In this blog, Amelia Talbot shares her personal experience of living with bipolar disorder and offers thoughtful reflections on how workplaces can better support colleagues with mental health conditions.
I live with bipolar disorder (previously manic depression), a serious mental health condition where mood can swing from major depression to either hypomania or mania (a state of elevated mood). According to BipolarUK, 1.3 million people or one in fifty people in the UK have bipolar. It is one of the UK's most common long-term conditions, with almost as many people living with bipolar as cancer (2.4%).
While relatively common, bipolar is heavily stigmatised. A 2025 survey of 862 people living with bipolar found that 84% believed society does not understand what it is really like to live with the condition, and 85% said that stigma had negatively impacted how they see themselves and their abilities. For me, I believe the stigma is not a result of people being deliberately ignorant but more about them genuinely not knowing or understanding the condition. Some people's ideas about bipolar may come from unintentionally harmful idioms that have passed down over time and become normalised in everyday language or dramatic portrayals in films or TV shows.
That is why, when in the Mental Health First Aiders team meeting, we mentioned including psychoeducation in the wellbeing newsletters, I jumped at the chance. It felt like an opportunity to help break down a few stereotypes and show that people with bipolar are actually just like anyone else.
Stereotype One: People with bipolar switch from sad to happy in a matter of minutes.
Reality: Episodes of depression or (hypo)mania can last days, weeks, or even longer. Rapid changes in mood are more often linked to other conditions like borderline personality disorder. People with bipolar can also experience periods of normal mood between mood episodes.
Stereotype Two: Bipolar II is just the easier or milder version of bipolar.
Bipolar disorder may refer to type I or II. Bipolar II includes hypomania over mania. While mania can include psychosis and a complete loss of judgement, depression in bipolar II can be more frequent, longer-lasting, and severe than in bipolar I. Bipolar II can be harder to diagnose because hypomania can be mistaken for recovery from depression. Both types can have a severe impact on quality of life.
Stereotype Three: Psychosis is a core feature of bipolar.
Reality: Psychosis can be part of bipolar, but it is not required for a diagnosis. It's more common in bipolar I than in bipolar II. Psychosis usually occurs during severe episodes of depression or mania.
Stereotype Four: People with bipolar are dangerous. Reality: While increased irritability or anger can happen during manic or depressive episodes, a 2010 study found that people with bipolar are no more likely to be violent than anyone else unless they abuse drugs or alcohol.
Stereotype Five: People with bipolar cannot hold down a job.
Reality: While it's true that work can bring stress and that stress can be a trigger for some people with bipolar, that does not mean we cannot work. In fact, many people with bipolar bring unique strengths to the workplace. For me, empathy is one of those strengths. It's been incredibly valuable in my research on addiction or serious mental health conditions; I have a more intimate understanding of people's experiences and am able to notice things in the data that people without lived experience may not.
This leads me to a final thought: what can we do to better support colleagues with bipolar in our department?
Here are two simple tips:
- For managers: Create a wellness action plan together. This could include a plan for what to do if the person experiences a crisis, reasonable adjustments, and signs that they are becoming unwell. For example, taking on too much could be a sign of hypomania.
- For workplace culture: If someone shows signs of hypomania, like talking quickly or interrupting, try not to assume they are being rude or difficult. If someone seems low, offer something simple like a walk through University Parks or a cup of tea. Then make a plan together to check in later that day or over the next couple of days.
Helpful links and resources:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/bipolar-disorder/
https://hubofhope.co.uk/?utm_source=mind_website&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=bipolar-disorder
https://www.hearing-voices.org/#content