It all began when I started blogging. What started as a personal medium of creative expression, a platform to share thoughts led to something unexpected. One of the posts on my blog was At the Crossroads of life, which describes how my life had turned upside down a decade ago after the diagnosis of Bipolar and my recovery from it. This blog post was greeted with all sorts of reactions, advice, positive comments and of course the odd scepticism. Some friends and colleagues who knew me well, found it difficult to believe that I had Bipolar Disorder.
Importantly, a counsellor friend from New Delhi asked for my permission to share it with Psychiatric Hospitals there. I readily consented.
It was common knowledge that millions of Indian live with Bipolar Disorder. While interacting with friends, gradually a broader picture emerged. I began to come to know of specific cases as disclosed by very close friends, relatives and so on. There were interesting stories I came across. Most were secretive about their diagnosis (understandably so, given the stigma). Many were in denial and reluctant to seek professional help and some had quit midway. Of course some would have been coping well as well, but these peers didn’t connect with me much in this initial period of interactions.
One outcome was that the families of those who were struggling, approached me first. I was touched especially by a close friend who wished I could in way help his brother (they live in another city) who was not responding well to any treatment. Another friend shared that her husband had, on her suggestion, started reading my Blog and it was helping him. All this fuelled my desire to take the initiative forward.
My journey had not been easy and I have so much to be grateful for, especially, my ‘inner team’ of Psychiatrists, Counsellors and the compassionate family members.
I had always toyed with the idea of some platform or community where discussions could be held, where people could engage in conversations without being judged.
I was encouraged by a very dear friend/mentor Puneet Bhatnagar. He personally happens to have a few friends who could be helped by such an initiative such as this. He felt that my innate gift with writing and as a communicator needed to be channelised. He crystallised the idea of a web based platform that could set this rolling,
Thus was born Bipolarindia. In fact, the coinage was his brainchild and he went to extent of registering the domain too! His conviction and vision rubbed off on to me, I must say, although I could hardly see the value of getting into this.
Although there are many platforms/communities globally on mental health, in India, since openly talking about such issues carries a taboo with it, there is a huge vacuum.
This Community is about us foremost- by us I mean, Bipolar affected, Doctors, Mentors who interact on one common platform towards one goal:
Being there for each other, like only a community can
What can you expect from this platform, going forward?
You can expect valuable, relatable stories, learn about all the resources available, insights and suggestions shared by peers and experts. And post your own experiences, insights, doubts and queries.
So, here we go!
