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. 

*Disclaimer: Our podcasters may express personal views and opinion, which do not necessarily reflect the official views of the OECD or its member countries.

Your views matter. You can comment on our podcasts by writing to Observer@oecd.org, by Tweeting at @oecdobserver (Twitter) or leaving a comment at www.soundcloud.com/oecd.

©OECD Observer 2019




Economic data

GDP growth: -1.8% Q1 2020/Q4 2019
Consumer price inflation: 0.9% Apr 2020 annual
Trade (G20): -4.3% exp, -3.9% imp, Q1 2020/Q4 2019
Unemployment: 8.4% Apr 2020
Last update: 10 June 2020

OECD Observer Newsletter

Stay up-to-date with the latest news from the OECD by signing up for our e-newsletter :

Twitter feed

Digital Editions

<b>Digital editions</b>

Don't miss

Most Popular Articles

NOTE: All signed articles in the OECD Observer express the opinions of the authors
and do not necessarily represent the official views of OECD member countries.

All rights reserved. OECD 2020