Living with bipolar: ‘It’s something I used to hide. But I think the more you share, the more people understand’
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Bipolar disorder is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed due to set perceptions people have about the condition. Saoirse Hanley hears from experts and two women who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder about what it really involves, and how it is possible to live well with the condition
Julie Redden: ‘You’re not taught about it. I never knew there were different types of bipolar.’ Photo: Patrick Browne
Living with bipolar disorder means contending with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, but it need not limit what a person can experience and achieve. As World Bipolar Day takes place on March 30, those who have been diagnosed with the condition are sharing what it means in their own lives.
Julie Reddan, 22, spent a long time with a diagnosis of depression before her medical team realised it was actually bipolar disorder. “It has always been depression. I was diagnosed from CAMHS, the Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service. But it was when I was 20 — I got transferred to the adult services because of COVID — they were reviewing all my stuff, they did their own assessment, and they came up with a diagnosis of bipolar type 2,” she explains.
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