It's A Mad World
As part of Comic Relief's commitment to raising awareness of mental health, this fly-on-the-wall documentary, cofunded by BBC Learning, explores the lives of people living with mental health problems and shows how Comic Relief cash can help them to cope.
As the documentary shows, each person's experience of mental ill-health is unique and the labels attached to them don't even begin to tell their full story.
Wednesday 14 March, 10.40pm, BBC ONE
Sadly you don't have flash so you can't see the exciting interactive navigation. If you would like to upgrade your version, please go to adobes site and follow the onscreen instructions.
Inspired by Caravaggio
Tony is a wonderful artist and is inspired by the works of Da Vinci and Caravaggio. Drawing is a way of distracting himself from the very negative thoughts he often has and which have led him to try to take his own life on a number of occasions. Most of his family have experienced mental health problems and Tony receives regular support from the friendly faces at The Observatory in Stoke-on-Trent.
Tony's feelings of worthlessness and despair are never far away, casting a shadow over his art and his life. Although Tony and Dave both experience episodes of depression, Tony's often chaotic and spontaneous lifestyle is almost the complete opposite to Dave's.
Living independently for the first time
Dave's mental health problems impose a strict routine on his life and he often experiences feelings of anxiety and paranoia when he is in new places or meeting new people. Although he's not a religious person he finds comfort and sanctuary in the local church and is a volunteer there. Dave feels that this work is important for maintaining his stability. He is now 53 and has lived with mental ill-health for nearly all his life. He was first placed into a psychiatric hospital when he was 16 and has been in and out of hospitals and taking various medications ever since.
Dave's story is one of recovery and hope - proving that it is perfectly possible to live with, and manage, mental health problems. For the first time in 30 years he was recently told that he no longer needed to keep regular appointments with a psychiatrist. With the assistance of his support worker Jenny, he is living independently for the first time in his life.
Looking forward to a happy future together
They say opposites attract, and Jim would certainly agree, "If I want something done, I want it done yesterday" he says, "Wenda is so laid back she wouldn't give a sod if her bum was on fire! We complement each other perfectly."
Life wasn't always so harmonious for either of them though. Jim used to be a miner but he started drinking heavily when the pits closed down and his wife divorced him. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital after having a breakdown. Although she lived in America at the time, Wenda's experiences of mental illness had been very similar.
Despite their troubled pasts, Jim and Wenda are living proof that having mental health problems doesn't have to condemn you to a life of suffering. They are supporting each other's recovery and looking forward to a happy future together.
