'I’m beginning to think I should wear the cap and accept the guru title'

The Bipolar UK community is supported by many amazing volunteers who often develop remarkable insight into the condition. I share my experience as a bipolar support group co-facilitator and my journey to guru status.

In March 2024, my wife Daisy and I completed a tough physical challenge for Bipolar UK, walking 120 miles from Durham to Lindisfarne with CEO Simon Kitchen. This was a route of 9.5 half marathons in 9.5 days to raise awareness of the average 9.5 years it takes to get a diagnosis of bipolar from first seeking help.

On a long trek, it’s natural to share stories and I was able to narrate my journey, starting as a 10-year-old affected by my father’s manic episodes and hospitalisation. At 17 years old, I experienced my own first episode of mania, and this led to a long odyssey to diagnosis and learning to self-manage bipolar, and then to my role as a bipolar support group facilitator and trustee for Bipolar UK.

Soon after our trek, Simon hosted the charity’s World Bipolar Day online conference which included a slideshow of pictures from our hike. Introducing the segment, he said how much he had enjoyed talking about bipolar at length and described me as ‘The Guru’.

This got me thinking. It wasn’t the first time the word had been used, and I reflected on my qualifications for the role and how I had developed expertise in the condition.

My first experience with Bipolar UK was over 20 years ago in 2005 when I joined the Central London peer support group. I still remember arriving at the first session and the huge emotional impact of finally being in a room of people who understood.

When the main co-facilitator decided to retire, I realised I needed to step up and take on the mantle if the group was to survive.

This role lasted for around 12 years, and I saw every aspect of the condition through the eyes of over 500 people who attended group meetings during that period. Our collective ability to self-manage was reflected in my own increasing expertise to prevent the worst extremes of my episodes.

Working as a trustee for the charity for 9 years from 2015 gave further perspective into how to help people with bipolar, and I am particularly proud of our digital provision with the Online Community, Mood Tracker App, online bipolar support groups, webinars and other resources, enabling us to support more people in remote areas of the UK and even further afield.

Does all this experience qualify me to call myself a guru? The term literally means ‘dispeller of darkness’, and I think everyone who works for this charity as staff or volunteers could say that about themselves.

In modern usage, the term has come to mean a trusted guide, mentor or leader, so that seems about right. However, I have learned through hard experience that pride or complacency with bipolar can lead to disaster.

On the other hand, my mother, who worked tirelessly to find support for my father and me, loved a proverb and would say: ‘if the cap fits, wear it’. I’m beginning to think I should wear the cap and accept the guru title. I’m sure it applies to many others involved in the charity.

Are you a bipolar guru too, or aspiring to become one?