Hi everyone! 😊
There has been a lot of media coverage around Kanye West at the moment - with a bunch of misinformation around mental health attached to it unfortunately. I wanted to chat about this a little more and open up the conversation a bit, so we can have a space as a community to share our experiences, learn more about Bipolar and other mental health concerns, and talk about ways we can support people that may be struggling.
If you're unaware, many high profile people, like Kanye, have previously publicly talked about being diagnosed with Bipolar and other mental health conditions. So what is Bipolar? In short, Bipolar disorder is when people experience serious extremes of mood, to the point where their moods interfere with their daily life. If you have bipolar disorder, your mood is likely to go through extreme highs (known as mania or hypomania) and lows (known as depression). Like all mental health issues, it affects everyone differently, so if anyone here has Bipolar and would like to share how it affects them, you are very welcome to chat about it below 😊 We have some great resources here, that could help anyone struggling with Bipolar too.
Seeing someone struggling so publicly and seemingly not getting the support they need, can be really triggering and upsetting. Especially so, when there is a lot of negative feedback minimising someone's experience, talking over their experience or making fun of their experience. What are some ways we can check in on ourselves when this happens? This article talks about how to cope with bad world news, but it can be applied to things we see on social media too. Does anyone else have any tips they use to help keep their social media feeds healthy?
If you have a friend or a family member that has Bipolar, here's some great tips on how to support them. I think in general, the most important things to do if your loved one is experiencing any type of mental health struggles, is to listen without judgment, ask them what support they would like from you and assure them that you care about them. What are some ways you have either given or received some support when they/you were struggling?
Important notes :
- It is OK if you struggle or have mental health issues that are difficult to cope with sometimes.
- It is not OK to make fun of or judge someone ever, but especially if they have mental health concerns.
- It is really important and brave to reach out for help when you need it.
- It can make a massive difference to someone when you can support them through tough times 😊
Please share you thoughts, experiences and questions below 💕
