Help us end the economic inequality

Help us stop the economic inequality of bipolar

The incomes of people living with severe mental illness, including bipolar disorder, are 30% lower than the rest of the population. The Bipolar Commission found that this is because people with bipolar often don’t get the treatment and support they need to thrive – from the NHS, the workplace, the welfare systemor society in general.

In addition, individuals living with bipolar disorder often have to cover out-of-pocket healthcare costs, including paying for prescriptions, access to psychiatrists or therapists and higher travel and life insurance.

How we’re making an impact

On the ground, we are training hundreds of employers, HR managers and diversity leads to help improve their understanding of bipolar in the workplace. 

We are also working tirelessly to present our Bipolar Commission findings to policy-makersand MPs to help them understand how adopting our recommendations would have a significant positive impact for the NHS and the economy. These include: 

• Integrating a culture of compassion into workplace policies 
• Promoting the Government’s Access to Work scheme to encourage more people with bipolar to access workplace support
• Training workforces to understand bipolar and to implement meaningful reasonable adjustments to support people with bipolar to stay in work
• Introducing bipolar-friendly Work Capability Assessments to ensure the benefits system is fairer for people with a fluctuating condition

Get involved 

1. Sign up to – or ask your employer to sign up to – our Bipolar-Friendly Workplace Scheme 
2. Read and share our Workplace and Welfare reports 
3. Join our ‘campaigner’ mailing list by emailing us at bipolarcommission@bipolaruk.org