Author: mark
Spin and soundbites only take you so far
I have been up in Scotland to see my Mum and speak at the Lennoxlove book festival. Scottish politics is interesting at the moment. Scotland on Sunday asked me for my take and the article they run today is printed here. The...
Read MoreFrontline First?
Throughout the last election campaign, the Tories said till they were even bluer in the face than usual that they would protect the NHS from any looming cuts, and that within the public services more generally they would protect...
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My Latest Book
Living Better (Paperback)
How I Learned To Survive Depression
by
Alastair Campbell
"Superbly readable, supremely useful. This book could save lives."
– Stephen Fry
LIVING BETTER is Alastair Campbell’s honest, moving and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression. It is an autobiographical, psychological and psychiatric study, which explores his own childhood, family and other relationships, and examines the impact of his professional and political life on himself and those around him. But it also lays bare his relentless quest to understand depression not just through his own life but through different treatments. Every bit as direct and driven, clever and candid as he is, this is a book filled with pain, but also hope - he examines how his successes have been in part because of rather than despite his mental health problems - and love. His partner of forty years, Fiona Millar, writes a moving afterword on how she too has learned to live with his depression.
Depression is the predominant mental health problem worldwide - it is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem and major depression is thought to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide. LIVING BETTER is a call to arms and an extraordinary memoir in one compelling and inspiring narrative. This is a book that really could save lives.
Alastair Campbell says: ‘We all know someone with depression. There is barely a family untouched by it. We may be talking about it more than we did, back in the era of 'boys don't cry' - they did you know - and when a brave face or a stiff upper lip or a best foot forward was seen as the only way to go. But we still don't talk about it enough. There is still stigma, and shame, and taboo. There is still the feeling that admitting to being sad or anxious makes us weak. It took me years, decades even to get to this point, but I passionately believe that the reverse is true and that speaking honestly about our feelings and experiences (whether as a depressive or as the friend or relative of a depressive) is the first and best step on the road to recovery.’
From Twitter
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Somebody in government has decided that the way to stop panic buying is to get ministers to do some identical message-tweeting saying THERE IS NO FUEL SHORTAGE (caps courtesy of @NadineDorries ) This is the same model used to defend Cummings/Barnard Castle and Hancock/gropegate
When we have ration papers, will they be the same colour as the new passports?
Hard to imagine a more comprehensive collapse of the Vote Leave argument than what we're seeing here. https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1441407295083016213
"The government is on the brink of a U-turn."
Ministers will meet for urgent talks on how to address the shortage of lorry drivers.
@SamCoatesSky says they are likely to sign off on temporary visas for HGV drivers to "avoid a full blown crisis."
https://trib.al/eKMJ53b
I've listened to pregnant mothers reel off lists of self-blame after losing a baby when they have done absolutely nothing wrong.
It's vital that we end the stigma around baby loss and provide support for parents who go through it.
Clip from the debate in Parliament this week.
