Catherine Zeta-Jones says US has more enlightened attitude to mental illness than UK

A few years ago, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones revealed that she suffered from bipolar disorder and depression.

At a recent press event for Side Effects - the new Steven Soderberg film in which she plays a psychiatrist - she says the United States has a more enlightened attitude to mental illness compared to those that once prevailed in her native Britain.

"I haven't lived there for years, but in my experience, it was this British 'stiff upper lip' and 'don't put your laundry out' mentality, where psychotherapy and depression and, basically, your emotions were quashed. It was, 'Who cares about how you feel? If you're sad, well, buck up, you'll be fine tomorrow.

"It's now starting to come much more in the open - people are starting to talk about it more on television. But in America, people just feel easier speaking about it, which I think is good."