I can identify with most of what has been said here, having fought depression (and suicide,) since I can remember and had many manic phases. A couple wild enough to get me commited to mental institutions (albeit for very short periods). Doctors would call me a type "B" bi-polar. I have therefore tried many forms of therapy, training and "spiritual" practices. So I feel that I have gained a certain understanding of this thing, in any case I have not had large mood swings in awhile. The human psyche is a complex thing, and there are certainly multiple factors and levels involved in what we name depression, bi-polar disease etc. We are psycho-somatic entities, "body minds", and only a holistic approach to healing can have any chance of success. Drugs can be an emergency tool, but never a cure. The mechanisms that trigger each imbalance are the primal mechanisms of our cells, of life itself. There are many tools available to learn to decode and balance moods, it's a rich journey. Enjoy!

gary granville, Saint Mandé, France

P.S. Would love to hear more about that place in Turkey that Sophie mentions...

gary, Saint Mandé, France

After over 10 years of severe insomnia and hyperactivity only relieved by the occasional alcoholic binge and suicidally depressive slump, I was diagnosed with severe bipolar. That was around the time that I hadn't slept for a nanosecond for over 15 days and was hallucinating about alien ghosts and chatty feminist lampshades. The doctors tried various combinations of drugs, all of which I secretly gave up after a couple of days of extreme jitters/ dry mouth (stoicism isn't one of my virtues) - except for the tranquilisers, which I grew quite attached to, but even those failed to help me get any sleep. The rest is going to sound a bit crazy (haha) but I went on a trip with some friends to a "spiritual spot" in the east of Turkey, spent 5 days there, and have been sleeping at least 8 hours a day since. No more mood swings, wine, medications, insomnia or depression since. That was about 10 months ago, and I'm now nearly 8 months pregnant. My doctors are baffled. Misdiagnosis? Probably.

Sophie, Tonbridge,

I'm 20 and was just diagnosed with bipolar type II. My bipolar is the type where my mood can change several times a week, or even in a single day. The thing is, when you're living with an illness like this it seems pretty normal. But as my mood swings became more extreme, I began to suspect that I had bipolar. I was reluctant accept my diagnosis and begin my life-long treatment. Accepting my bipolar is still hard, especially as I know that I face descrimination and may lose jobs or friendships if I share my diagnosis. The following experience convinced me to start on meds: within a period of about two hours, I plunged into a horrible depression. I was curled up in a ball on my bed with my face in my pillow, screaming in physical pain from the intensity of my depression. This had happened to me 4 times in the previous 4 years and I didn't want any more. It's a bit like knowing you might explode at any time. But now things are better, my meds work, and I plan to live an active life!

M, Chicago, Illinois

I found this a very interesting article as I am only 18 years old and was diagnosed with bipolar last year and it meant I had to leave Uni. It is a genetic condition for me, coming from my mum and my grandad. As much as some people say "there is no such thing" or "you can control the person you are when in a hypo-maniac attack" this is not the case at all and I believe you have to come to terms with your condition and the only way to move on and get better is to accept it. I would be lost without lithium and my doctor - I am so grateful to have the drug as without it I would still lost, and upsetting many people. After 9months I can finally say I'm back and stronger and wiser than before.

The hardest part is recognising it and having people you love tell you that you are unwell. Don't be afraid cause you will feel so much better when know what is wrong with you!

Say strong and know that you are not alone although at times you feel like no-one understands!

Heather, Glasgow,

Neil of Belfast - you are, of course, entitled to you opinion but I'm afraid you are deeply ignorant and totally lacking in empathy. You may have the symptoms of bipolar disorder but you very clearly don't have the illness. That is proven by the fact that when you are down you have the will and and ability to get up and do something about it. You can not conceive that others DO NOT HAVE this ability, however much they would like to.
But you are far from alone in being unable to imagine how depression affects others than yourself.

Tony Jones, Grantham, Lincs

Neil from Belfast,

Bipolar disorder can be an extremely dangerous and hellish illness, as I have experienced.Unfortunately, it terrified me to admit i was mentally ill, even though I hallucinated constantly and was suicidally depressed. It reached a peak where I was psychotically paranoid, believed agents were after me and that I could read people's thoughts. I also had tactile hallucinations where it seemed that I was being assaulted by ghosts and could actually feel the pain of this. It was more terrifying than any horror film I have seen. It came to a head when I was sectioned and I was put on endless medications until the right combination was found to work. As a result of these miraculous drugs I no longer suffer the hell of suicidal depression and psychosis. I am alive again. Believe me, it's only ignorant people who think they can compare their ordinary changes in mood, usually related to external events, to psychosis, mania and suicidal depression. Drugs saved my life.

Lyn, Oxford, UK

All I can say about this is that my father had been diagnosed a bipolar disorder when he was in his twenties and he was never free of symptoms - despite strong medication. Even though he went to his doctor regularly he suffered from these mood swings several times a year, mostly at the end of autumn and before spring. Im my opinion, there is no real cure for this illnes and it is mostly underestimated by doctors. Most irritating is the fact that some doctors seem to be experimenting around with medication - my father's medication was changed a dozen times without improvement, on the contrary his condition worsened after these changes.
What I experienced is that - with ageing - the depressive mood swings are getting longer and more intense while the manic mood swings are getting shorter. The patient constantly lives in fear of getting another depressive mood swing - they seem to await it. This is certainly not true for all patients with this illness but I think medicine has to improve

Anja, Munich, Germany

Neil, Co. Antrim, you are entirely wrong regarding bipolar not existing but it can be diagnosed too often, and it does have different levels. The reason it needs to be controlled by medicines is the risk of moving in psychosis. If you ever read an out of print book called, "The Cycle of Madness", it describes every step my beloved daughter took until she reached psychosis. If she had been believed, been treated, she may never have experienced this. Once psychosis has been reached, it keeps revisiting unless controlled by medicines. No therapy alone (we have tried them all) can prevent the psychosis. Luckily the chap in the article got the help he needed at the right time, my daughter was constantly sent away from the doctor who asked her why she was depressed when she was so young and beautiful. He then decided to give her fourteen 25mg Prothiaden which she took with a bottle of brandy and after being on life support barely escaped with her life.

redandover60, Hayes, Middlesex, England

My partner of 10 years, with no history of mental illness, jumped from his parents' bedroom window during a depressive mood swing preceeded by several panic attacks. Prior to this he called an ambulance to our home but refused to go to hospital. His mother refused to accept that something was wrong, presumably because of the shame of mental illness and demanded he get on a train to their home 200 miles away. She took him to a GP who diagnosed anxiety. Two days later he was on a ventilator, brain monitor etc with multiple injuries. As a result of his brain injury and whatever mental illness he now has he is now permanently disabled and will likely never work again. The young man in your article was very lucky to have such supportive friends and family around him who have worked together so that his condition is managed and he can lead a fulfilling and happy life.

Avril O'Connor, London, UK

A friend of mine jumped of the Erskine Bridge Near Glasgow when in a depressive mood swing. He was not receiving adequate treatment for his bi polar mood swings from Gartnavel Royal Hospital. The medical profession failed all along the line in its duty of care. The care in the community that the Government promised failed to materialise.
Will there ever be care for patients with mental illness? Probably not till hell freezes over. Money for the health services, they seem to think is for the doctors and for the drugs, which they dispense, and not for the emotional support and counselling which is desperately needed.
Jim

Jim Gilmer, Clydebank, Dunbartonshire

Definitely something in what Malcolm says. Being the same age as 'Richard' and having gone to the same university, he is far from alone. Pretty much every single person I was friends with had someone in their family (parents, siblings or grandparents) with a mental illness - bipolar, schizophrenia, anorexia, bulimia, depression of every type. Sadly, many of my friends went on to suffer directly from each of these as well. It is to Cambridge's credit that these matters are generally handled supportively and without prejudice.

I was very sceptical at first, but have come to see that these are as real as they are manageable. Spend some time talking to someone on lithium or some time talking to the families of people with these conditions before making a judgement. You may be surprised by what you learn.

marie, london, uk

I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar 4 years ago at the age of 40, up until then I just put my often erratic behavior down to hyperactivity.

The diagnosis nearly destroyed my life until I scientifically evaluated it .There is no science, it is a medical fraud. The diagnosis is solely based on what the patient tells the doctor. I spent 3 years communicating with other people with the diagnosis, and came to the conclusion that the onset of schizophrenia and post traumatic shock disorder is confused with this condition. This can be seen by the massively distorted world wide statistics for the diagnosis.Either the Americans are genetically flawed as a race or the science is junk.

The drugs prescribed for the condition are merely tranquilizers of one sort or the other, and offer only escape from reality. Which is probably the worse solution for somebody whose state of mind demands a stronger grip on reality.

Get rid of the meds, get rid of any trauma in your life and you will mend quickly.

paul, KZN,

Forgive me, but bi-polar seems to mimic a heavy body mercury borden and symptoms associated with mercury. Mercury won't show up in blood tests or on MRI scans at the moment. Hair and nail tests can show false-negatives but they can show more than the blood test in this instance.
A toxicologist may be a useful kick off point.
Regards

esther, london, united kingdom

There really is such incredible ignorance about mental illness, and the popular view that you can just "pull yourself together" is still at large.
People who are "sane" seem to find it hard to understand that the brain is an organ of the body and can go wrong like any other. 1 in 6 people suffer from a mental illness at some point in their lives, but society's stigma prevents people talking about it.
Psychiatric illnesses do not tend to be curable, but they are certainly treatable with medication and psychological therapies (the best is in combination), and treatment can alleviate suffering, enable people to fulfill their potential, and often keep them alive. A manic epsiode is a psychotic episode with loss of touch with reality and loss of the ability of the sufferer to recognise that they are behaving out of character and potentially dangerously (physically, financially, socially, sexually, etc.)
P.S. Medications are not chemical straitjackets

C.M., West Midlands, England

As an individual how can one tell the difference between serious mood swings and being bi-polar? A signficant event has happened in my life that has prompted a low like I have never known before yet I battle on and I know my life will never be the same. Richard's experience is extreme, as are those of Amy and Paul, but do they have to be that serious for a person to be diagnosed bi-polar?

Rachel Walker, Auckland, New Zealand

What you need is Adaptation Practice.

S. Brown, London,

My husband 55 is bipolar and has had this since his twenties. Being on Seroxat for over 10 years has enabled a normal working life as a Phd scientist- hardly a day off sick and chooses to work 10 hour day. The condition is real enough but so is the cure.

Yvonne, Cambs,

Neil from Belfast obviously doesn't suffer from "bipolar" but is describing mood swings. An excellent observation of the general human condition there, feeling a bit down sometimes - excited at others.

What he is obviously lacking is empathy, however, as anyone who has suffered the incredibly debilitating illness that is bipolar disorder knows the difference between the peaks and troughs of everyday life and the rollercoaster of the manic highs and the crushing lows that make up your life.

The only person passing the buck is Neil by describing general mood swings as bipolar. I suppose you suffer from ADHD when Northern Ireland scores too.

Sarah, Liverpool,

I strongly agree with his comments about excitement bringing on a 'high'. My aunt has had this condition for 30 years and for her, making sensible but dull lifestyle choices such as early nights and a healthy routine have been the key factors in controlling the illness rather than having it control her.

LORRAINE, St Albans,

I too have the symptoms of what would be referred to as bipolar, however I believe there is no such a condition.

Everybody has the potential to think positively or negatively. For me, bipolar is simply a description of those who swing back and forward, including myself.

Its not something genetic, it is purely what I do with my situation.

Using such terms just passes the buck.

We are all responsible for our own actions / reactions so lets just face up to it. We ourselves are the cause of our own depression.

I personally find getting up off my butt and going to help somebody in a worse state than myself, generally does the trick.

When we gaze inwards at ourselves and our own plight, we just spiral downwards.

Try helping someone else. It does work.

Forget about mind altering drugs which just perpetuate the whole problem.

neil, belfast, antrim

I was diagnosed as clinically depressed a few years back, when I 14/15 or so. I wasn't going to school and was visited regularly by the educational welfare officer, who thought I was depressed. I went to see my GP.

'Children don't get depressed.'

Four sets of anti-depressants and a few relapses later, I'm still in therapy now, aged 19.

I think I've proved that GP wrong.

Awareness is the only way that the stigma's going to be lifted.

Emma, Essex,

With mental illnes --- Stigma still remains the operative word. In my experience the medical profession is much less understanding and sympathetic than members of the public.Barely repressed nervous laughter is often the reaction. There is also reluctance to prescribe Talking Therapies which in many cases are very successful and have been approved by NICE . Repeating the old mantra KEEP TAKING THE TABLETS no doubt is less trouble and pleases the drug companies but in many cases causes very serious side effects in the long term. ---- Mary Keane ,London England

mary keane, London, England

I suffered from terrible mood swings and depression throughout my teens and things just got worse as I got older. All the classic symptoms of bi-polar were present but no one picked up it. Finally at the age of 31, following several suicide attempts, my GP at the time, sent me to a psychiatrist and the condition was diagnosed.

Since then I have had had zero support from the medical profession. My current GP practice does not even bother to check if the combination of drugs prescribed can trigger episodes of mania despite warnings on the enclosed leaflets.

Mental Healthcare in London appears to be non-existent unless one actively seeks it out; an unlikely scenario for someone in a manic or depressive state.

Paul Mc Donald, London, UK

You are right ,Jones, it takes more than a box of pills to fix the problem. it needs support from friends, family, a wish to get better, resourses wihtin oneself as well to try ,try and try a great deal of things before something works.Sometimes and maybe many times, it needs confronting complicated psychological issues that act as predisposers and triggers to any mental illness.Unfortunately not many people have these.

I agree that the 'services' are far from ideal. they will always be. Its foolish to expect the professionals or the services to fix all the problems. They can only support with say 25% of things, even if services are perfect wish it or not the most of the hard worh is done by the sufferer and their system.Its vain to put toomuch faith and belief in the external.

Pratima Singh, london,

I'd like to say that litiuim is a very toxic drug that nearly distroyed my girlfriend.

After ten years of a various tablets she could create her own Damien Hurst type art work with all the pills. It would be nice if any of them worked but sadly she still hasnt found any suitable medication that control her mood swings and she has been offered little counselling.

GP only wants to help if she's manic, the days when she's crying in bed all day, deeply depressed there is no support for her. Its a very complex illness which we just try and live with.

Its very well for some nameless Cambridge student to suggest that he will succeed but the fact that he hasnt wanted to be named speaks volumes about the stigma surrounding mental health.

The truth is, care and support for the majority of people with BiPolar is very poor and it takes more than a box of pills to fix the problem.

B Jones, London,

Dear Amy, don't get mad (U.S. English) at the use of the substantive! I'm a depression sufferer, saved, like you, by therapy and Prozac. I say I suffered from a mental illness. People stare. I tell them Prozac is like a puppy, not just for Xmas. They ask when I'm going to get off it and go back to "normal". Would they ask diabetics when they're going to get off insulin? Bottom line is, they''re blissfully ignorant of what those illnesses are like. So just forgive them, for they know not what they speak of, and long may it remain so.

elizabeth schumann, Paris, France

With all due respect to Malcolm McLean, I've heard the genius/madness remark a bit too often.

I have suffered from clinical depression on and off since my first episode when I was 13. In my teens I was suicidal. I am also a published poet. These days I am stable, partly as a result of much-needed therapy I received then, partly due to improved life-conditions, and partly due to DRUGS. I have been on Sertraline Hypochloride (aka Lustral, aka Zoloft), a relation of Prozac, for the last 9 years. So, yes, I am "drugged." If I was dead, I wouldn't be writing any poetry, free verse or otherwise.

AMY SMITH, WIRRAL, ENGLAND

Genius really is next to madness. The snag is that we are drugging the poets, scientists and engineers. Hence all the free verse you see in poetry competitions.

Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK