Alison Cairns, Chief Executive Bipolar Scotland and Blu Edwards who experiences bipolar disorder were both featured on a report on bipolar disorder on STV News at Six. To view again please click on the following link – http://player.stv.tv/programmes/news-at-six-glasgow-west/2011-09-19-1800/ The feature starts at 13 minutes 9 seconds into the STV News at Six programme broadcast on 19 September 2011.

Dr Laxmi Kathuria has written an article on the stigma associated both with people diagnosed with mental health issues and those who work in the mental health field. To read the article please click on the following link –
http://www.www.heraldscotland.com/life-style/real-lives/forever-fighting-the-stigma-of-mental-illness-1.1111480?6072

The Department of Psychological Medicine and Neurology at Cardiff University, have developed three new online modules that cover:

Bipolar Disorder for Partners, Families and Carers –
http://www.beatingbipolar.org/families_and_carers/

Pregnancy and Childbirth in women with Bipolar Disorder – http://www.beatingbipolar.org/women_and_bipolar/

Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder for Primary Care practitioners – http://www.beatingbipolar.org/primary_care_practitioners/

Bipolar Aberdeen are running a self-help group that meets on the last Thursday of each month, 7pm – 9pm, Midstocket Church Community Centre, 35 Midstocket Road, Aberdeen AB15 5JL.

The group meetings are open to people who have been affected by bipolar disorder.

Many of you will have read the excellent article on bipolar disorder that appeared in Scotland on Sunday’s Spectrum Magazine on Sunday 22 May. The article mentioned research being carried out into bipolar disorder by Dr Andrew McIntosh and his team at University of Edinburgh.

If you have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, or are a direct relative of someone with bipolar disorder (over 15 years old, but do not have the diagnosis yourself) and would like to take part in Dr McIntosh’s research project, please contact Tiffany Stewart on 0131 537 6258 or e-mail tiffany.stewart@ed.ac.uk

To view the article on bipolar disorder featured in Scotland on Sunday please click on the following link =”http://living.scotsman.com/features/Bipolar-disorder-is-a-rollercoaster.6773148.jp”

In an ideal world, it would not take a film star to get the media focused on mental illness. But we don’t live in an ideal world, we live in a celebrity culture where Catherine Zeta-Jones being treated for bipolar disorder soar to the top of news websites’ “most viewed”, and relegate Andrew Lansley’s woes or even David Cameron’s pre-election views on immigration.
I am an ambassador for Time to Change, the campaign to change attitudes on mental illness, to break down the stigma and taboo which still surround it. It appears to be having some success: when England cricketer Michael Yardy left the World Cup because of depression, the “pull yourself together what has he got to be depressed about?” brigade were in the minority. There is greater understanding, but still stigma. Some people with mental illness say the discrimination can be worse than the symptoms. (more…)

You can take part in a new study into bipolar disorder at the University of Edinburgh. The research project aims to identify factors that might be helpful in predicting and monitoring mood states in adults diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The study is based on four short questionnaires that are available online. Participation should not take more than 20-25 minutes and is completely anonymous. If you are interested in taking part in this research project please click on the following link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/bipolarresearch

If you need any further information please contact Melanie Suettmann m.suettmann@smk.ac.uk

The Journey Home is a collection of poetry, artwork and photography by Lorraine Nicholson. The theme of the book is about recovery from depression.

You can purchase a copy of The Journey Home from http://www.hope4recovery.co.uk