Ben Fogle candidly shared that he battled “crippling paranoia and anxiety” during his “mental health crisis,” while also offering insight into the various methods he used to aid in his recovery.
The 50-year-old Castaway star, who previously shared that he was diagnosed with ADHD in the wake of the meltdown, said he used cognitive behavioral therapy and medicine “to help him heal from the ‘storm,’ as well as ‘do less and simplify your life.’
In a lengthy Instagram post, the travel presenter said he decided to share his struggles because he felt it was vital to be as open about his mental health issues as he has been about his physical ones.
Ben wrote: ‘A year ago I suffered a mental health setback. An episode. A storm. A setback.
“I don’t know if there’s a specific term for it, but it was basically exhaustion, a nervous breakdown. I’ve come a long way since then. I’ve learned a lot about my neurological particularities.”
Ben Fogle candidly shared that he battled “crippling paranoia and anxiety” during his “mental health crisis,” while also offering insight into the methods he used to aid in his recovery.
“And I’ve weathered the storm. Thanks to a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, and now some alternative therapies, I feel like my old self again.
‘The crippling paranoia and anxiety are gone, replaced by my old calm self.
‘I tell you this first because I think that as someone who shares their successes, it is important to also share our vulnerabilities.
“I’m not saying this to join a trend or out of compassion. I’m saying this because if it happened to me, it can happen to you.”
‘But, just like a broken bone or a lung destroyed by pneumonia or even a flesh-eating insect (all of which I’ve had)
‘We can heal. They don’t define us or make us weak. They show that we are human, vulnerable to the pressures of modern life.
‘Mental health trauma should not be a stigma, but rather a reality check in the increasingly complicated world we live in.
‘What has helped me is doing less and simplifying my life. Less social media. Less work. Less pressure to be perfect. The results are that I worry less. I stress less. I get angry less. I obsess less.
In a lengthy Instagram post, the presenter said he decided to share his struggles because he felt it was vital to be as open about his mental health issues as he has been about his physical ones.
In February, Ben revealed he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after suffering a “mental health storm.”
“Giving myself more time has helped me come back to reality. To being me. Exactly the same person I’ve always been. Simple. Love, peace and simplicity.”
In February, Ben revealed he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after suffering a “mental health storm.”
Ben, who has previously spoken about being dyslexic, said he had “changed neurologically” after struggling with his mental health.
The Countryfile star insisted the condition “doesn’t make me fragile, just vulnerable” as she spoke about her adjustment since the diagnosis.
Ben said: “I hate labels. I always have. The idea that one word defines us is too binary and lacks the nuances that distinguish us.
‘We are more than just a general binary word. I am a privileged person, but also compassionate. I am a public figure, but I am also quite shy.
“I’m dyslexic and I’ve won awards as a writer. You get the point. The same can be said for our unique neurological differences.”
Ben, who has been married to his wife Marina since 2006, continued: “I was recently diagnosed with ADHD (eye-rolling). I admit to my own cynicism, but the reality is that I have changed neurologically.
‘A recent mental health storm was the catalyst for my diagnosis. I feel different and have been for some time.
‘Some aspects of life had become more difficult, but with a diagnosis comes understanding and reason.
Ben, who has previously spoken about being dyslexic, said he had “changed neurologically” after struggling with his mental health.
‘Maybe it’s my age, or maybe it’s a symptom of something more complex in society at large. I have ADHD, but I’m still me.
“It’s not an excuse for me or a reason to be careful with others. It doesn’t make me fragile, just vulnerable.
‘Like all of us. I may be a little neurotically different, but that’s also what makes us unique. It enhances my creativity and empathy.
‘Neurological individuality makes me who I am and I am proud of it. Having a clinical diagnosis helps me understand who I am. It explains my weaknesses and my strengths. Love, peace and individuality.’
Ben has previously spoken openly about his health, detailing a “psychotic episode” he suffered in 2013 after his drink was spiked with drugs.
In 2020, she revealed that she attempted suicide during a night out in “a country pub in the Cotswolds”.
On Friday, she took to Instagram to detail the ordeal with her fans, calling it “one of the scariest experiences of (her) life.”
On Wednesday, Ben’s wife Marina revealed that she and her husband were wrongly reported to social services for “shouting at their children”.
Revealing the news amid the row over Kirstie Allsopp and her son’s Interrail trip, the Countryfile presenter’s wife said she understands what Allsopp will have experienced as she and her family went through a similar traumatic experience raising their children.
Last week, Location, Location, Location presenter Ms Allsopp was embroiled in a row over allowing her 15-year-old son to travel around Europe, and social services are now investigating the incident.
On Wednesday, Ben’s wife Marina revealed that she and her husband were once wrongly reported to social services for “shouting at their children.”
Writing for The timesMs Fogle said she could relate to the “nauseated feeling” Ms Allsopp probably felt when she was contacted by social services.
She said: ‘I know the sick feeling that must have washed over you and the anger of being accused of failing your children because the same thing happened to me.’
Marina told of her own shock at returning home from a family holiday in the summer of 2013 to find a letter from social services. She was convinced it had been delivered by mistake, but was left shaken when social services turned up at her door that same morning.
It turned out that a neighbour had reported her and her husband for allegedly “yelling” at their children – “the kind of sustained verbal abuse that was simply unacceptable”.
After providing evidence that the family was on holiday at the time of the alleged incident, and after further questioning, social services agreed there was no problem.
While she acknowledges that many tips are real and necessary to protect children in danger, Marina says she felt “tarnished” by the experience.
She said: ‘Although I was completely innocent, my interaction with social services shook me.
‘My husband, Ben, was so shocked that someone knew this was possible, combined with the fact that we don’t typically yell in our house, he suspected it might have been someone wanting to cause trouble.’
Marina said her children grew up in a risk-taking household, with a father who climbed Everest and completed the world’s toughest rowing race, and so she is “grateful” they still have a healthy attitude to risk that has not been diminished by the incident with social services.
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