Learning I had a Bi Polar saved my life

My name is Mark McAllister, founder of Littlebroken. Learning I had BI Polar saved my life. I am 46 years old and I have been an entrepreneur for over 25 years. By the time I was 30 I was battling drug and alcohol abuse and I was in over £80,000 of debt. By the time i reached my 41st birthday I didn’t know up from down nor good from bad.

Divorced and in constant trouble with the Police I set out to destroy myself from the inside out and eventually I tried to take my own life. I couldn’t see any way out from the pain I was feeling but I knew I didn’t want to die.

I just wanted the pain to stop. It was time to seek help.

I had never considered my mental health before; well I had never had too, but my quality of life was that poor things had to change. After several months of psychotherapy and anti-depressants I was finally diagnosed with Bipolar and to be honest that was the biggest relief of my life.

It gave a name to the shame i felt about the person I had become. It’s also been the explanation, not the excuse, that has allowed me to be someone living with mental illness rather than someone who is suffering from it!

My issues are far from resloved but I’m moving in the right direction. I have to work hard every day on keeping focus but I am now 6 months drug and drink free. I am now doing a Phycology degree and spend most of my time learning in the hope of improving my own self growth as through my journey I have come to learn this is the cure for depression.

If you know someone who could do with some support please tell them to get in touch. Feel free to share this with them as Im here to tell you there is a life after Bipolar.