Bipolar diagnosis life changing, says Senedd’s Gareth Davies MS

He is calling for the right infrastructure and training to be put in place to speed up diagnoses of bipolar for others, saying the current pathways “aren’t up to scratch here”.

The Welsh government says £2m has been invested to establish a new programme for mental health to improve access, quality and outcomes from mental health services.

Bipolar, external is a severe mental health condition that affects the mood and can cause it to swing from one extreme to the other. It affects people of all ages and backgrounds, but symptoms are usually first noticeable in teenagers and young adults.

Bipolar UK says having the condition increases an individual’s risk of suicide by up to 20 times, but many people can be treated with medication.

Mr Davies said he was lucky when he visited the hospital because “there were people there who could help and got me a hospital bed”.

“If they had told me to go see my GP the following day, I may not be here now to tell the story,” he said.

He said his diagnosis helped him to maintain his career.

“It gave me that base to work from, to recognise what I have got, and put in remedies to see what went wrong previously, and over time it becomes more holistic.”

He added that there “is a place in the world for people living with bipolar”.

“Things are getting better, but there is a long way to go,” he said.