In our last episode of the series 2 I am joined by Melissa Duncan and Jihan Gabart - Melissa was diagnosed with Bipolar 1. Jihan has been her best friend since the age of 14 and they have lived together and Jihan is a carer to Melissa to support her whilst living with this diagnosis.

They were childhood friends and then moved to New York City together to be college roommates at the age of 17 and 18 and lived through the 9/11 disaster on just their second day living in New York. Living through this traumatic event as well as living together whilst Melissa was living undiagnosed with Bipolar was truly friendship changing.

There is a history of mental illness in Mel’s family which pushed her diagnosis further down the road because there was a lot of fear around what she had witnessed with family members being sectioned and committed. When her diagnosis did come there was a lot of denial and resistance around it, as Mel was only ready to accept that she had anxiety at that time and really believed that her doctor had got it wrong and that her friend Jihan had it wrong too.

Johan and Melissa have grown alongside each other and their friendship and relationship is full of beautiful and hard moments as they have walked through this journey. Jihan being Melissa's point of truth and grounding and having to stand firm on the different boundaries required within their friendship dynamic to support Mel in being stable, well and accessing help. 

Thank you so much for sharing your joint experience with me in this conversation.

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

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www.instagram.com/somypolar

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Professor Allan Young MB, ChB, MPhil, PhD, FRCP (Edin.), FRCPC, FRCPsych answers your questions on bipolar:

How do we define recovery when living with Bipolar?

How do we recover our overall functioning after episodes of being unwell?

What are the studies and research around Lithium and cognitive function?

What can we do to prepare for our meeting with our psychiatrist to get the most out of our appointments?

What are the top 3 things someone with Bipolar can do to help stay well and why?

There is a wariness to taking Lithium, can you share your thoughts, findings and evidence on Lithium treatment for those that live with bipolar?

What does starting Lithium look like and how often do I need to be seen?

How does Lithium interact with other drugs and alcohol etc?

Professor Allan Young joined King’s in 2013 and holds the Chair of Mood Disorders and is Director of the Centre for Affective Disorders in the Department of Psychological Medicine in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London (where he is also interim Vice-Dean for Academic Psychiatry), United Kingdom (UK).

Prof Young is the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Cluster and Theme lead in the Translational Therapeutics Cluster. Prof Young is the clinical academic lead in the Psychological Medicine and Integrated Care Clinical Academic Group in the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust where he is also a Consultant Psychiatrist and the head of the National Affective Disorders Tertiary Clinic.

Professor Young’s research interests focus on the cause and treatments for severe psychiatric illnesses, particularly mood disorders.

Professor Allan Young, my guest  for this episode answers your questions on all things Bipolar.

[email protected]

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

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Anastasia was seeing psychiatrists since the age of 9 so her journey has been a long one and coming to terms with her diagnosis was hard as all she had heard was fear and stigma around the diagnosis. After some research the diagnosis brought relief and made things make sense.

We talk a lot about lost years and the how on reflection we can realise that there have been losses and it’s ok to grieve those losses. Being gentle with the younger versions of ourselves and offering compassion to these past versions of ourselves allows us to be proud of how hard they were working for us at the time and how they were doing their very best.

We also talk about therapy and the importance of breaks and allowing the work to integrate along with the benefits and energy required for dedicated trauma therapies like EMDR therapy.

We also talk about the changes and the adjustments we need to make in our lives to stay well and stable living with Bipolar, Anastasia shares some of the ways she looks after herself to live well with Bipolar.

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

Insta: @bipolar_uk

Twitter: bipolaruk

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Find Anastasia:

Instagram: @thebipolardiaries_

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Blog: https://thebpdiaries.com/

Podcast: The Bipolar Diaries

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Paul’s son is one of 3 children and the whole family is very supportive to do what they can and be as supportive as they can in his journey of learning to manage and live with Bipolar.

Paul talks about the complexity of supporting his son and the impact of some of the emotional and financial impacts that have occurred because of his son being unwell.

It is evident that supporting a family member who lives with Bipolar is complex for all involved and presents its challenges all round. Bridging the gap between how everyone is feeling and know what to do and say do be supportive in the most helpful ways can be incredibly difficult to navigate.

We also discuss a trial treatment that his son had to lift him out of an acute depressive episode and is about to have another treatment imminently under a different management to help manage risks of mania after treatment and close follow ups and extensive clinical supportive and assessment meetings.

I would love to hear from family members that support those living with Bipolar and would love to do another episode with a family member in the future.

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

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Hosted by Emma Belle:

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Yogini, triathlete, vegan, mother and lover, Natalie Leeke, has created and enjoys an unconventional and beautiful life with her 7 year old daughter in South west Florida.

After 11 years as a nun and a broad range of experience, Natalie consults for small to medium businesses on marketing and business strategy.

Transitioning from one way of living to living outside of that community has been a huge shift and Natalie talks about this with me in our conversation. We also talk about the journey of navigating finding the right medication that works for you and how sometimes it can take many changes to get to what works best for each of us. Natalie has gone through 9 medication changes to find what works best for her.

We talk about how we can be softer with ourselves and offer ourselves as much compassion as we can along the way to avoid shaming ourselves when we are already dealing with so much. We also talk about the importance of having boundaries in place for our working hours and how this differs for all of us.

Since her diagnosis of bipolar in 2019, she has been learning to manage life more effectively. Friendships have been a large part of her support system. Her experience of authentic friendships prompted her to host "Social Animals" - a podcast about friendship.

FB @natalieleeke

IG @nun2fun

pondb.com

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

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Twitter: bipolaruk

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Following her own diagnosis of Bipolar Clare and her husband decided to have a family and in doing so suffered with an episode of post-partum psychosis following the birth of her first born. Clare has worked extensively with specialists and Bipolar UK to work specifically about how to support and navigate this very difficult period of life. GP’s are under informed to support in the way they need to and because such little research historically has been done in this area there is a serious lack of information to offer birthing people the support they need.

This really is a specialised area of perinatal mental health and Clare has been instrumental in putting so much work into this area to support those living with Bipolar to navigate this.

Clare was also part of workshop where she met women who had had to have a termination for maternal mental health during their pregnancies due to the fact they live with Bipolar.

Some people only ever receive their first experience of having Bipolar following a diagnosis of postpartum psychosis which is believed to be triggered by the hormonal changes that are experienced during pregnancy and birth.

Clare has a series of webinars that are available on the Bipolar UK website and Youtube channel to help and support those that are thinking of pursuing pregnancy/family building/parenting and for those that are going through perimenopause and menopause.

Clare Dolman PhD

Trustee Maternal Mental Health Alliance: maternalmentalhealthalliance.org

Trustee APP - Action on Postpartum Psychosis www.app-network.org

Ambassador Bipolar UK: www.bipolaruk.org

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

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Twitter: bipolaruk

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Important update: "Bipolar UK is sad to update this recording with the news that Micki passed away following recent struggles with bipolar. We are grateful to Micki’s family for their kindness allowing Micki’s voice to continue to be heard."

Micki Woods, a 24 year old musician from Derby, was diagnosed just over 2 years ago when she was 22. With a family history of her Dad having Bipolar and sadly passing away over 4.5 years ago, Micki was aware that she was at higher risk and that she also noticed that life felt hard, and something was going on with her from the age of 12. She learned a lot from her Dad and how he struggled to deal with it and how as a result she has done her best to learn as much as she can about her illness and how it affects her personally in order to face it every day.

Micki found out she was pregnant whilst still being in an unstable period. Micki stayed relatively stable throughout her pregnancy and is now a mum to a young baby. Micki speaks to us from a mother and baby unit in the UK as she had a sever manic episode following the birth of her baby, she believes triggered by hormones post birth. Following this came the crash which she is currently still navigating whilst being a guest on our podcast.

Women and uterus owners who live with Bipolar can be very worried about pregnancy and growing a family because of the hurdles of medication and post-partum psychosis.

The support that Micki has received keeping her and her baby together whilst she is admitted has been key in her recovery. The staff help with the feeds in the night which has been very helpful for Micki as lack of sleep is a huge trigger for her.

“A big part of how I cope in general is through writing poetry and music. I find it very therapeutic, and I think I’ve helped others who may feel the same! I think there’s such a strong link between bipolar and creativity and I try to be as honest as I can in my music about what it’s like to live with bipolar, or any mental illness really. One of my latest tracks is an ode to my daughter about how if she does inherit bipolar, she’ll be okay

During my time in hospital I managed to write an albums worth of songs which we’re releasing in four EPs. I find it easiest to write when I’m in a depressive episode. I’ve also self published two books and have released two albums and a few singles over the last 5 or so years”

I am so grateful to Micki for talking to me about her experience as a new mum and what life has been like since her episode in post-partum.

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

Insta: @bipolar_uk

Twitter: bipolaruk

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Find Micki:

Instagram: @wiltedfloweruk

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Dr Thomas Richardson, is a professional living with Bipolar. Dr Thomas Richardson is a clinical psychologist and associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Southampton. He is actively researching psychological treatment and understanding of Bipolar Disorder, leading teachings on CBT for Bipolar Disorder.

Thomas was first diagnosed with a manic episode age 18 and was in hospital, then went on to be formally diagnosed with Bipolar age 22. We talk about how it took some time before he was comfortable disclosing his diagnosis in a professional setting and how that unfolded for him. 

Thomas has a particular interest in financial difficulties and impulsive spending whilst living with bipolar and actively researches this challenging area. He very kindly shares some tip and resources that can help those living with Bipolar and how to better manage things financially whilst also navigating living with Bipolar and the impulsivity it can bring. He also debunks the myth that over spending only happens in the higher phases of this illness and how it can actually show up in the lower phases also. 

I am sure you will find some great takeaways in this episode!

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

Insta: @bipolar_uk

Twitter: bipolaruk

Facebook: bipolaruk

Find Dr Thomas Richardson at:

Twitter: @DrTomRichardson

If you would like to be part of a research study with Dr Thomas Richardson then you can email him at: [email protected]

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Never for one second did Oliver Seligman think he would become a writer. Graduating from University in 1998 with a Zoology degree, he ended up working in London and New York as a sales trader in an investment bank. However, his cunning plan to make millions and live happily ever after, didn't work out. Bipolar caught up with him and he quit his fast paced job. He then became a monk who travels the world writing, coaching and giving inspirational talks.

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

Insta: @bipolar_uk

Twitter: bipolaruk

Facebook: bipolaruk

Find Oliver at:

Instagram

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Loren Eley is a mental health advocate and change agent, who uses her lived experience of Bipolar Affective Disorder Type 1 for good, to raise awareness, educate and inspire.

Loren was a founding member of Belonging at Bauer, Bauer Media’s Diversity and Inclusion forum, and works on Team Enable, the disability and mental health pillar, as well as Thrive, creating wellbeing content for staff. She represents the company in industry panels and webinars on the topics of disability and mental health, including for the Radio Academy and the All Party Parliamentary Groups for Media and Disability.

Loren delivers talks on Bipolar Disorder, mental health awareness and self-care strategies for organisations. Loren has worked with Bipolar UK as an employment ambassador, assisting in workplace training, as well as having blogs and feature articles published in her role as media ambassador.

On the side, Loren is a Talk for Health graduate and leads a peer support group, and she records community radio shows about self-care techniques, as well as a bespoke show for World Bipolar Day, interviewing people with lived experience and carers.

Loren was diagnosed in 2012 at the age of 29 years old with Bipolar 1 after going through a phase of acute mania. With a build up lasting weeks and perhaps months that wasn't recognised at the time, working in a new job, going from working on 1 brand to over a 100 that resulted in being run down with the flu and returned to work too soon, burning the candle at both ends of the day, not sleeping properly, which culminated in writing in an entire full A4 page work book of plans for an epiphany she had had for work plans. Rapid speech , allocating herself to all tasks and transcribing a meeting at work.

On return from work this escalated in to taking her clothes off to being nude at her home whilst living with her partner and also a housemate who could have walked in all night, staying up all night and believing a film crew were coming to collect her for filming with Dizzee rascall.

Loren talks about the differences between hypomania and manic behaviour. A&E became her gateway to getting the help she needed, although she believed that they were going to Heathrow to meet her mum for a visit and not going to attend the hospital...

We also talk about the memory gaps that can happen when we a manic and/or medicated to bring us down from a high and how this can feel when looking back, hearing from others and/or reading notes that have been taken during these periods of being unwell.

Loren lives her life mostly stable, managing occasional hypomanic/manic episodes with fewer depressive episodes

Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org

Insta: @bipolar_uk

Twitter: bipolaruk

Facebook: bipolaruk

Find Loren at:

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