Profiles

Mental health may sound like something that doesn't affect you - but you'd be surprised. Getting irritated, angry or emotional are everyday experiences we all often come face to face with.

Your heart beats faster, your adrenaline level increases, your blood pressure and temperature rises... yes, these are all the familiar feelings that make up a very common emotion -anger. We all get angry at some point, whether it's a major problem or a minor incident.

Comedian Griff Rhys Jones, who lives near Holbrook in Suffolk, has been finding out how to deal with his anger in a two-part BBC television programme broadcast in September 2008.

BBC Radio Suffolk's James Hazell spoke to James Runcie, who's the director of 'Losing It: Griff Rhys Jones on Anger':

"Stephen Fry had done a film about mental illness and depression and it had struck a real chord with people. We were quite interested that there were these taboos in society - things that people were embarrassed to talk about.

"I think Griff realised he could use his own anger to bring it out in other people and then we could discuss the problem openly so that people wouldn't feel so alone.

"People shouldn't be surprised because a lot of comedians are famous for having a short fuse or being depressed. Keeping up that level of comedy mania can be exhausting.

"Comedy and anger can go hand-in-hand and anger can be funny when people become childishly angry!"

In the programme we witness Griff losing it on several occasions and the swearword bleeper has to be repeatedly deployed.

James Runcie said Griff was pretty open about his personality: "He's a self-confessed ranter, but it's the degree of ranting and the effect it has on others that was the most shocking thing for him.

"He realised you can't just laugh it off and buy people presents afterwards. If you say things in anger, you can't un-say them.

Ruby Wax

"I don't think you can say 'Oh, forgive me. I was just being angry'. I don't think that's an acceptable excuse.

Griff seeing himself on film in a rage was quite an eye-opener for him, according to his director: "To begin with he wanted to pull the films. His wife and children asked if he was mad to be even thinking of showing these films on television.

"He was very contrite and I said you've got to do this, but he's very worried about the exposure and the vulnerability.

"It's a very brave piece of telly, frankly. I hope you'll see him in a more human light and people may think about their own anger."

Anger in East Anglia

GfK NOP media conducted a survey across the UK to see if were are regional differences about how we deal with anger.

Mark Murphy looked at statistics in his BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast show. Being physically attacked was actually less important than not speaking to a real person on the phone.

BBC Headroom's Nina Bell said there are many similarities across the country: "The top-rated situation which made people angry is being kept on hold on the telephone.

"The point is that when you want to speak to someone, you're given so many options and people get frustrated with not being able to get the information when we need it.

"There's a difference between feeling a bit cross and actually losing it. The survey picked up that people in the least find it harder to calm down once they're feeling angry.

"Having some simple techniques can be very useful. Counting to ten or taking a deep breath can help you manage your anger.

"There's lots of information on our website. We're hoping to help people who explode and also those who suppress our anger.

"We all do it. We're cross about something and we swallow it down.

"It some cases that can lead to depression."

Headroom

The Headroom campaign is designed to help us make 'stress' and 'aggravated' feelings of the past. We're trying to develop our knowledge of mental health and help us to understand that, actually, it affects anyone and everyone.

But it's not just anger that we're talking about. Headroom also considers the affects of everyday conditions such as stress, anxiety, insomnia and mild depression and offers advice on how to combat such problems.

The Headroom campaign is also very accessible. There's going to be a wealth of programmes on both television and radio and there will be plenty of online information for you to follow.

Also, look out for Headroom activities coming to your public library. So even if you lead a hectic lifestyle, we've ensured you'll be able to keep up to date with the latest on keeping your cool.

Griff Rhys Jones programme is to be first broadcast on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 September 2008 on BBC2 at 9pm. If you miss it check out the BBC iPlayer.

Get advice online

And seeing as you're online now, why not pop into Ruby's Room in the BBC's Headroom section? Did you know that as well as being a comedienne Ruby Wax is also a trained psychotherapist?

Each week, Ruby discusses a different topic including exam stress, schizophrenia, self-harming, eating disorders and depression. These are all problems we tend to hide or gloss over, so Ruby faces them head on as part of the Headroom campaign.

You can also seek comfort in the knowledge that you're not the only one suffering from these conditions. Visit the Headroom website to learn about other well-known celebrities and their inner turmoil's or public displays of frustration.

So, you see, Headroom is a campaign that can help us all. Yes, you may be perfectly normal, but we all still suffer from anger or unhappiness from time to time! Here's to putting a stop to irritated lash-outs, grumpy tantrums or locked up emotions and lets all say hello to happier, calmer days!