This weekend, to mark World Mental Health Day, which takes place on Monday 10th October, Documentary On Newstalk will air a special broadcast of Producer Eamon Little's stunning and compelling documentary: "My Mind Was A Stranger".
‘My Mind Was a Stranger’ shines light on Bipolar Disorder (also known as manic depression) from the singular perspective of the sufferer.
In ‘My Mind Was a Stranger’ producer Éamon Little takes us on an immersive audio journey inside the mind of a man in his early fifties who has suffered all his life from Bipolar Disorder but who still leads a relatively normal family life and works as a leading pump design engineer.
All in the words of this one extraordinarily articulate, honest and insightful individual and complemented by a subtly suggestive soundscape, this programme charts his relationship with the illness from an idyllic childhood in a rural Irish village, through an adolescence and early adulthood fuelled by drink and drugs, to abstention and relative stability in the present day - and in the process takes us on roller-coaster rides through manic episodes in different countries and through the murky depths of depression and suicidal ideation, all the while shedding light from the inside on the hard business of managing his illness, staying in the world and maintaining good health. This is an extraordinary journey and once you are on it, you will not be able to leave the edge of your seat.
The programme oscillates between biographical narrative and wise, experiential commentary, between mania and depression and balances words, sounds and music evocative of the zeitgeist in question. Unflinching in its focus and not for the faint-hearted, this programme comes with a warning that it contains material that may be upsetting to some listeners.
BROADCAST TIMES: ‘My Mind Was a Stranger’ will air on Newstalk 106-108fm on Saturday 8th October at 7am, repeated at 10pm.
The documentary was originally broadcast on Newstalk 106-108fm on Saturday 20th February.
LISTEN LIVE ONLINE: ‘My Mind Was a Stranger’ can also be listened to online at: www.newstalk.com
PODCAST: Podcast available at: www.newstalk.com/documentaryonnewstalk
CREDITS: ‘My Mind Was a Stranger’ was written, produced and edited by Éamon Little. Sound mixing was by Alan Kelly.
‘‘My Mind Was a Stranger’ was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the television licence fee.
If you've been affected by any issues raised by this programme, freephone the Samaritans on: 116123.
