The SANE Blog

Bipolar disorder causes people to experience intense mood swings – from manic highs to depressive lows. Not everyone experiences bipolar the same way, however, it is estimated that at least 75 per cent of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder will relapse, even when following a treatment plan. 

In bipolar disorder, a relapse is defined as the return of depression or a manic or hypomanic episode after a period of wellness. Sometimes it is possible to predict a relapse; often it is not. For many, the onset of a relapse seems to come out of the blue.

Bipolar disorder involves periods of manic highs and depressive lows. No two people are the same and experiences ­– the length and intensity of the highs and the presence of depression – differ from person to person.

Bipolar affects more people than you think. As many as one in 50 people will experience it at some stage in their life. Yet, despite this prevalence it's common for people to make inaccurate assumptions about the disorder.

Physical health is important for people living with a mental illness. Not only does it help reduce the risk of physical illness, it's also a good way to engage with others, get out in to the community and get the endorphins pumping.

SANE Peer Ambassador Ceris is a passionate advocate for using exercise as a way to help manage mental health symptoms, so we asked her 'can exercise be a form of medicine?'.

There was a girl. Her brain was set alight with the burn of silent agony but a smile was seared on her lips.

She was drowning, lost in a sea of confusion and distress. The waves of emotion washed her closer and closer to the shore of death, but she fought. Every day her mind and body grew weaker, her defences bruised and battered.

But she fought.

Schizoaffective disorder is a psychiatric condition, combining the symptoms of schizophrenia and mood disorders (bipolar or depression). These symptoms – hallucinations, delusions, psychosis and episodes of mania or depression – can occur together or at different times.

I'm an artist, speaker, writer, teacher, wife, mum and founder of The Heartworks Creative.

I use every one of my bipolar brain cells, experiences and talents to assist and empower others on their own personal mental health recovery journey.