"Anything personal I write, it ends up being quite healing; you end up being a different person than the one who started writing it. So I’m not really worried about being too honest or making people uncomfortable – I don’t really see the point of saying something out loud unless it’s a bit uncomfortable. Most of what I’m doing is tackling shame. I reveal something about myself that I’m ashamed of, or embarrassed about, and speaking the horrific truth of it in public gets a response, – and that makes me feel less alone. I realise that I’m just like every other stupid human being. If you write all the most troubling aspects of yourself into a film, you externalise them, they’re out of you, in a way. I think generally, I’m after connection now, not praise."

• Simon Amstell was presenter of Never Mind The Buzzcocks from 2006-2009. He has made two feature films including the futuristic Vegan fantasy, Carnage (2017).

Now We're Talking 2019
A partnership between Lyons Tea, Pieta House & Hot Press.
Let’s break the stigma and take the dialogue about mental health issues onto a new level
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