{"id":24128,"date":"2025-03-01T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T13:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/i-thought-tv-was-talking-to-me\/"},"modified":"2025-03-01T13:53:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T13:53:00","slug":"i-thought-tv-was-talking-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/i-thought-tv-was-talking-to-me\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I thought TV was talking to me&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"\">\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-0 haItSe\">\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<\/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\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/7885\/live\/b3121c60-f51d-11ef-9d71-cba46b08d97d.jpg.webp 240w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/7885\/live\/b3121c60-f51d-11ef-9d71-cba46b08d97d.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/7885\/live\/b3121c60-f51d-11ef-9d71-cba46b08d97d.jpg.webp 480w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/7885\/live\/b3121c60-f51d-11ef-9d71-cba46b08d97d.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/7885\/live\/b3121c60-f51d-11ef-9d71-cba46b08d97d.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/7885\/live\/b3121c60-f51d-11ef-9d71-cba46b08d97d.jpg.webp 1024w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/7885\/live\/b3121c60-f51d-11ef-9d71-cba46b08d97d.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/7885\/live\/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<p><figcaption class=\"sc-8353772e-0 iUqqeb\">Heston Blumenthal is known for experimental dishes, such as snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream<!-- --><\/figcaption><\/p>\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 being sectioned 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 the 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 was &#8220;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<p><figcaption class=\"sc-8353772e-0 iUqqeb\">Blumenthal and his wife Melanie spoke to Newsnight&#8217;s Victoria Derbyshire about his bipolar diagnosis last year <!-- --><\/figcaption><\/p>\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>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/clyzz7qq1kpo\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nathan Briant &amp; PA Media BBC News Barney Cokeliss\/PA Media Heston Blumenthal is known for experimental dishes, such as snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream TV chef and restaurateur Heston Blumenthal said being sectioned was the &#8220;best thing&#8221; to have happened as he opened up about his bipolar symptoms. The 58-year-old, who was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[7177,2412],"class_list":["post-24128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-talking","tag-thought"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24128"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24130,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24128\/revisions\/24130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}