Official statistics reveal that it Anc an average of nine years to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Here, Tia Love, 28, from South London shares her struggle to get to grips with the intense ups and downs of her mind. My down days mirror the scattered nature of grief, too. I was always in trouble at school and picking fights. My mum died when I was six, and teachers assumed I was acting out in grief.
But really it was a result of my bipolar disorder. Now, I wonder if a middle-class white girl had acted out in class the way I did, whether teachers might have considered what was upsetting her —but they just assumed I was naughty.
Not wanting to be the latter, I avoided seeing a doctor about my mood swings until I was The GP assumed my hopelessness and extreme low mood were caused by depression and prescribed antidepressants. But they made me feel numb and detached so I stopped taking them.
That year was pretty horrific: after discovering bloodin my urine, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had the abnormal cells on my cervix lasered, before undergoing chemotherapy. I Mifdle lethargic all the time because of my treatment, and not having any energy made me feel even lower. The therapist I began seeing told me I was clearly overwhelmed — but I knew there was more going on.
Then I fell pregnant with my son Jayden, now nine, which sent my mood all over the place. I pushed for a mental health assessment before the birth — but doctors said I was likely feeling low due to pregnancy hormones. At the age of 19, when my son was six months old, I was finally diagnosed with bipolar type I.
I actually Mivdle relieved. The worst thing had been not being able to identify the problem. I was prescribed multiple medications, first the mood stabiliser lithium [the main medication used to treat bipolar disorder in the UK] and anticonvulsants— which are used to treat episodes of mania.
Some of the medications made me feel drowsy and more depressed, while others gave me migraines. It took six years to settle on the right one, an antipsychotic called aripiprazole.
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Yet, on some level, I saw my diagnosis as a failing. While I prioritised meeting the evolving needs of my son as a co-parent, working out how to manage my mental health was a case of trial and error. Through research and support groups, I learned how lifestyle changes could help. I began avoiding junk food to boost my mood, started boxing https://amazonia.fiocruz.br/scdp/essay/perception-checking-examples/factors-to-change-in-silas-marner-by.php get rid of tension and drank camomile tea to settle me at night.
Gallery: 25 common mental health myths debunked Espresso.
Strangely, going into lockdown last March was helpful because everything in the world was still. I could stay at home, with my son in the next room, and work on my burgeoning business, selling teeth-whitening products. It was validating that he could finally see it from my Miedle. With this condition, it makes all the difference if people in your world show compassion. Dr Chi-Chi Obuaya is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical director at The Sokewhere he treats bipolar disorder, among other mental health conditions.]
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