Ruby Wax says there's nothing funny about mental ill health

Mental ill health comes with a big pricetag. The OECD estimates the total cost of mental disorders in the EU to be more than 4% of GDP--over €600 billion. But no price can be put on the cost of mental illness for the person suffering from it. “It’s okay to not be okay,” is comedian and mental health activist Ruby Wax’s message. To the one in four people in the world who suffer from mental disorders at some time in their life (World Health Organization, 2018), these are words from someone who understands, and the first step to coping with the disease. 

Ruby Wax was awarded an OBE in 2015 for her services to mental health and holds a Master’s degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy at University of Oxford. She is the president of Relate, a charity that’s pushing for more government financial support for relationship counselling. Ruby is also the author of Sane New World: Taming the Mind and How to be Human. 

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