The Big Bipolar Walk in Brighton

Bipolar UK staff, trustees, partners, volunteers and supporters came together to see the Maybe it’s bipolar? campaign come to life across Brighton.

Last Friday, we stepped off a busy train from London and onto the platform at Brighton station.

The first thing we saw? Bipolar UK.

For more than two weeks, our Maybe it's bipolar? campaign transformed Brighton into a city-wide conversation about bipolar.

Through advertising across train stations, bus stops, buses and university campuses, we reached hundreds of thousands of people, raising awareness of the often-overlooked symptoms of hypomania and encouraging those affected to take the first step towards exploring a potential diagnosis.

To mark this important milestone for Bipolar UK, the campaign and our community, we travelled to Brighton to see the campaign come to life firsthand.

Dressed in our brightest Bipolar UK orange, raising our flags and even joined by a four-legged friend, we walked across the city, stopping to reflect on how far the campaign has come and the impact it’s already having.

Along the way, we had meaningful conversations about awareness, diagnosis and what it means to see bipolar represented so visibly.

Representing our community

The Maybe it’s bipolar? campaign is all about raising awareness of the under-recognised symptoms of bipolar and empowering people to seek a diagnosis sooner.

But our activity in Brighton was about more than just awareness. It was also about visibility and representation.

For the first time, across public spaces, university campuses and throughout an entire city, bipolar was represented proudly and openly. Seeing bipolar reflected in the places people live, study and work sends a message. Our community deserves to be seen and to know support is always there for them.

We were incredibly proud to fly the flag, quite literally, for anyone affected by bipolar. Thank you to each and every person who has supported the campaign and helped make this possible.

Thank you

We'd also like to recognise some of the local partners who played a vital role in bringing the campaign to life. A huge thank you to Sarah and Paul from Lark, who helped us develop the campaign from the very beginning and ensured Brighton was represented authentically through new visuals that captured the student experience.

We're equally grateful to Heidi and Casey from Meerkat Works, who worked closely with us to secure high-impact advertising placements across the city, helping us reach more people with our message and encourage conversations about bipolar.

While our time in Brighton has come to an end, the impact of the Maybe it's bipolar? campaign continues. At the University of Sussex, our resources now proudly live in the wellbeing centre, helping more students access information when they need it.

Together, we're helping more people recognise the signs of bipolar, start important conversations and seek answers sooner. All with the aim of reducing the 9.5-year diagnosis delay.

Had times where you needed less sleep, took more risks, spent more or felt over-productive, followed by depression?

Maybe it's bipolar...