It’s not just the symptoms of bipolar disorder that are a struggle. Whether it’s watching how much you laugh at a particular joke or sidestepping dodgy questions from colleagues, just navigating people’s expectations of the illness can also be a challenge. Credit: BBC Three

“Have you tried meditation?” People with depression encounter all kinds of questions and assumptions about their condition. Here, eight people discuss some of the more common things they hear about their mental health – from being told to ‘cheer up!’, to dealing with suggestions that yoga is the ‘cure’. Credit: BBC Three

The type of bipolar someone has affects the severity and type of moods they experience. The most common types of bipolar are: Type 1: where someone experiences depression, hypomania and mania Type 2: where someone experiences long periods of depression and hypomania Cyclothymia: a form of bipolar where someone experiences periods of depression and elevated […]

symptoms of bipolar These are the most common symptoms of bipolar. The numbers in the brackets show how these moods rank on the Bipolar UK Mood Scale: suicidal thinking (0, 1) depression (2, 3) hypomania (7, 8) mania (9, 10) People can go into a ‘mixed state’, too, where symptoms of depression and hypomania or mania […]

You can use this mood scale with a mood diary to help keep track of your moods and to help you spot your patterns, triggers and any early warning signs of a relapse. how to use the mood scale and mood diary Select the score from the mood scale that matches how you are feeling […]

Support them with getting help You can’t force anyone to get help for depression if they don’t want it. But you can reassure them that it’s OK to ask for help, and that support is out there. Helping them with practical things can also make a big difference. For example, looking into what services are […]

Sometimes it might be hard to know the right thing to say to someone experiencing depression. These are some ideas of supportive things to say: “I’m sorry you’re feeling like this, and I’m here for you.” “You’re important to me.” “How are you managing?” “What can I do to help you today?” Or, if you […]

Experiencing depression can make it hard to find the energy to look after yourself. But taking steps to look after your physical health can make a difference to how you feel: Try to get good sleep. For many of us who experience depression, we might struggle to fall asleep. Or we may find that we […]

Experiencing depression can be very difficult. But there are steps you can take to help yourself. This page has some ideas: Some of these ideas may not feel helpful or possible right now. Try a few different things and see which works best for you. You could also watch the animation below about taking care […]

If you’re diagnosed with depression, you might also be told that it is ‘less severe’ or ‘more severe’. This describes how your symptoms are affecting you, and what treatment you’re likely to be offered. You may find that the severity of your depression changes over time. Sometimes you might hear depression being called ‘major depressive disorder’. There are some […]