Are You Really OK?: Understanding Britain’s Mental Health Emergency

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None of us get through life unscathed. Sean, a psychiatrist Stacey spoke to, is helping to destigmatise mental illness. No one is immune to mental health issues, Sean says. ‘But if enough wrong things happen that exceed someone’s ability to cope, no matter how privileged they are, they will get ill’ While that knowledge is somewhat terrifying, it’s also comforting because it removes blame from the person with the illness. In August 2020, Joe Lyons, Roman Kemp’s much-loved best friend and work colleague died by suicide. Roman and his tight knit group of mates were totally blindsided by Joe’s sudden and unexpected death, and understandably their devastation at the loss of such a special person remains to this day.

Are You Really OK? by Roman Kemp - Waterstones Roman Kemp: Are You Really OK? by Roman Kemp - Waterstones

None of us get through life unscathed. Sean, a psychiatrist Stacey spoke to, is helping to destigmatise mental illness. No one is immune to mental health issues, Sean says. Thank you so much to NetGalley, BBC Books and Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. TW: This article focuses in some depth on the subject of suicide, so please be advised if you think this might be triggering for you.It may seem the book focuses on scientific concepts but the book presents everything in a way that the layperson can understand -- it just may take a little extra reading because the concepts are new. Wellness is important to the Capital FM DJ. He has achieved huge success waking up millions of listeners on the breakfast show since 2017, but he hasn’t had it easy.

Are You Really Okay?

This programme was a BBC Three production. The youth channel has form for unearthing fresh documentary talent - from Stacey Dooley to Professor Green, from Reggie Yates to Jesy Nelson. On the evidence of this impassioned and affecting film, Kemp has a promising career in factual TV ahead of him too. He was charismatic and funny but a good listener and refreshingly ego-free. To witness the scale of the issue first-hand, Kemp travelled across the country to meet friendship groups who’d been devastated by suicide. Northern Ireland has the highest suicide rate in the UK, with young adults twice as likely to take their own life than in England. Here he met four friends, all haircuts and hoodies, whose friend Carl - “the class clown” at school - died last May aged 15. I liked the way the book was structured, chapters were separated by the type of mental health condition and was very easy to read I love that,” Roman responds. “The two ok rule. If you don’t mind, I’m going to use that. I wish I’d said to Joe, 'Mate, I know you know this but I’m going to tell you again. I am that person that you can talk to about that stuff…'”

Fileta writes in a very personal way. She shares many of her own experiences, such as her struggle with depression and the trauma of a miscarriage. Her openness is encouraging, convincing this reader to be better at not hiding behind just saying I'm OK.

Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency, review: a raw, candid look

I have had my depressive episodes over the years, some very recently. I wasn’t wanting to kill myself per se, but my medical condition was getting so bad, it got to the stage where I would have been happy to die in my sleep. It even got to the stage where I had to reach out to the Samaritans for help to talk me down from the ledge. So it’s really important that we have things like this book, from people who, from afar, seem to have it all, as it reminds us we’re all in the same storm when it comes to mental health, we just have to find the best boat to sail it. Roman is clearly living a highly privileged life and I don't begrudge him that. That being said it doesn't put him in a good position to write a book on the subject of mental health for the masses. Possibly the best part of the book I read was that in which he shares his experiences of his friend and colleague dying by suicide. This is real and an experience that cuts across class divides. That being so folk in Roman's position are very much better equipped to cope with loss since access to mental health support in the UK and much of the world depends, to a large extent, on how wealthy you are. Roman simply can't speak to the experiences that the majority of those struggling with mental health face and as such the book perpetuates the narrative that if we all just got our mates talking a bit more or went for an extra walk everything would be alright. I really appreciate his honest in every area but particularly about his upbringing. He’s aware that he’s had a privileged life that not everyone has and I really like how he’s been honest about the positives and negatives of that fact, without sounding spoilt or patronising. It’s a nice balance. It’s such a pleasure to see the confidence growing in our community to support our mates & genuinely ask our mates and family are you OK?” Okay, I know this is going to seem rather churlish, but this book is just terrible. It is a very important subject, but the majority of it it just lists of things the author likes with the flimsy justification that everything in life can affect your mental health, so these are the things that shaped the author as a person.

I was like, ‘Yeah, it looks fit.’ I’d just finished a whole live broadcast and we’d had a few drinks then all of a sudden While that knowledge is somewhat terrifying, it’s also comforting because it removes blame from the person with the illness.

Are You Really OK? by Stacey Dooley | Waterstones Are You Really OK? by Stacey Dooley | Waterstones

The call comes in the lead up to R U OK?Day, Thursday 9 September , a national day of action that reinforces the importance of staying connected with your friends, family and colleagues through all life’s ups and downs, big or small. The Kate Middleton fit thing was genuinely an accident,” insists Roman. “It was about the terminology for the dress! While there are statistics (and some confronting ones at that) and information about potential advances in the future for treating specific mental illnesses, where this book shines is the human element. Stacey interviewed young people living with diagnosed mental illnesses and gave them the opportunity to tell their stories. While she never claims to be an expert herself, Stacey spoke with professionals who treat mental illnesses, some of whom have lived experience.This book really doesn't know what it wants to be. The cover and particularly the title leads oneself to believe that you're going to get at the very least something substantial on mental health. The reality is the contents (or at least the first two thirds of it, I'll get to why I didn't finish it) consist of some basic discussion of the topic but I actually felt the effectiveness of even this was undermined by the way in which the author switches to discussion of random things that have happened in his life, many of which being subjectively amazing experiences many could only dream of.