estimates more than one million adults in the UK have the disorder, about 30% more than the number of people with dementia.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">But it is estimated at least 500,000 people are undiagnosed.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;It&#8217;s an honour to have Heston onboard as an ambassador,&#8221; Simon Kitchen, chief executive of Bipolar UK, said.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;We hope that his experience will encourage more people to seek help if they are struggling with their own diagnosis or are in the process of seeking one.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"links-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jVHuOl\">\n<div class=\"sc-93223220-0 sc-46222299-0 ctbOlq eluqFz\"><span data-testid=\"links-title\" class=\"sc-46222299-2 gdGcRT\">More on this story <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"links-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jVHuOl\">\n<div class=\"sc-93223220-0 sc-46222299-0 ctbOlq hmFIuq\"><span data-testid=\"links-title\" class=\"sc-46222299-2 gdGcRT\">Related internet links<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>49 minutes ago<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22992"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22996,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22992\/revisions\/22996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}