Louisa's Blog

I'm Louisa. I was recently diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, following 10 years of depressive episodes.

I like photography and gardening. I work full time in IT and I am married with a son.

Posts by Louisa

Depression in films

19 March 2012 | Posted by Louisa | 0 comments

Watching ‘A Single Man’ made me reflect on other feature films that have portrayed depression in a realistic and thoughtful way. Of those I have seen, I think there are three others that have achieved something really commendable.

Asking for help

06 October 2011 | Posted by Louisa | 7 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Health professionals, Services

The last month or two have been quite tumultuous and it took me a while to realise that I needed more help. When your disorder makes you feel good, rather than bad, this is a difficult decision to come to. It can also be a difficult thing to achieve, because if you haven't asked for much help before, then no one spots that you need it. You need to actively seek out help, which can be difficult to find.

Talking about mental health at work

04 July 2011 | Posted by Louisa | 2 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Work and money

Recently I was inspired by reading this blog post from John Binns, Partner at accounting and consultancy firm Deloitte. He describes setting up an initiative in his workplace to support those who are struggling with mental ill health called the Mental Health Champions network. Apparently some 30 people have accessed the support network which is made up of seven partners trained so people can talk to them in confidence.

The benefits of being honest – but at what cost?

24 May 2011 | Posted by Louisa | 2 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Stigma and discrimination

The Time to Change campaign has been really inspiring in its recent drive to get people to 'be frank' about their mental health. But, as Alastair Campbell points out in his post for Rethink, there are many people who can't be fully open, who still feel they have to lie about their condition to get or keep a job, for example.

Is this the only fashionable way to admit to depression?!

15 April 2011 | Posted by Louisa | 3 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness

There has been a splash in the press this week about Bipolar Disorder, because of the brave step made by Catherine Zeta-Jones in disclosing she has Bipolar II. Like many interesting news items, I shared the story on Facebook, and this question (above) was one of the reactions from a good friend of mine.

Since I last wrote

02 March 2011 | Posted by Louisa | 3 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Medication and therapies

Since I last wrote I have been quite well, but struggling to get the dosage of my mood stabilizers right. The quetiapine was put up to 600mg and for nearly a week I felt very slow and heavy, and in that short time put on about half a stone.

Comparing then and now

19 January 2011 | Posted by Louisa | 2 comments

Topics: Someone who has experienced mental illness, Recovery

I have suffered from depressive episodes since I was 26, but in 2009 I suffered an episode far worse than any before. I try not to think about it much, but recently I decided it would be useful to compare how things were then to my life now.