Quotes From Matthew Newton’s ACA Interview

“I lost my mind.”

That is a phrase Matthew Newton mentions quite a few times during an interview with Tracey Grimshaw which aired on A Current Affair this week. It’s a figure of speech we all use from time to time and implies a relinquishing of self-control. And it’s probably Newton’s second most-used phrase in the interview after “frenzied manic episode” which he really says a lot. Here are some of his quotes from the interview that really stood out…

1. When Tracey Grimshaw asks about the assault court case regarding one time girlfriend Brooke Satchwell, she mentions that his psychiatrist said in court that Newton was rehabilitated and that he wouldn’t offend again – which ultimately resulted in the conviction being quashed. She asked if, in hindsight, he believes he got off too lightly: “No I don’t think it’s about getting off lightly, it’s about not having been treated for the right things. I wasn’t treated. I wasn’t diagnosed as having an illness at that point.”

2. Grimshaw asks how long into the relationship with Satchwell did she see one of his ‘episodes’: “I won’t speak on anyone else’s behalf, but I know that I was unwell through that relationship.”

3. When asked what exactly happened with a ‘couple of incidents’ when he was alleged to have caused thousands of dollars in damages to hotel rooms: “The manic episodes – the same things: ran at walls, I punched things, I went out of my mind.”

4. On what happened in Rome when his then-fiancee Rachael Taylor was badly assaulted: “Total chaotic meltdown. I lost my mind. I went berserk, I went nuts. I wanted to kill myself. I’d had enough…. That’s about as specific as I’m gonna be.”

5. Grimshaw reads the list of injuries sustained by Taylor from the court documents and asks Newton if he has acknowledged that he did it: “I’m not going to discuss the legal aspects of this… I’ll be honest about my behaviour in that I’m ashamed about it but, as I say, there are certain aspects of a relationship that involve two people and I’m only one half of that, and I think to be respectful that’s all I really want to say about it.”

6. On whether he was doing drugs before he went into rehab (several times in the past): “I’m not going to sit here and… (asks Tracey) Look have you ever done drugs? In your life? No never? It’s… you know…. drugs were never a problem for me. Never a problem.”

7. Injuries he talks about sustaining as a result of ‘manic episodes’: “Severed my hand punching a window”; “Dislocated my jaw”; “Concussed myself”; “Punched myself in the eye”.

8. He also said: “It’s the people around you who get hurt in the wake of these frenzied episodes.”

I feel sorry for Matthew Newton because he obviously has problems that are beyond his control.

Anyone who has had experienced mental illness themselves or through a friend or family member would be able to relate to the difficulties and devastation that can come with it. Especially if it isn’t treated. In fact, during the interview Newton made a comment that stood out to me almost as much as the oft-repeated mantra about losing his mind which was “My biggest mistake was not knowing I needed treatment.”

Everything that has happened, happened because of Newton’s mental illness.

That seems to be the message that Matthew Newton was delivering last night.

With the drug-use question, for example, he basically admits to using drugs but is emphatic that: nope, drugs definitely weren’t a factor in his problems; to admit otherwise would make him somewhat culpable because taking drugs is a personal choice and the consequences are on the drug-taker.

There’s no questioning the extent and severity of his mental illness. At one stage Tracey asks him if he’s on medication and he opens a gym bag containing enough prescription medication to fill the Nurse Jackie prop cupboard. They help treat his various disorders including manic depression (now known as bipolar disorder), acute obsessive compulsive disorder and some other personality traits connected to the two conditions.

Like most people watching the interview, I was interested to see what Newton would say about the incidents of violence against former partners (including the high-profile relationships with actresses Brooke Satchwell and Rachael Taylor) and whether he would take some kind of ownership of the violent behaviour and the harm he caused.

Not that mental illness and aggression/violence are necessarily mutually exclusive.

The most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) lists one of the symptoms for a ‘Mixed Episode’ experienced by a bipolar sufferer as: The mood disturbance is sufficiently severe to cause marked impairment in occupational functioning or in usual social activities or relationships with others, or to necessitate hospitalization to prevent harm to self or others, or there are psychotic features.

Still, he talks about the damage he inflicted upon himself in great detail (as I’ve listed in point 7 above), but he never once actually says “yes I punched her in the face” or even “the court documents are correct”. He never verbally acknowledges that his hands were the cause of physical injury to these women – just deflects the responsibility off his own shoulders and onto Mental Illness. And as I mentioned, episodes of violence can be linked to mental illness, but mental illness coupled with denial can also be an easy smokescreen for bad behaviour. Like domestic abuse.

Do guidelines or laws exist that draw the line between what is a symptom of mental illness and what is a criminal act?

Studies have found that female victims of domestic violence have an extremely high prevalence for psychosexual dysfunction, major depression, post traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. That means women like Rachael Taylor and Brooke Satchwell who have been assaulted by their partners are more likely to have mental illness themselves. Who is responsible for that?

With his words in the interview, Matthew Newton makes it very clear that the blame for his terrible actions does not lie with him. He lost his mind.

Via NineMSN.

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