Mental health difficulties have finally come out of the shadows. Once shrouded in stigma, as a society we’re gradually getting used to the idea that psychological problems are a normal part of life and that talking about them is better than silence.
But there are limits to this new climate of openness. Some problems are still, it seems, difficult to talk about — feared, misunderstood, and hushed up. And none more so than delusions.
This is why we’ve made A History of Delusions for BBC Radio 4. “If this helps even just my mum understand what I was going through then I’d be incredibly grateful”, explained Cheryl when asked why she decided to participate in the programmes.