This is a Bonus episode that is being released on World suicide Prevention Day 2021.

Simon Kitchen is the CEO of Bipolar UK and in this episode we get to know a bit about him and how he came to work with Bipolar UK. We talk about the Bipolar Commission research that is being carried out and also what we know so far about the impact of increased risk of suicide for those living with Bipolar.

On the same day that this podcast is released Bipolar Uk will be hosting a free webinar for Suicide Prevention Day to raise the profile of the number of suicides linked to bipolar, and proactive steps that need to be taken to reduce them.

Key facts

Yet these statistics don’t reveal the whole picture. “It’s very likely these figures are hugely underestimated because of the large numbers of people with bipolar who are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed,” says Professor Guy Goodwin, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. The real figure is more likely to equate to two people with bipolar taking their own life every day.

Resources

Bipolar UK’s suicide prevention bank of content can be found here: https://www.bipolaruk.org/blogs/suicide-prevention

April Kelley’s personal account of how she copes with the really difficult days:

https://www.bipolaruk.org/blog/in-the-mist-of-time2

Jeremy Clark shares how he has learnt to manage suicidal thinking:

https://www.bipolaruk.org/blog/managesuicidalthinking

Emma Belle chats with founder of suicide prevention charity Grassroots, Chris Brown, on her podcast:

https://www.bipolaruk.org/blog/how-do-we-speak-to-someone-who-is-suicidal

Nicky Chinn reflects on how ‘talking about it’ helps him deal with suicidal thinking:

https://www.bipolaruk.org/blog/a-life-was-saved

Ellie remembers her father who took his own life when she was at school:

https://www.bipolaruk.org/blog/coping-with-loss