Repair through connection
I think my mind exploded this week, in the most beautiful way.
I definitely have “post-conference” brain overload.
As I review the moments of exquisite connection I’ve had in the last days, I slowly recalibrate my brain to make sense of the profound life-changing experience I had at the International Society for Bipolar Disorders conference.
Three 12-hour days.
700+ people.
Countless research presentations.
Keynote speakers and stories told.
Magical conversations in between sessions…
All about improving care and better treatment for bipolar disorders.
Where lived experience expertise was highlighted, and community engagement was at the forefront.
And out of everything this week, what stood out to me the most was the people.
The connections.
It was life affirming, expanding and especially powerful to stand alongside clinicians, researchers and peers with lived experience with bipolar. I've not experienced this anywhere else. It uplifted me and encouraged me to keep asking questions, and sparked several creative collaborations.
I sat face to face with a psychiatrist who asked me "what do YOU think? How can we improve care?".
I was astonished. Moved. I felt seen.
For someone who has survived the psychiatric system, where I have been unfortunately treated less than well, I am grateful to say this conference has unexpectedly offered me some long needed repair and healing.
Respected humanely.
Treated as a person, not an illness.
No symptoms to manage, but rather a connection to develop.
I was treated as equal.
At this gathering of clinicians, researchers, psychiatrists and psychologists, people such as myself with lived experience were deemed “Experts by Experience”.
Imagine that…
I heard stories from panelists who are both clinicians and live with bipolar share the story of healing with a different twist:
*We don’t simply resolve symptoms from a mood episode –
we also need to recover from the trauma we’ve experienced during the episode, during which our own mind felt unsafe.*
This has not been discussed much in the bipolar disorder treatment and care that I have received. It’s mostly been expected that when my depression or hypomanic symptoms are addressed, then “I’m better”! And all is well…
Yet the truth is, we must also face the discomfort of our actions during these episodes, some of which have been literally out of our control. The scary truth of what we have done when unwell…
These are truths that I was able to share and witness in others this week, through compassion and care. With humour and resilience!
And it sure did help being surrounded by clinicians and peers who see each other as human, above all else.
✨STRUGGLES-2-STRENGTHS BLOG aims to connect with those experiencing Bipolar Disorder (BD) like myself, as well as those who support them, by sharing reflections on personal experiences rather than clinical perspectives. Please share with others and don’t hesitate to comment✨
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