Lumley has been open about her mental health struggles in the past
Dame Joanna Lumley has suggested that people are jumping on the "
mental health bandwagon" in a recent interview with political journalist, commentator and
GB News presenter, Isabel Oakeshott.
The actor, author and activist said many people's mental health struggles are "overplayed" these days and effectively declared that some people need to "get over it!" when it comes to their troubles.
https://twitter.com/IsabelOakeshott/status/1486995523219427334?s=20&t=c-R32V4zZNEkjNLRFsO1WQ
Speaking in the
full podcast posted this past Friday, the 75-year-old then went on to clarify that, "of course, some of you are going to feel bloody awful, and some of you may well be suicidal or mentally depressed", but that similar to grieving, "that’s a different thing."
The
Absolutely Fabulous star instead suggested to "anybody who just goes, ‘oh, burr’, you just go, ‘get over it’,” and those seeking what she perceives as "special treatment" are having actually an "awful" impact on "people who really are mentally ill."
Many on
social media have understandably taken issue with her comments, pointing out that is not for anyone to make sweeping statements and decide what level of mental obstacles someone is battling with should be taken seriously.
https://twitter.com/_NatashaDevon/status/1487386926755815427?s=20&t=hB8Rqiov-mMPE9R2gWgimQ
Others simply posted without comment:
https://twitter.com/larymary60/status/1487332241797693442?s=20&t=mAmR3_GlYppeME1WQGyOEg
As alluded to above, this is quite the contrast to Lumley's comments on
her own "mental breakdown" in her mid-twenties; during one nervous episode in 1971, she even hallucinated that snipers were aiming at her from the balconies of London’s Garrick Theatre.
Despite describing her own struggles and how she had to employ breathing techniques to stop her mind running, she rounded out the interview by citing a poem by Adam Lindsay Gordon which, in short, suggested people should focus less on "blubbing" and should instead by "trying to get on with it".
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