Tuesday Documentary

One Man's Madness (1) (1974x24)

Air date: Aug 20, 1974

Ramsay Short Douglas, the subject of tonight's programme, suffers from manic-depression, a form of madness. 'It's really an exaggeration of the normal mood swings that we all have,' explains Douglas's psychiatrist. Douglas does not define his madness-he simply tells what it feels like to be mad: ' There's the attraction of madness -I do find that when I'm high I get fascinated by the proximity of a lot of mad people, I find it calming in a way.' Madness is elusive - cameras simply record a manic episode in Douglas's life -his home, his wife, his psychiatrists, the 70 days he spent in a mental hospital and his return to a normal life.