In 2006, I was assessed by a mental health professional because I was in an extremely dark place where I tried to end my life. There were voices in my head that were very strong and overwhelming. I had a doctor’s appointment where I was told I had borderline schizophrenia.

A week later, I was arrested for threatening to kill my Mum. When I got arrested, the police asked me if I had any mental health issues, so I told them about my diagnosis of schizophrenia the week before. They then came back half an hour later and accused me of lying about my recent diagnosis. I told them to ring my Mum and partner, who would both tell them that I was in fact telling the truth. The policeman did exactly that and came back to inform me that this had happened.

I made a little safety booklet for when I’m next in a low place.

I was in and out of services until 2018, when I had a psychotic breakdown. After this, I was reassessed. They told me that my new diagnosis was emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) with psychotic episodes and compulsive components. After the assessment, I was put in touch with the Recovery College. At first, I wasn’t keen on the idea at all but I persevered and well… I actually learnt a lot!

I did a couple of courses at the Recovery College. After attending the ‘wellness planning’ course, I soon learnt that recovery isn’t going to happen overnight. Recovery is a long winding road, not a straight road like I had thought or wished.

I did another course called ‘safety planning’ which was quite a hard one because we were talking about times in crisis. I made a little safety booklet for when I’m next in a low place. In ‘goals setting’, I learnt that the best thing was to set small, more achievable goals.

It’s not going to beat me, I’m going to beat it!

This experience led me onto starting a blog, where I write and talk about mental health and my personal journey. I’ve found this to be very empowering and helpful with my own recovery. I’ve also come up with a little saying that I like to repeat to myself: ‘it’s not going to beat me, I’m going to beat it!’

I then found out about a therapy called Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). This type of therapy has proven to be very beneficial for people who have a personality disorder diagnosis. I’ve been chasing DBT down for 2 years now, and I can finally say that I’ve gained a spot with Norfolk and Waveney Mind to start it. So, it’s time for me to learn more tools and become an even better me. This is just the next chapter in my mental health journey. 

We’re delighted to publish our Together Annual Review for 2022. The review looks at the work of our charity for the year and the ways we have worked alongside the people who use our services.

In the review we share how our core principle of Service User Leadership runs through all of our services and how our staff and volunteers value the lived experience of the people they support.

The review begins with a preface by our Head of Service User Leadership, Sophie Howell and an introduction from our Chief Executive Linda Bryant. It also features a report on the impact of our services and details of our values and mission. In terms of stories from the year there are details of how services supported people in the cost of living crisis and an interview with a volunteer from our National Steering Group. We also hear from a staff member on the benefits of wild swimming and about a new service we opened and how we’ll be hosting our first Henry Hawkins Lecture event in September. The review is concluded with a section looking ahead from Together’s Chair, Dr Carol Cole.

Download the Together Annual Review 2022

On the 8th of September Bipolar UK celebrated their 40th anniversary with volunteers and ambassadors in Westminster City Hall- the venue where the charity’s first peer support group meeting took place. The 40th birthday event was a chance to say thank you to all the volunteers who Have helped make the world a better place for people with bipolar.