A former mayor of Warrington, Geoff Settle, who has been the Warrington BipolarUK Support Group Facilitator for ten years, is taking up Bipolar UK’s 30 for 30 challenge to do something every day in March to raise funds.
He has created a fundraiser page Facilitator Tips & Experiences | givestar, and has pledged to write narratives every day about his experiences as a facilitator, which he hopes will be of benefit to other sufferers, carers, family and facilitators. The challenge ends on World Bipolar Day 30 March, the birthday of Vincent van Gogh, the famous painter, who is believed to have had bipolar.
He finds writing a slow process, but does a monthly blog. So instead of one blog a month, it will be 30, which will be a challenge for him. At work, he often worked late into the night on reports. In computer consultancy, it was part of the culture back then. The harder he worked, the more drained he became, and the less he could think clearly and the less he got done, leading to suspension.
He was lucky that his wife’s boss knew someone in the Psychology Dept at Liverpool University. He received a diagnosis by Professor Richard Bentall in less than ten minutes instead of the nine and a half years average.
Simon Kitchen, BipolarUK’s CEO, said: “It’s a global moment to raise awareness of what bipolar is (and isn’t) and to help end the stigma still experienced by so many. This year, we’re marking the day with three free, live webinars on Monday, 30 March, and we’d love you to join us. Find out more and register today.”
Geoff used money raised during his mayoral year in 2016 to set up the Warrington BipolarUK support group. He said: “We have a fantastic community, and we share our lived bipolar experiences, happy and sad. My Achilles heels are being too enthusiastic and not liking authority, which gets me into all kinds of situations. Every member is different and on different medications. It is a chronic illness that, on average, takes nine and a half years to diagnose, so Richard’s diagnosis of less than ten minutes was lightning fast. There is, however, no cure for the chronic illness, but as a group we can share what helps and does not help us as individuals.”
The former mayor says that he has learned a lot from members’ experiences during the two-hour monthly sessions. He has gained further experience as a public adviser for the Applied Research Collaboration Northwest Coast (ARC NWC) Former Mayor and now Public Adviser – Geoff’s story – NIHR Geoff has participated in five bipolar research projects, helping trainee clinical psychologists at Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester Universities studying for their PhDs and benefitting from their expertise and therapy. Last November he delivered his third annual lecture at Manchester University, which lasted 90 minutes. He took along his alter ego, Teddy George made by Burtonwood Sewing Group, to keep him in line.
He said: “This year BipolarUK have set up a trial support therapist to help facilitators like me cope with the good and not so good aspects of issues raised during support groups. Last year I received training from Papyrus on safety planning and suicidal awareness, and I believe that funds raised will go towards these vital services.
“Generally, I’m fine with being bipolar and its many positive attributes. I cope with the downside by making sure I get outside in my role as Chair of the Nature Conservation Forum and do the things I enjoy, such as art, jigsaws and running. I make sure that I get away from my computer after an hour of work and keep social media to fun stuff as well as getting at least 7 hours of sleep. Ideally, I should throw my TV out of the bedroom.”
Geoff recommends three books for anyone wanting to know more about bipolar: “The bipolar workbook, Tools for Controlling Your Mood Swings” by Monica Ramirez Basco, “An Unquiet Mind” by Kay Redfield Jamison, and the incredible “Completely Normal and Totally Fine” by Rosie Viva for a younger version. She will be one of Simon’s guests on World Bipolar Day. Kay was on a transatlantic webinar last year.
More information about BipolarUK can be found on their web pages Homepage | Bipolar UK, where, if you want, you can also donate.
