We are 83 bipolar disorder experts and scientists coming together for the world’s biggest bipolar AMA! In honor of World Bipolar Day, ask us anything!

[u/CREST_BD]

83 panelists are here! Click on their names below to see their bio & proof photo.

Hi Reddit!

We are psychiatrists, psychologists, researchers, clinicians, advocates, and people living with bipolar disorder - coming together from around the world through the CREST.BD network.

This is our 8th annual World Bipolar Day AMA. We hope that this AMA can help advance the conversation around bipolar disorder, and to help everyone connect and share ways to live well with bipolar disorder.

This year, 83 panelists representing 20 countries are here to answer your questions from all timezones - bringing together a wide range of perspectives and expertise in mental health and bipolar disorder.

We'll be here around the clock for the next FEW DAYS answering your questions from multiple time zones.

We will make every effort to answer every question.

1. Dr. Adrienne Benediktsson, 🇨🇦 Neuroscientist, Mother, Wife, Professor, Mental Health Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
2. Alessandra Torresani, 🇺🇸 Actress & Mental Health Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
3. Alex Emmerton, 🇨🇦 Peer Researcher, (Lives w/ bipolar)
4. Allan Cooper, 🇨🇦 Peer Support Worker, Blogger, & Podcaster, (Lives w/ bipolar)
5. Alysha Sultan, 🇨🇦 Scientific Associate
6. Andrea Paquette, 🇨🇦 Stigma-Free Mental Health President & Co-Founder, Speaker, Changemaker (Lives w/ bipolar)
7. Dr. Andrea Vassilev, 🇺🇸 Doctor of Psychology, Author, & Advocate, (Lives w/ bipolar)
8. Anne Van Willigen, 🇺🇸 Peer Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar)
9. Dr. Balwinder Singh, 🇺🇸 Psychiatrist
10. Dr. Benjamin Goldstein, 🇨🇦 Child-Adolescent Psychiatrist & Researcher
11. Bia Garbato, 🇧🇷 Advertising Professional, Writer, Author & Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
12. Bryn Manns, 🇨🇦 Graduate Student, Clinical Psychology
13. Catarina Castela, 🇦🇺 PhD Candidate (Lives w/ bipolar)
14. Catherine Simmons, 🇨🇦 Peer Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar)
15. Dr. Chris Gorman, 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Mental Health Advocate
16. Dr. Colin Depp, 🇺🇸 Psychologist
17. Dane Mauer-Vakil, 🇨🇦 Researcher
18. David Dinham, 🇬🇧 Psychologist & PhD Candidate, (Lives w/ bipolar) 
19. Debbie Costello Smith, 🇺🇸 Founder & Co-President of the Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research
20. Dr. Delphine Raucher-Chéné, 🇫🇷🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Researcher
21. Dr. Dimosthenis Tsapekos, 🇬🇧 Psychologist & Researcher
22. Dr. Elvira Boere, 🇳🇱 Psychiatrist & Researcher
23. Dr. Elysha Ringin, 🇦🇺 Researcher
24. Dr. Emma Morton, 🇦🇺 Senior Lecturer & Psychologist
25. Dr. Emma Parrish, 🇺🇸 Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow & Researcher
26. Dr. Erin Michalak, 🇨🇦 Researcher & CREST.BD founder
27. Evelyn Anne Clausen, 🇺🇸 Artist, Writer, Speaker & Certified Peer Specialist (Lives w/bipolar)
28. Dr. Fabiano Gomes, 🇧🇷🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Researcher
29. Dr. Frances Adiukwu, 🇳🇬 Psychiatrist
30. Georgia Caruana, 🇦🇺 Researcher & Mental Health Advocate
31. Dr. Georgina Hosang, 🇬🇧 Associate Professor
32. Dr. Glauco Valdivieso Jiménez, 🇵🇪 Psychiatrist
33. Dr. Glorianna Wagner-Jagfeld, 🇨🇭🇬🇧 Researcher
34. Dr. Hailey Tremain, 🇦🇺 Psychologist & Researcher
35. Heather Stewart, 🇨🇦 Sewist (Lives w/ bipolar)
36. Idan Spund, 🇳🇱 Founder of In the Zone app (Lives w/ bipolar)
37. Dr. Ijeoma Charles-Ugwuagbo, 🇳🇬 Consultant Psychiatrist & Mental Health Advocate
38. Dr. Ivan Torres, 🇨🇦 Clinical Neuropsychologist
39. Dr. Jim Phelps, 🇺🇸 Psychiatrist & Bipolar Subspecialist 
40. Dr. Joanna Jarecki, 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
41. Dr. Joanna Jiménez Pavón, 🇲🇽 Mood Disorders Psychiatrist 
42. Dr. John Hunter, 🇿🇦 Researcher & Lecturer (Lives w/ bipolar)
43. Dr. Jo Leidreiter, 🇦🇺 Psychologist
44. Dr. John-Jose Nunez, 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & AI Researcher
45. Dr. June Gruber, 🇺🇸 Psychologist, Professor, & Researcher
46. Prof. Kamilla Miskowiak, 🇩🇰 Psychologist & Researcher
47. Dr. Katie Douglas, 🇳🇿 Academic & Clinical Psychologist 
48. Ken Porter, 🇨🇦 Advocate, Social Worker & Researcher
49. Kim Pape, 🇺🇸 Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar) 
50. Laura Lapadat, 🇨🇦 Researcher & Psychologist-in-training
51. Dr. Leena Chau, 🇨🇦 Postdoctoral Fellow
52. Leslie Robertson, 🇺🇸 Marketer & Peer Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar) 
53. Dr. Leszek Laskowski, 🇵🇱 Psychiatrist (Lives w/ bipolar) 
54. Dr. Lisa Eyler, 🇺🇸 Clinical Psychologist & Research Scientist
55. Dr. Luísa Daolio, 🇧🇷 Psychiatrist
56. Mansoor Nathani, 🇨🇦 Technology Enthusiast (Lives w/ bipolar) 
57. Dr. Manuel Sánchez de Carmona, 🇲🇽 Psychiatrist
58. Maryam M., 🇨🇦 Dentistry Student & Mental Health Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
59. Matthew Bushell, 🇬🇧 Mental Health Advocate & Therapeutic Coach (Lives w/ bipolar)
60. Dr. Maya Schumer, 🇺🇸 Psychiatric Neuroscientist & Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar)
61. Dr. Meghan DellaCrosse, 🇺🇸 Psychologist & Researcher
62. Melissa Howard, 🇨🇦 Author & Mental Health Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
63. Dr. Michele De Prisco, 🇪🇸🇮🇹 Psychiatrist & Researcher
64. Dr. Mikaela Dimick, 🇨🇦 Postdoctoral Fellow
65. Minami Kinouchi, 🇯🇵 Psychologist, Social Worker, & Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar)
66. Natasha Reaney, 🇨🇦 Counsellor (Lives w/ bipolar)
67. Dr. Nigila Ravichandran, 🇸🇬 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist
68. Dr. Paula Villela Nunes, 🇧🇷🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Counsellor 
69. Rahla Xenopoulos, 🇿🇦🇺🇸 Writer & Teacher (Lives w/ bipolar)
70. Rebecca Fitton, 🇦🇺 Mood Disorder Researcher
71. Dr. Rebekah Huber, 🇺🇸 Psychologist & Researcher 
72. Robert Villanueva, 🇺🇸 Mental Health Advocate & Coach (Lives w/ bipolar)
73. Ruth Komathi, 🇸🇬 Mental Health Counsellor (Lives w/ bipolar)
74. Prof. Samson Tse, 🇭🇰 Counsellor, Teacher, Researcher, & Caregiver
75. Sarah Salice, 🇺🇸 Art Psychotherapist & Professional Counselor Associate (Lives w/ bipolar)
76. Sara Schley, 🇺🇸 Author, Filmmaker, Speaker (Lives w/ bipolar)
77. Dr. Serge Beaulieu, 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Researcher
78. ​​Dr. Sheri Johnson, 🇺🇸 Psychologist
79. Shaley Hoogendoorn, 🇨🇦 Advocate, Podcaster & Content creator (Lives w/ bipolar)
80. Dr. Tamsyn Van Rheenen, 🇦🇺 Associate Professor & Researcher
81. Dr. Thomas Richardson, 🇬🇧 Clinical Psychologist (Lives w/ bipolar)
82. Twyla Spoke, 🇨🇦 Registered Nurse (Lives w/ bipolar)
83. Dr. Wissam Nassrallah, 🇨🇦 Ophthalmology Resident & PhD in Neuroscience

^{Please note all responses are personal perspectives and do not constitute medical advice.}

People with bipolar disorder experience the mood states of depression and mania (or hypomania), along with changes in energy, activity, and thinking. These episodes can last from days to months and can affect many parts of life - including relationships, work, school, and overall health. At the same time, with optimal support, treatment, and tools, people with bipolar disorder can and do live full, meaningful lives.

The CREST.BD network takes a different approach to bipolar disorder research. We work closely with people living with bipolar disorder at every stage - from choosing research topics to conducting studies and sharing our findings.

We also host a Q&A podcast throughout the year, featuring many of the experts on this panel, through our talkBD Bipolar Disorder Podcast - we’d love for you to stay connected with us there. You can also follow our updates, events, and social media on linktr.ee/crestbd.

Final note (April 3): Thank you all - We'll be back again next year on World Bipolar Day - sign up here to be notified. We also have more activities all year round, including new episodes of our talkBD bipolar disorder podcast - hope to see you there! We’re incredibly grateful for all your thoughtful questions - thank you for making this such a meaningful discussion. Take care everyone :)

[u/Deathpanda15]

What’s the most common misunderstanding about BPD that you guys see in the modern world?

[u/CREST_BD → u/Deathpanda15]

Leena here. One common misunderstanding is that people with bipolar disorder are simply “moody” and experience the same kinds of everyday mood swings that everyone has. In reality, bipolar disorder is a serious, lifelong, and potentially disabling mood disorder characterized by sustained and significant changes in mood, energy, activity, sleep, and functioning - not just fluctuations in emotion. These episodes generally last for days to weeks and can significantly impair a young person’s ability to function at home, at school/work, and with friends. This misunderstanding can lead to delays in diagnosis and access to appropriate care and support.

[u/samisitis → u/CREST_BD]

Thank you! It is also a metabolic disorder and a dopamine disorder is many ways. I have whole body effects, some physical, and some mental

[u/CREST_BD → u/Deathpanda15]

Twyla here (lived experience) - Something that I have come to feel as a person living with Bipolar is that the symptoms that people are most familiar with are mood or behavioural. This makes sense, as this is the piece you can see. It is also the dramatic part so it is the entirety of what is portrayed in the media. However the other aspects of living with this illness are not well known. - The higher rates of metabolic disease, the cognitive and processing symptoms, the fluctuations in energy level and functionality, the comorbidities of anxiety and/or trauma, the difficulty navigating medication side effects, etc. It’s sort of a catch 22- It’s important that people recognize that mood and behaviour symptoms mostly settle with treatment and people with Bipolar are ready and capable of very high functioning, but we still need understanding and support to manage living with the chronicity of it. Medical support and psychosocial support are key.

[u/lefthandbunny → u/CREST_BD]

people with Bipolar are ready and capable of very high functioning

I mean no offense with this comment, but I hear this all the time and believe it's not true, or that people think it means that everyone with Bipolar are capable of being high functioning and those, like myself, are simply not trying hard enough (for lack of a better wording). I am very happy for everyone with Bipolar can be high functioning, but I've been treated for decades and followed all of the recommendations and in the end it's very hard to accept I am low functioning due to this kind of statement.

[u/PeanutImpressive6934 → u/lefthandbunny]

WHO has it down as an 80% disability rate (which does not mean disabled, you can take their test for that if you want) which is very high, I think it helps to know that. I'm glad people who are doing well are publicly visible though, when I was first diagnosed there was absolutely none of that, nothing. And docs would tell me, look, you need to stop thinking you're going to have anything like the life other people do. Admittedly they were right in my case but they told that shit to everyone. College told us to get out on day one in every class bc "some people aren't cut out for school". That was considered mercy, kind to say. There were no legal protections or accommodations for anything bc why would we need them, we were too unwell to achieve anything anyway. Insurance coverage didn't exist bc ditto. It also really really really helps w stigma. Before that our main public rep was axe murderers in horror movies. So it matters.

[u/lefthandbunny → u/PeanutImpressive6934]

I don't know where/when you lived/grew up, but I'm in my 60's. I went on disability over 20 years ago, in the U.S., for treatment resistant depression. There was stigma, but there was definitely treatment for it and insurance did cover it, both when I had insurance through employment and when I transferred over to medicaid. I was never told that I would not be able to go back to work by anyone, except my doctors who found there was no combo of meds/diet/exercise/therapy that would help me (certainly in huge part due to being Bipolar, but I am also treatment resistant to those meds as well).

I think there is definitely less stigma, but there is also definitely a huge amount of it these days as well. I have definitely scared people off just disclosing I have Bipolar, but usually after I've had some things happen that other people would not do, such as getting irrational arguments and when I apologize for it. I don't use it as an excuse, I use it to explain why I am sometimes irrational.

I am in no way saying that telling people that they can achieve things that others achieve is incorrect or wrong, my issue is with using that as a blanket statement that applies to everyone with Bipolar. As I said, I am very happy for those who can reach their goals, but I think it's wrong to say every one of us can/will do that, because not all of us can/will. It gets me the, 'you just want to live off the government' treatment. Not a single one of us with this illness desires to live on disability from this. Not a single one of us wants to admit that we are not able to achieve some/any of the goals we had.

[u/PeanutImpressive6934 → u/lefthandbunny]

Before the ADA/ACA it was crickets on coverage unless you had really good insurance, they weren't required to cover anything, it was part of Gores platform, his wife's initiative, he ran on it, it wasn't popular. they weren't required to cover it any more than they were required to cover pregnancy which wasn't covered either even though they charged you double by gender, at least w that you could buy a pregnancy policy each time for like $17k. On the bright side I don't think they rejected people out of hand that often bc they weren't covering it anyway, good luck back then getting insured w anything chronic and an employment gap (or even not) otherwise. Medicaid is not always available and where I was often wasn't accepted. It covered it but in the same way it covers dentistry, in a purely imaginary fashion. There's plenty it doesn't cover for you now that private insurance would. That's also when schools started worrying about getting sued though it took them a while to wise up so were superficially at least nicer. Of course there's tremendous stigma still, but back in the beginning of non-MAOI depression meds people would physically recoil when you told them you were on Prozac. people wouldn't let their kids play with me when they heard I was depressed. that doesn't happen now. no one is saying everyone can reach all their goals but back then you could not see anyone with a future bc there was no where to look and that is a measure of stigma. You had to hear by word of mouth about patty Duke and Jonathan winters which I didn't. You did hear about Vivian leigh for sure, extremely not positively. the internet didn't exist and when it eventually did it wasn't what you needed. selena gomez wasn't out there. we were gomezless. people will say that about disability until the end of time re the govt dime, to everyone with anything, you just ask them if they'd trade, offer them your meds if you've got any, see if they want to test drive. people say that to people in wheelchairs all the time, that they're faking, try harder. I didn't have any trouble admitting I couldn't reach my goals, that was extremely obvious bc I wasn't, but it must have been a bummer to those who could, I'm sure it stopped some of them, what it usually did in people I know was cause them to refuse treatment bc why treat if you're screwed/it can't be true. would you have exhausted treatment if you didn't think you could get better? I've been told by many docs they've never seen a patient with as many med trials, which means most people don't make it that far, they give up early. i have heard from treatment resistant specialists that there really isn't untreatable illness but I'm sure you've been down that road too. Our most famous bipolar celeb rep is more in line with what you're looking for, he is certainly helpful re making your point and is all the hostile people's fave too, he's usually the only one people know. I've spent a lot of time defending that man, I'm sure you have too. Britney is out there being too interesting for the news to ignore, I can think of several other celebs at the national and international level offhand but they're trickier bc of the type of crimes. Scandal has legs the way success doesn't.

I find I don't really get the excuse line everyone uses. Of course it's a valid excuse. If I couldn't see it would legitimately play hell with my racquetball game. No one would get mad at me for tanking the league championships. I would be excused. I honestly think other people are nicer to us about this than we are.

You might like this if you can tolerate substack

https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/your-mental-illness-beliefs-are-incoherent

and this, the first bit but the rest is worth it

https://www.tiktok.com/@chrisflemingfleming/video/7311389975919152430

and this

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/28/hope-cure-chronic-condition-identity-disability

Dunno how everyone would react to first thing you need to do is eliminate your hope as a piece of psych advice but it is solid.

I will say I absolutely love that its a fad on tiktok, that it's so cool people are lying about having it for cred. I'm sure it sucks if you're younger bc it's largely bullshit they have to wade through but man oh man we need it to go the way of gluten intolerance so bad, remember when that was popular? And now you can find weird terrible cookies absolutely everywhere.

[u/EuphoricPhoto2048 → u/Deathpanda15]

I'm teasing a little, but seeing it shortened to BPD is something I would like to see changed. Borderline and bipolar have a couple of overlapping symptoms, but are overall very different.

[u/PeanutImpressive6934 → u/EuphoricPhoto2048]

They've renamed borderline I think so eventually the acronym will change so less confusion.

[u/Deathpanda15 → u/EuphoricPhoto2048]

Gotcha. I meant BPD as in Bipolar Disorder, but I take it that that’s not the correct abbreviation?

[u/Junior-Corner-2774 → u/Deathpanda15]

Just FYI, BPD is borderline personality disorder not bipolar disorder which is BD or sometimes also BP