A gradual distancing from this side of existence pushed Ángel Martín (Barcelona, 1977) into a psychotic break that ended in the psychiatry wing of the Puerta de Hierro Hospital in Madrid. It was in 2017. He decided to share that experience in In case the voices return and now, with the same intention of helping those who may find themselves in a similar situation, he publishes Behind the noise (also with Planeta publishing house).
This second exercise in emotional nudism talks about how to keep together the pieces of the puzzle that constitutes one's self and ignore siren songs that can crumble everything. “There is nothing I miss about that Angel I was. I understand that whatever was useful or worthwhile to me will have returned and been placed where it should be placed, but there is nothing that makes me think 'I wish...'. Absolutely".
Martín, whose morning News to save time sweeps the internet and sells out tickets on the tour with the monologue Punto para los locos, invites the reader to a guided tour inside his head with the handles he has been gathering during this time of repair . He is committed to order as a mode of conduct for good mental hygiene and denies that a hyperstimulated and stressful society forces anything: “You can decide to enter that circle or not: when you wake up, no one shakes you to pick up your cell phone and look at it. What has happened on social networks. You decide the type of life you want,” Martín reflects.
He never chose to be a presenter, even though I Know What You Did elevated him to stardom. He wanted to be a comedian. And humor has brought him many chestnuts out of the fire: “I think that the ability to laugh at yourself is something that anyone can train. He has no more. Maybe those of us who have humor as a work tool practice it more, but if you can joke about your situation, you are a thousand steps ahead of the problem.”
His confession is a very relevant speaker for the visibility of mental health: let's not be evasive, let's be equally interested in an injury or physical illness of our friend as if a mental downturn occurs. “Many people do not know how to listen: the problem is not with those who are not able to tell a story, but with those who are not able to listen to it without putting a label on it. When asked 'Why haven't you said it? Why haven't you told it?' the answer is 'Because you don't know how to listen. Because I know you and you wouldn't have handled it well. You have forced me to keep it hidden because every time I have told you something that has been a little important, you have either brushed it off or you have not helped me.' That's why you stop telling people things. If when you tell them something that person helps you, keep counting on them.”
