Mental health: Mum felt insane before bipolar diagnosis

Fashion model Sarah De Garnham said getting a bipolar disorder diagnosis reassured her that she "wasn't going insane"

"I knew when I was growing up, I wasn't normal."

That's how Sarah De Garnham felt for years before getting a bipolar disorder diagnosis after giving birth to her son Harlee.

Thousands of people in Wales have waited nearly 12 years for a diagnosis, according to the Bipolar Commission in Wales.

The Welsh government said it has increased funding for mental health services.

The commission at The National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) is set to release more of its findings later.

"I knew I'd react differently to things compared to my friends, and they acted differently to me," Ms De Garnham, 35, said.

"Being diagnosed made me feel like I'm not nuts or crazy, this is a condition which has a name, and I can now learn about it and do things that can help me".

The fashion model from Cwmafan, Neath Port Talbot, was originally misdiagnosed with depression before being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Currently the wait in Wales to be diagnosed is two years longer than in England.

The charity said that more than 60,000 people living with the mental health disorder in Wales were being failed by the healthcare system.

And getting a diagnosis for single mum Ms De Garnham wasn't easy.

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She was told by a doctor that pregnancy triggered her bipolar.

"I saw one doctor and I explained my triggers and I was told 'don't be stupid, you haven't got bipolar, you're being dramatic'," she said.

"I went to see my psychiatrist and he explained that shouldn't have happened to me because I have got bipolar. It made me feel like I wasn't going insane. It wasn't easy for me to get to that stage, but you must push through and keep on fighting."

Ms De Garnham was told by a doctor her bipolar was triggered when she became pregnant with son Harlee

Ms De Garnham said modelling has helped her cope with her diagnosis.

She said: "When I was growing up, models had long hair and nice figures and I'm not that.

"I've got a shaved head, I'm a plus-sized woman, I've got bipolar and if I'm doing it, you can too. You really can. Nothing should be off limits.

"This career has saved me. Mental health is a big thing for me on social media and I will always try and speak about it as openly as I can because I don't want people thinking I've got the perfect life. I want them to know it's not all butterflies and rainbows."

'Shockingly poor provision'

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition where individuals exhibit extreme moods, which can last for several weeks. Deaths from suicide are higher in people with bipolar disorder, but many of those with it can be treated with medication.

Ms De Garnham said: "When I'm manic, it's like I can't finish my sentences or if I start something I can't finish it. One time I was cleaning, and I was having a manic day and I just hammered all my kitchen tiles off the wall. It's just mad, and different for everyone."

The charity Bipolar UK said there are more than a million people with the condition in the UK, and millions more are affected through close friends and family.

The Bipolar Minds Matter report calls for an immediate restructure of the healthcare system in Wales.

Simon Kitchen, chief executive of Bipolar UK, said there were "shockingly poor levels of bipolar provision" in Wales.

He said: "Imagine living with a condition for nearly 12 years without the right treatment and support - that's what people all over Wales are having to cope with. It's simply not good enough.

"This is due to a combination of factors including social stigma surrounding the condition, people not seeing their GP when they're experiencing hypomania or mania, and a lack of specialist training around bipolar across the health sector."

'Changes will literally save lives'

Mr Kitchen added that people living with bipolar have a suicide risk that is 20 times higher than people without bipolar.

He said the charity's mission is to clear up confusion surrounding bipolar disorder, and promote faster diagnosis.

"Not only will these changes improve the quality of life for people with bipolar in Wales, they will literally save lives," he said.

"We are calling on the Welsh government to reduce the average diagnosis time for bipolar disorder down from nearly 12 years to five years, within the next five years or less."

The Welsh government said it has increased mental health service funding "to respond to local needs".

A spokesman added: "We have also invested £6m this year into the implementation of the Strategic Mental Health Workforce plan for Wales which sets out the actions to achieve a sustainable mental health workforce."

Prof Ian Jones, director of the NCMH, and a professor of perinatal psychiatry at Cardiff University, said the organisation was "delighted" to be launching the research findings.

"Together, we are reaching out to people with lived experience of bipolar and hope to build a ground-breaking, collaborative research community dedicated to increasing understanding of bipolar; its causes, triggers, and how best to manage the condition," he said.

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