Ben Fogle has shared an open and honest post about the time his drink was spiked in 2013 in a bid to take the stigma out of the subject.
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Writing on Instagram, the TV star recalled the incident as being "one of the scariest" of his life, revealing that the "unknown drug" that he had consumed "caused a psychotic episode during which I tried to kill myself".
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The doting dad added that the story was leaked to the press, who then "generally sneered and doubted the story".
Ben also discussed the aftermath of his terrifying experience, telling his social media followers that weeks of "psychological and medical testing" followed the ordeal, as doctors made sure that the psychotic episode he experienced wasn't due to illness.
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Ben shared the post on Instagram
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He signed off his message by pointing out that "culpability and responsibly falls on the 'spikee', not the 'spiker'" and telling his fans that he has been contacted "by policemen, soldiers and students who all have the same story to tell".
The father-of-three also urged people to be aware of their surroundings, telling them: "It can happen to anyone. Anywhere (mine was a rural pub in the Cotswolds). Anytime. It was a tough lesson. Love and peace."
The 47-year-old's full post read: "Several years ago, in 2013 to be precise, my drink was spiked with an unknown substance that resulted in a psychotic episode that saw me hospitalised. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life but the response was even more disappointing.
"The hospital lost my samples, someone leaked it to the press, there was a full Twitter pile on from vile trolls and the press generally sneered and doubted the story (one national paper wrote a whole feature calling me a Walter Mitty, which seemed particularly unfair as Walter didn’t try to throw himself through a pane glass window.) The impact of drink spiking cannot be underestimated.
The TV star spoke openly about his terrifying experience
"The unknown drug caused a psychotic episode during which I tried to kill myself. I spent weeks undergoing psychological and medical testing to ensure it wasn’t self-induced by illness. Multiple doctors concluded that it was indeed an external drug that had caused the psychosis and yet there was no recrimination, just suspicion as to why and how I had been spiked.
"For me it’s symbolic of societies general approach to spiking, that culpability and responsibly falls on the ‘spikee’, not the ‘spiker’. I have been contacted by policemen, soldiers and students who all have the same story to tell.
"It can happen to anyone. Anywhere (mine was a rural pub in the Cotswolds). Anytime. It was a tough lesson. Love and peace."
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