The ‘Celebrating Rotary’ conference, organised by Rotarians in the South of England, provided a series on informative talks on what it is like to live with bipolar.
The event, done in the light of Rotary Great Britain and Ireland’s recent partnership with Bipolar UK, was held at the G Live arts centre in Guilford, Surrey and was hosted by Roger Stent of Titsey and District Rotary.
Over one million people in UK live with bipolar, with it taking almost ten years to obtain a diagnosis and 36% of people attempting suicide because of the delay.
Rotary Great Britain and Ireland’s aim for their partnership with Bipolar UK is to enable them to support 20% more people within the first year and reduce diagnosis time.
Professor Judith Pratt, an experienced neuroscientist and member of Rotary Club of Cuckfield, Lindfield and Haywards Heath, kicked off the conference by emphasising the importance of understanding mental health conditions as much as physical ones.
Judith pointed out how in particular bipolar disorder is often under-represented, misunderstood and misdiagnosed.
Rotary Great Britain & Ireland representatives at the reception for the parliamentary launch of The Bipolar Commission Report.
Simon Kitchen, the CEO of Bipolar UK, then took to the stage to share some insightful information about bipolar and the amazing work Bipolar UK have been doing to support those with the disorder.
Also discussed by Simon was the launch of The Bipolar Commission Report at The Houses of Parliament, where attendees pledged ‘I support quicker diagnosis and specialist treatment and support for everyone with bipolar’.
The parliamentary reception to launch The Bipolar Commission Report was attended by several Rotarians, including Rotary International Director Nicki Scott.
Simon also encouraged all the delegates at the conference to score their mood on the Bipolar UK ‘Mood Scale’, an app being distributed by Bipolar UK that you can find out more about here.
Finally, Bipolar UK ambassador and renowned songwriter Nicky Chinn gave the audience a moving speech about his experience living with bipolar during the time in which talking about the disorder was widely stigmatised.
World Bipolar Day is celebrated on 30th of March and you can sign up to Bipolar UK’s free conference here.
