ABC star James Longman says it felt like a “bomb went off” when his father and grandfather committed suicide, revealing his family has struggled with mental health.
Longman, 37, from London, lost her father John, who suffered from schizophrenia, when she was just nine years old. Her father, an artist, set the apartment on fire and jumped out of the window. I paper.
He learned of his father’s death while attending a boarding school in England, where he was left with five other boys, but no explanation was given as to why his father was missing or the cause of the fire. There was none.
Longman, an ABC News journalist, also lost his grandfather, Jimmy, to suicide, so this was not the first suicide the Longman family had experienced.
“When someone dies by suicide, it’s like a bomb going off. It kills that person and hurts everyone else,” he said. I told my colleagues at GMA on Tuesday ahead of the release of his book.
Longman began researching his father’s illness and family history in an effort to understand his parent and “find him” outside of death.
“When someone ends their life, that’s the only thing they remember and that’s what defines them,” he said. “So many things were hidden, so many secrets were kept. So this is a journey to find him and find him away from his illness.”
The chief international correspondent tracked down people involved in his father’s life. That included one of his caretakers, who lived just 20 minutes away from his father. He also combed through 120 pages of his father’s medical records to find answers.
ABC star James Longman says it felt like a “bomb went off” when his father and grandfather committed suicide, revealing his family has struggled with mental health.
Longman lost her father, John, who suffered from schizophrenia, when she was just nine years old. Her father, an artist, set the apartment on fire and jumped out of the window. He learned of his father’s death while attending boarding school in England, but could not understand why his father had died until he began researching for his book.
Longman, an ABC News journalist, also lost his grandfather, Jimmy, to suicide, and this was not the first suicide the Longman family had experienced. Her uncle, Tony, also suffers from schizophrenia, and her mother, Anne, also suffers from depression.
Longman’s father had been institutionalized before he was born, and through an investigation it was discovered that John was undergoing electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT, and taking antipsychotic medication on an irregular basis.
After Longman’s parents divorced when he was only 3 years old, his father was in and out of psychiatric hospitals and continued to receive professional care.
“His caregiver said to me, “I took him to school once because his dad said he wanted to be near you.” It brings tears to my eyes to think about it now, how loved he is. Even though I knew that, I was not loved. [know if my father wanted me]” he told I Paper.
“But I feel so warm thinking about it knowing that he asked her to drive him near my school that day. He wanted to be near me. That was the most surprising thing I discovered.”
Another discovery he made through his research was that his father had been cared for after attempting suicide before he was born.
‘because [of] Throughout my father’s life, I always imagined that he was not valued. And actually, what I found was that he was very caring,” he told British media. “He had a day center, a day hospital, and art therapy classes to go to. If he needed to see a psychiatrist, he would see one within a week.
“And none of that is available right now.”
Longman’s father and grandfather were not the only members of his family to suffer from mental illness; his uncle Tony also suffered from schizophrenia, and his mother Anne also suffered from depression.
Ms Longman (right) also suffers from depression and believes her husband Alex Brannan (left) is her “savior”. He said: “The community is so strong.”
The British-born journalist also admitted to GMA that he had suffered “deep grief” in the past.
Anne told iPaper that she often describes her family’s mental health problems as “Longman’s curse”.
This led Longman to investigate genetics and how it interacts with the development of mental illness.
He spoke with geneticists, neuroscientists, and mental health experts to gain a deeper understanding of how trauma is genetically passed down through generations.
“You can’t change your genetic makeup, but you can change your predisposition. Trauma can be inherited, but so can healing,” he told I Paper.
He also believes that his mother’s distancing from his father may have saved him from suffering from schizophrenia, which is common in people under 20.
“I think there’s a good chance she saved me from schizophrenia,” he told British media.
Longman, who is married to Alex Brannan, also talked about how important community is in life and how important it is to have a support system.
Longman also spoke with scientists and mental health experts to find out how genetics affect a person’s mental health for his book, The Inherited Mind, which was released on Tuesday.
“The community is so strong,” he said. “When people in these families have these diseases, they are often isolated.
“Alex was a true savior for me. He’s just the most beautiful human being and when you find someone in your life that gets you through, that’s what you need.”
Longman herself has struggled with suicidal thoughts in the past, and credits her husband with keeping her alive on this earth when her thoughts resurface in 2022.
He described his depression as feeling like a “deep sense of ruin and meaninglessness.” I’m emotionless. ”
“It’s not that I’m upset, it’s that I can’t find joy,” he said. He also believes his depression is related to anxiety, overthinking, and fatigue.
After all, Longman is aware of the stigma surrounding mental health and hopes his book, which is part memoir, part research, will help others who are struggling.
“The whole point of this book is to give people hope,” Longman said. “There’s so much shame attached to these issues, and the idea is to break through that shame and let people know there’s a way forward.”
