Latest news with #bipolar
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bereaved Clacton mum praises Blumenthal for bipolar film
A bereaved mother who took part in Heston Blumenthal's documentary about bipolar disorder has praised the "super brave" celebrity chef for wanting to end the stigma on mental opened up about his illness and spoke to others about their experience for the BBC film, My Life with them was Natalie McClellan, whose 24-year-old daughter Rebecca had bipolar and died in Ipswich in November 2023."If Heston can say 'I have bipolar but look at what I'm achieving, you can live a fulfilling life', it might change perspectives on mental illness," said Ms McClellan. "He is super brave to do it; he has really put himself out there to help others."I try to do the same, but none of its easy."Since Rebecca's death, Ms McClellan has campaigned for improved mental health provision that could have helped her daughter, who she said felt "abandoned". She shared her story with Blumenthal over several hours at her home in Clacton-on Sea, emotional experience helped them both, she said, particularly as Rebecca and Blumenthal had much in even transpired that he had gone into hospital for his condition when Rebecca died."They had the same sorts of visual disturbances, he's got ADHD and she was awaiting a diagnosis," she said."I showed him videos of her, photos, and one video in particular where she says 'my bipolar is popping'."He said 'that's exactly how it is', I think he found that emotional." The chef also became upset when talking about the impact of his bipolar disorder on his family - an experience that rang true for Ms McClellan."Rebecca didn't always tell us [how she felt], she would mask because she was worried about the effect it would have on us," she said."You just want your loved ones to be well and know what's going on, obviously I would rather worry every day but still have her here."Heston was quite open, he feels he has hurt his family and she [Rebecca] would be the same." The trainee paramedic was left with no GP or psychiatrist when she moved to Ipswich for work, her mother previously told the August 2023, she drove to a mental health unit and begged for help and said she was willing to drive anywhere in Norfolk and Suffolk to see someone, but staff told her to leave and threatened to call police. 'Not complacent' In the film, Blumenthal is shown Rebecca's mobile footage of the incident, which he described as "absolutely shocking"."Since we lost Bex it's been really important for me to push for changes in mental health and the support people get," added Ms McClellan."I will keep going and keep going for people who are suffering in the way she suffered, but it's not easy, it's only been 18 months [since her death] and it's still very raw."The reason Heston was speaking out was he wants to end the stigma. "It's so important to me that I'm part of that message."I was honoured and proud to be part of that process, and I hope he feels proud, too."Rebecca was under the care of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), which was in special measures for several years until January this March it completed a review into the circumstances of her death. A date for an inquest has not been chief Caroline Donovan, who joined in autumn 2023, said it had made "considerable progress" in its work to learn from deaths of patients and thanked Ms McClellan and other families for their "invaluable challenge and support"."We are not complacent and know we have much more to do to transform our services so that everyone receives safer, kinder and better services from us when they need them," she My Life with Bipolar is available on BBC iplayerIf you are affected by any of the issues in this article you can find details of organisations that can help via BBC Action Line. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Times
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Heston: My Life with Bipolar review — a frank account of his breakdown
In 2004 I interviewed Heston Blumenthal at his Fat Duck restaurant on the back of one of his brilliant ideas that some less enlightened souls might have called bonkers. He wanted patrons to put on headphones and listen to their own slurps and crunches as they chowed down on the Berkshire establishment's fabled dishes of snail porridge, and egg and bacon ice cream. While it was more fun than it sounds, I had no idea that behind this hugely likeable, dazzlingly imaginative and energetic success story lurked an array of problems that in November 2023 had him sectioned. To those who knew him better, however, his ADHD and bipolar diagnoses were less of a shock. Heston: My Life with Bipolar (BBC2) may have been yet another of those emotional journey films, but it was an unusually powerful and important one. Honesty is a prerequisite but, Blumenthal being Blumenthal, he took emotional frankness to a more extreme — you could say snail porridge — level, even playing himself in a reconstruction of the moment when he was injected with a 'whacking great syringe' and carted off to a psychiatric unit. • Read more TV reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews His inner circle, including his wife, Melanie, and the former Fat Duck head chef Garrey Dawson, spoke compassionately about his breakdown. Dawson recalled the moment when Blumenthal imagined that he could speak telepathically to his slobbery bulldog, Harry. Blumenthal is now heavily medicated, something that has added pounds, slowed his speech to a drowsy murmur and left him with a lingering terror that his creativity might be compromised. Yet this was no self-pitying wallow, more a determinedly bracing quest for understanding. He also wanted to make amends, notably with his chef son, Jack, who spoke on camera for the first time about growing up with a dad who was almost entirely self-absorbed and offered no sense that he 'gave a shit'. Their reconciliation was beautiful. Another sequence had Blumenthal looking back on a TV interview in which he barely stopped speaking for half an hour, his mind firing off like a Catherine wheel on every conceivable subject except the one they were meant to discuss (robots in kitchens, since you ask). The artist Sarah Graham, who also has bipolar disorder and was one of many excellent and engaging talking heads, was able to laugh about making a friendship bracelet for Vladimir Putin during a mental health episode; Blumenthal, for his part, thought he could single-handedly solve the world's water crisis. These lighter moments were important in a film with many dark ones, most notably the heart-rending chat with the mother of a vibrant young woman with bipolar who took her own life. Like many campaigning programmes, this didn't have a clear set of goals beyond the obvious one that we need to give more support to those who have a condition that affects more people in this country than dementia. The great chef clearly feels lucky to have had the means and loving support to come through. 'The peaks of my manic highs have shrunk and the depths of the lows have risen, but I am still Heston,' he said. Long may that be the case. Vive le chef. Vive le snail porridge.★★★★☆
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
My Adult Daughter Made A Devastating Decision — And I Know Other Parents Can Relate
Dear Family Beef, [My] bipolar adult daughter who may also have narcissistic personality disorder has announced that she's cutting off all contact with her wonderful parents (as I would describe us) which means also cutting off contact with grandchildren. I have reached out and spoken to a therapist about this situation and have been told there's nothing that can be done. Do you agree? Cut Off & Crushed Dear Cut Off, First off, I do want to take a minute to acknowledge that the situation you're in must be incredibly difficult for you. To have someone you love decide they don't want to continue being in contact is hard enough without having to miss your grandkids, too. Thefact that you took the step of seeing a therapist suggests that you're relatively receptive to mental health care and maybe even want to work on this relationship on your end — that's not something that can be said for every family! But, that said, I'm going to give you a little bit of tough love, along with some moral support and advice from experts. A recurring theme we're going to find in these columns is that multiple things can be (and are) true at once. That means that while you can be a person who values the connection you have with your daughter and her children, and you're hurting, there can also be a world in which her choice makes sense (and most importantly, it makes sense toher). First, you need to understand that the choice to cut off contact with a loved one is rarely an easy one —and in cases where both parties want connection and reconciliation, it can also be a temporary one. Especially when someone is working with a therapist, the decision is usually made after trying out nearly every other option and approach to ask for a change in the relationship. Think about when you have a long argument with someone and need to walk away for a minute because you're repeating yourself and they aren't getting it, and it feels like there's nothing productive either of you can say. It can be a lot like that. 'It's often the result of deep reflection, countless conversations and many attempts to communicate with care and compassion,' Saba Harouni Lurie, owner and founder of Take Root Therapy, told HuffPost. 'The clients I've worked with who ultimately decide to go no contact typically do so only after trying to approach their family members from every possible angle. They've expressed their needs, set boundaries and opened themselves up in hopes of repair — only to feel repeatedly dismissed, hurt and disempowered. They're not looking to sever ties; in fact, most desperately want the relationship to be different. But after exhausting their efforts, they come to recognize that they cannot change how their family relates to them, and staying in the dynamic causes more harm than good.' Odds are, at least from your daughter's perspective, this could be another attempt to ask you for a change in how you meet each other in your relationship— and she is very likely devastated, too. There might have been a series of conflicts about the same recurring issues leading up to this decision. In some cases, there's emotional or physical abuse or trauma at the core of the decision — either from a family member or because they felt their family didn't protect and support them during that time. 'For these clients, continued contact can become a source of re-traumatization, especially when those responsible can't take accountability or even acknowledge the harm,' Harouni Lurie said. 'It becomes too painful and damaging to remain in [a] relationship with people who haven't been able to show them the care they need. Choosing to go no contact, in these situations, is not about punishment or revenge, but it's an act of self-preservation and protection.' We are working with minimal intel here with the brevity in your note, but what stood out to me (and the experts I spoke with) was the phrasing out of the gate: 'Bipolar adult daughter who may also have narcissistic personality disorder' as the way to refer to your adult child, and only 'wonderful parents' to describe yourselves. To an outside listener, these descriptors feel a little bit like you're dismissing her concerns (whatever they are) because of the diagnoses she may or may not have. And, in the least charitable light, this could hint that you aren't really in a place to take accountability for your part in the story or your own behavior, and that maybe you're not ready to be open and curious to address the heart of the conflict with your daughter. We, as adults, can all admit there are things we've done that we regret: words we've said that weren't as kind or loving as we'd want them to be, and decisions we would take back if given the chance. I can't imagine, no matter how 'wonderful' you consider yourself to be as a parent, that you don't also have those moments. And I can't see a world where her opinions about the way she was raised or the way you speak to her don't matter. 'I know that parents try their best and love their children, but the fact is that we all make mistakes,' said Shay Dubois, a trauma therapist and clinical social worker at Overcome Anxiety & Trauma with Shay. 'One important part is to own their part in the situation. To start from a place of love and want of connection. It is also important to talk with a professional to work through the frustration, anger and grief. It is a huge loss.' Especially for grandparents, processing and acknowledging this grief is crucial in being able to take on the next part of your journey — whatever it ultimately is. My hope is there are ways you can reassure your grandchildren of your love without violating their mother's boundaries. And, of course, you're still worthy of love, support and connection, even if you're in conflict with the people you love most. 'In the case of grandparents, the pain can be especially deep. When a family member goes no contact, particularly when it involves both a parent and a child, it can feel like multiple losses all at once,' Harouni Lurie said. 'These types of losses can be heartbreaking and disorienting. It is painful to feel shut out of your family, especially when you do not feel you had a say in what happened. I would encourage grandparents in this position to allow themselves to grieve and to offer themselves as much compassion as they can.' You are allowed to be hurt and frustrated and angry when you're in conflict, and you can absolutely have those feelings about this situation. It's OK to be baffled and confused, because you don't live in your daughter's head or have her lived experience and don't 'get' it. But saying those feelings are allowed to exist (to be felt and understood by you, the person feeling them) is not the same as saying those feelings should be prioritized over your daughter's feelings, or externalized at her in a toxic way that goes against whatever boundaries she's given you. 'It is OK if the feelings are messy. Therapy can be a helpful space to process these emotions, to receive support and to begin exploring the relationship from different perspectives,' Harouni Lurie said. 'Sometimes this leads to new insight, and sometimes it simply helps someone make peace with what is beyond their control.' Now, to go back to your question: Is there really nothing you can do? The answer is both yes and no. There is nothing you can do to debate, berate or negotiate her out of her decision or her feelings. You cannot make someone talk to you, see you or otherwise want to be close to you when they don't through sheer force of will. There's no convincing someone that they weren't actually hurt or that their hurts aren't that bad. 'It's true that you can't make someone be in relationship with you if they've chosen not to be,' Harouni Lurie said. 'Trying to force contact or dismiss their decision will likely reinforce the reasons they felt the need to step away in the first place. So in that sense, yes, there may be 'nothing you can do' to change their mind and engage again. But that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do at all.' There are things you, a person with agency and love for your family, can do. And your first step of getting in touch with a therapist to talk about this, as you mentioned in your note, is huge. Having a professional third party outside of you and your family as a trustworthy sounding board can do a lot to help prevent miscommunication and further strife. And for anyone who is therapy-skeptical: A therapist will never tell you what to do, but will help you learn some strategies for understanding your own feelings, communicating them and figuring out what steps might help you work toward the outcome you want. That may include advice on how to send a communication that could open the door to reconciling. Assuming that your daughter is working on her side of street to advocate for herself and figure out how a relationship with you could work, it could be an opportunity to meet her in the middle. Is there an opportunity here for you to grow in this silence, too? Is there work you can put in now to honor and regulate your emotions and practice empathy (it's a muscle, baby!) and kindness for both yourself and your daughter? How can you, if you are able to pick up this conversation with your daughter again, do it in a more effective, loving way? 'Respecting the other person's boundaries doesn't mean silencing your own experience. It's possible to honor their needs while also tending to your own pain and doing the work of self-reflection,' Harouni Lurie said. 'That might involve therapy, journaling, talking with trusted loved ones, or just allowing the necessary space. ... On a practical level, it can be helpful to lean on tools that support regulation. That might look like taking walks, spending time in nature, journaling, or talking with people who are safe and supportive. Writing letters that you do not intend to send can be a meaningful way to move through strong emotions and to put words to the pain.' There's a lot that you can do. If you are unwilling to make any changes in how you approach the dynamic with your child — to consider what conditions you both need to feel love and respected, and to acknowledge her feelings with love (even if they don't paint you in a particularly wonderful light), among other things — then you could remain at this impasse for some time. And there might, in fact, be nothing you can do. After I Cut Off Contact From My Mother, I Was Shocked By The Brutal Move My Sisters Made I Haven't Spoken To My Family In Years. People Think I'm A Monster — Here's The Truth. Here's What Therapists Would Tell People Considering Severing Ties With Family Over Politics
WebMD
13-06-2025
- Health
- WebMD
This Is What Psychosis Is Really Like
At the age of 48 – with no previous history of mental health symptoms – I was diagnosed with bipolar I with psychotic features. It was a life-altering moment. Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that involves significant changes in mood, energy, and behavior. Bipolar I is characterized by manic episodes, which involve abnormally elevated mood, risky behaviors, and impulsive behavior. These "high" mood episodes often (but not always) alternate with depressive episodes, which are periods of low mood, lack of motivation, and difficulty concentrating. Bipolar disorder may also involve psychosis. This is most common during manic episodes but can happen during depressive episodes, too. More than half of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder also experience psychosis at some point. What is Psychosis? Psychosis occurs when a person loses touch with reality. Common symptoms include delusions (unusual beliefs), hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not real), paranoia (believing others are out to get you), and disorganized thoughts or behaviors. For me, psychosis showed up powerfully and suddenly. Here's what it was like. Delusions: I Was Convinced I Was Comatose Delusions are fixed, false beliefs that are not based on reality. Even when there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the delusion remains. One of my delusions was that I was in a coma. I went to the emergency room looking for answers. While in the ER, doctors conducted several neurological tests, including the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and a CT scan. They wanted to rule out other brain issues for what I was experiencing, as psychiatric disorders usually appear earlier in life. The doctors told me that I was not in a coma, but I would not accept this answer. I refused to believe them. They went over all of the neurological tests that they had conducted. Despite the results of these tests, I continued to believe that I was in a coma. Because I was so disconnected from reality, the doctors admitted me to inpatient psych. Paranoia: I Thought They Were Spying on Me Along with delusions, I frequently had paranoia during mood episodes. I believed that I was the subject of a secret research study and that my doctors were in on it. I thought that they were spying on me at my home. So I would call my doctors, accusing them of installing hidden cameras in my house. Disorganized Thoughts and Behavior During psychotic episodes, my thoughts were very disorganized and didn't make any sense. I also had disorganized behavior, and I would make decisions based on delusions. For example, when I thought my doctors were spying on me, I bought numerous cameras to catch them in the act. The cameras sit – unopened – in my garage to this day! Anxiety Though anxiety isn't listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as a symptom of psychosis, it was a part of my experience. Delusions, in particular, can be extremely disorientating and frightening. You're terrified and confused, especially when reality does not match up with your internal beliefs and thoughts. For me, this resulted in panic. People often portray psychosis as something that can't get better. That's not true. For me, the right treatment – medication and therapy – has made a huge difference.
WebMD
30-05-2025
- General
- WebMD
Faith, God, and Dopamine
During my most severe manic episode, I became fixated on questions of spirituality and religion. I was a frequent visitor to a Buddhist temple near our house, and I began to revisit the Catholic faith of my youth. I even started entertaining thoughts that I might be a prophet or messiah. Interesting, given that I've been an atheist and a skeptic of all things spiritual my entire adult life. In the U.S., it's estimated that 15% to 22% of bipolar individuals with mania experience religious delusions, such as thinking that demons are watching them or that they are Christ reborn, according to a review of studies on the frequency of religious delusions in people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other severe mental disorders in the Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo). Short of delusions, hyperreligiosity can be hard to identify among those actively practicing a faith. Many people turn to the comfort of their faith to help them through trying times, so an uptick in religious thought and activity can be viewed by family, friends, and even mental health providers as a normal response to one's illness. It's only when behavior falls outside of social norms that it becomes concerning. Kanye West is arguably an example of this difficulty playing out against the backdrop of artistry and fame. Kanye's public on-again, off-again approach to medication for treating his bipolar disorder has been linked to erratic behavior. While he has referenced God and Jesus throughout his career, his adoption of the nickname 'Yeezus,' statements about his single 'I Am A God,' and leading of public and private worship services have been alternately interpreted as a 'God complex,' an artistic device, or an evolution of his personal faith. So there I was. An atheist turned dime-store Yeezus. What was going on? A clue lies in reports of patients dealing with a very different type of neurological disorder: Parkinson's disease. People with Parkinson's disease experience a degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in certain prefrontal circuits. Because mania is associated with excess dopamine production in those same circuits, it's compelling to think that dopamine may be the fuel for religiosity in the brain. It also explains why, when my dopamine levels were curbed with antipsychotic medications, my hyperreligiosity was, too.[1] In my Roman Catholic boyhood, I had to choose a confirmation name based on a saint with whom I felt some affinity. I chose Saint Paul because he was smart, stubborn, and hard to win over. He only converted to Christianity after being struck temporarily blind by a bright heavenly light. Something about a saint who was a nonbeliever until God smacked him in the face resonated with me. I don't consider myself anti-religious, and I don't see religion and science as inherently at odds with one another. I think that science can elucidate the physiological mechanisms by which our brains work, regardless of whether you see the hand of God working through those mechanisms or not.
