Kerry Katona appeared on This Morning yesterday to talk about living with bipolar disorder. The former Atomic Kitten star was in good form, looking happy and healthy, as she spoke about what she has gone through with the condition.
In a 2009 appearance on the same show, she was mocked for slurring her words and accused of being drunk, but she said this was due to the medication she was on at the time.
Kerry is joining forces with show's Be Kind campaign to promote awareness about mental health issues. She said: “It's about time we got rid of this stigma and this grey area about mental health.”
Kerry said now she is in a good place, and her friends and family can see a marked improvement in her wellbeing. She said: “I feel amazing. And I've got to say, this phase of my life I've never had so many wonderful compliments: ‘You're looking really well',You're glowing’."
Leading such a public life from a young age means a lot of Kerry’s low points were aired in the media, but Kerry says she doesn’t mind anymore: “I’m an open book, and everyone knows that, and that's why I love being in the public eye. Because everyone has seen my lows.”
To manage her bipolar disorder, Kerry is on regular medication and admits she still has a bad day from time to time.
She recalled the infamous 2009 appearance on the show, saying: “It was eight years ago I was on the famous couch, slurring... Even now, I have episodes where I talk a million miles an hour and then I slow down.”
She continued: “There's no harm in asking for that kind of help... Since that infamous interview, I'm still mocked... Yes, I've done the drinks thing and the drug thing, but it was pure medication (that I had taken).”
Kerry said part of the issue with mental health problems is that they aren’t visible and obvious to everyone. She said that even her psychiatrist had advised her to tell the public that she’d had “drink and drug problems but not mental health issues, because when they can’t see it, they can’t understand it”.
Kerry remained coy when she was asked if she had any plans for a sixth child. She laughed, saying: “It just makes me more money on the front covers of magazines, doesn't it?”
The former singer didn’t deny the possibility, saying: “I would never say no to another child.... I was born to be a mother.”
