Countryfile presenter Ben Fogle has been very vocal about his mental health journey throughout his life and career – recently giving his fans a huge update.
Fogle is a television presenter who has worked for the BBC, ITV, Channel 5, Sky, Discovery and the National Geographic raising awareness on the ever-changing environment.
The adventurer has built up a vast following thanks to his years of TV work and recently opened up to his fans about a health diagnosis he had received.
Fogle revealed he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after suffering a “recent mental health storm”.
Speaking about the disorder, he admitted “some aspects of life had become a struggle”, before noting that it had “changed” him.
Writing a lengthy post on Instagram, he said: “I hate labels. I always have. We are more than a sweeping binary word.
“I am privileged but I am also compassionate. I am a public figure but I am also quite shy. I am dyslexic and an award winning writer. You get the message. I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD.
“A recent mental health storm was the catalyst for my diagnosis. I feel different and have done for some time. Some aspects of life had become more of a struggle, but with a diagnosis comes understanding and reason.
“Maybe it is my age or perhaps a symptom of something more complex in wider society. I have ADHD but I am still me. It is not an excuse for me nor a reason to be cautious around me for others.
“It does not make me fragile, just vulnerable. I might be slightly neurotically different but that is also what makes us unique. To have a clinical diagnosis helps me understand who I am. It explains my weaknesses as well as my strengths.” (sic)
Ben Fogle admitted he had been through a mental storm
ITV
Fogle also admitted to The Sun that he now understands why he has “really strong emotions” and why it makes him “cry so easily”.
This trait within Fogle is evident and can be seen in him upcoming Channel 5 series where he spends three weeks in the Congo.
Discussing his time in Central Africa, he added: “My visit to the Congo was at a personal moment of internal chaos. I had a bit of a stormy year last year with my own mental health.
“I was in quite a vulnerable place anyway, I didn’t realise it at the time. To see the simplicity and the beauty and the raw love of that welcome… I was completely overwhelmed.”
Ben Fogle revealed he has been diagnosed with ADHD
ITV
This isn’t the first time Fogle has been extremely open with his fans about his struggles as he previously discussed the “psychotic episode” he suffered in 2013 after his drink was spiked.
He warned many of the dangers and wrote in a lengthy caption on his X account about how it was “one of the scariest experiences of my life”.
Fogle explained how the hospital lost his samples, the events were leaked and there was a “pile on” from trolls who doubted his version of events.
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