Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal has revealed the disturbing details of the beginnings of the manic episode that saw him sectioned in hospital and ultimately diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
In a revealing interview, the father-of-three described a collection of ‘extreme highs’, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts – all of which were worsened by sleeping for just an hour or two each night.
The spiralling illness – which involved Blumenthal hallucinating that ‘there was a gun on the table’ – led to doctors admitting him to a psychiatric hospital in November last year, where he stayed for 20 days.
The 58-year-old said his episode fuelled a desire to ‘save the world’ and wanting to ‘love every single person’.
He continued: ‘I’d vomit ideas…I was so excited. Talking about making stuff. It was true mania.’
The celebrity cook is known for owning the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, which has earned three-Michelin stars and has has previously been listed in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants
The 58-year-old, who was also diagnosed with ADHD in 2016, recalled experiencing mental and physical changes during his crisis last October sparked by a desire to ‘save the world’
The celebrity cook was eventually diagnosed with bipolar one, which is characterised by at least one manic episode.
Bipolar two involves more regular episodes of depression.
Around one in every 100 people will be diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point in their life.
Many people with the mental health disorder go from one extreme mood to the other. They get episodes of depression and feel very low and lethargic and also suffer mania, feeling ‘high’ and overactive.
However, unlike healthy mood swings the NHS explains the extremes of bipolar disorder can last for several weeks.
Blumenthal told the Financial Times he thinks he has had bipolar disorder for ‘such a long time’.
He poses that the sleeplessness he suffered early in his career, when he was sending emails to colleagues before dawn, may have been an early warning sign.
Reflecting on the mood swings he developed last year, he described going from wanting to ‘love every single person’ to getting angry if someone move so much as a Post-it note.
‘…then bang — I’d get really angry at the world, I wouldn’t mince my words,’ he said, likening his mood swings to that of a child’s.
These feelings started to intensify and he became an ’emotional danger to himself’ due to suicidal thoughts.
Doctors said the sleepless nights and the state of excitement put a stress on his body that was potentially lethal.
Blumenthal’s wife, entrepreneur Melanie Ceysson, described his moods as a ‘tornado’.
Recalling the moment she was forced to have him admitted to hospital Ceysson said: ‘It’s when I pushed the red button,’ adding that the aftermath was ‘the most horrible hours’ of her life.
Heaton explained: ‘Melanie made the difficult decision to have me sectioned, which involved me being sedated’
The celebrity chef, 58, described the ordeal during an appearance on The One Show on Tuesday evening, alongside Melanie
The Michelin-starred chef’s 36-year-old wife described her husband’s moods as a ‘tornado’ and worried that he was a danger to himself
Blumenthal, who went into detail on The One Show in July about the ‘horrible’ ordeal, said: ‘These recurring highs to lows were getting stronger and stronger and more regular.
‘I was on a massive high and had been for several days. I was having hallucinations, feelings of paranoia, and even suicidal thoughts.’
He explained: ‘Melanie made the difficult decision to have me sectioned, which involved me being sedated.
‘There was a knock on the door, there’s a policeman, then five firemen and then a doctor with an assistant and I was like ‘What the hell is going on here?’ And then I saw the doctor pulling out this big syringe and then I woke up in hospital.’
The TV chef added: ‘Since my diagnosis I’ve learned a lot more about myself, and I’ve realised that a lot of my creativity is thanks to bipolar.
‘I’m hoping that talking about it can change the way we see the condition and put it in the spotlight for all the right reasons.’
Although he does not want to experience mania again, he admits to not regretting the contribution milder episodes may have had on his earlier career.
Now he prioritises sleeping and says medication has stabilised his mood which means he can now develop his ideas.
