蜜芽传媒

It is estimated that more than a million people in the UK have bipolar disorder. But according to Bipolar UK, the real number may be much higher.

The charity has told 蜜芽传媒 Radio 5 Live Drive that the average time it takes for a person to be diagnosed with the condition is eight years and says that bipolar increases an individual's risk of suicide by up to 20 times.

Bipolar used to be known as manic depression and people can be affected in different ways. It involves periods of mania and bouts of depression.

Rebecca Marshall, 28, from London was an NHS doctor. She took her own life in February 2020. She had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder eight months before but had been experiencing symptoms since 2010.

Her older sister Esther told 5 Live presenter Michelle Acklerley that Rebecca鈥檚 bipolar 鈥渨asn鈥檛 diagnosed at the beginning鈥� and explained some of the challenges her sister was facing for nearly a decade.

This video was originally broadcast on 蜜芽传媒 Radio 5 Live Drive.