Leah is a Bipolar UK Ambassador joins me on Let’s Talk Bipolar podcast and on this day, Leah was feeling very low and we talk through the reality of how that feels when you have commitments and how we get used to painting on a face. In this conversation we. Don’t need to pretend and I am so grateful to Leah for showing up and having this conversation despite being in a low phase and also dealing with grief after losing a family member.

Leah has lived a life that has been full of highs and lows growing up in the entertainment and music industry. Leah has been in TV for 20 years and was in a girl band. Living this life led to the symptoms of Bipolar going unnoticed for so many years. As it was presumed that this was just how life was due to the industry that she grew up in.

Her life was a rollercoaster going from hits in the charts and TV shows to being out of work and being homeless and needing financial support, she has really been on a journey.

Looking back on her life she now realises that she had periods of being suicidal that weren’t recognised or even within awareness that mental illness existed.

Leah is from a black Caribbean background and mental illness was not something that was spoken about and could actually bring shame to a family which contributed to her condition being undiagnosed and untreated for a very long time.

When she watched EastEnders, Leah recognised that she was suffering with Bipolar and started to seek help. She wrote a suicide letter to her doctor and this was the beginning of getting her diagnosis. Following diagnosis Leah kept her condition a secret for 7 years carrying shame around this before opening up about her reality, with real worries that no one would want to work with her because it would make her a liability to work with.

Since opening up about her experience and illness she has discovered there is life after diagnosis and that living with Bipolar does not mean that we are like the stereotype that is often portrayed. Being open about her mental illness was liberating and has led her to purpose in helping others and believing that she isn’t defined by Bipolar and can lead a strong life.

Please find support and resources on our website:

Website www.bipolaruk.org

Insta: bipolar_uk

Twitter: bipolaruk

Facebook: bipolaruk

Find Leah on all social media platforms @leahcharlesking

Hosted by Emma Belle

IG @emmakbelle

www.emmakbelle.com