Getting help

I am going to talk about getting help both in the UK and in France, as those are the two countries I've lived in.

The first person to turn to if you have (or suspect you have) bipolar is your GP / médecin generaliste. They will be able to refer you to a psychiatrist and a psychologist if necessary. You may also see psychiatric nurses for regular check-ups.

What's the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist?

Psychiatrists are  medical doctors who are experts in mental health. They specialise in diagnosing and treating people with mental illness. In the UK a fully trained psychiatrist will have studied for thirteen years and in France ten years. It is your psychiatrist (or sometimes your GP in the UK) who will prescribe and monitor your medication.

Psychologists are therapists who study how we think, feel and behave from a scientific viewpoint and apply this knowledge to help people understand, explain and change their behaviour. In the UK they will have studied for six years and in France five years. It should be noted that while psychologists are a type of therapist, not all therapists are psychologists; the term therapist is often used to encompass social workers, and a variety of counselors, who may not be trained social scientists like psychologists are. 

Paying for health care

In the UK there is the marvellous NHS (long may it live!) that means doctors appointments and hospital stays are paid for by the state. Unfortunately, however, Bipolar is not one of the conditions where prescriptions are covered by the NHS, so unless you are exempt for various reasons you will have to pay £9 per medication if you live in England; prescriptions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are free. If you take several different types of medication you can save money by paying £29.10 for a three month prescription payment certificate (PPC), or £104 for a twelve month PPC.

In France Bipolar is one of the conditions where social security covers 100% of medical costs, which means that whether you have a Mutuelle (helath insurance) or not, your doctor visits, medication, and hospital stays are all paid for, and you don't have to pay anything upfront (in France you usually have to pay for the doctor upfront, and you then get reimbursed by social security and your hralth insurance). Make sure that your doctor enters you in the system as having bipolar, as otherwise you won't be covered 100% (this happened to me, but luckily I have health isnurance, so they were the ones who were paying). It is worth noting that while hospital stays are 100% covered, you (or your health insurance) still have to pay for your room. This costs about €15 per day.

Financial help

In the UK you may be eligible for benefits if you have bipolar. These may include:

• Attendance Allowance.
• Carer's Allowance.
• Council Tax Benefit.
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Housing Benefit.
• Personal Independent Payment (PIP)
• Statutory Sick Pay.

However the benefits structure in the UK is currently being reformed. The charity Disability Rights UK has a website to help you through the benefits maze.

In France the maison départementale des personnes handicapées (MDPH) can help you to obtain financial help. You may also get help from an assistant social through your Centre Médico Psychologique (CMP) if you need assistance filling in forms.

If you are have to temporarily stop work due to your bipolar you need to obtain an arrêt de travail from your doctor in order to get an indemnisation journalière (subsistence allowance). If you are assessed as being unable to work because of your bipolar (and /or other conditions) you may be eligible for a pension d'invalidité (disability benefits), or you may be eligible for Allocation aux Adultes Handicapés (AAH) (a different kind of disability benefits)  if you are unable to work or work part-time. The maximum amount allocated for the latter is €900 per month, and that includes your earnings.

There is a lot of help available in both the UK and France. If you're not sure then some good resources are:

UK:
www.bipolaruk.org
www.mind.org.uk

France:
www.argos2001.fr
www.unafam.org

As mentioned before, if you are feeling suicidal, please call the Samaritans on 116 123 from the UK, or SOS Amitié on 01 42 96 26 26 from France.

References:
https://www.yourhealthinmind.org/psychiatry-explained/whats-a-psychiatrist
https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/
https://www.bipolaruk.org/faqs/am-i-eligible-for-benefits
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bipolar-disorder/living-with/

Mindfulness

Mindfullness is a type of meditation that involves deliberately directing your attention in the present moment without value judgments. It helps you to focus on the way things are, not the way you want them them to be, or are worried they might become. Mindfullness allows us to anchor ourselves in the present; there is neither past nor future while meditating.

Studies have proven the effectiveness of mindfulness in reducing mental illnesses such as depression, generalised anxiety and bulimia, but also in reducing stress, reinforcing the immune system, lowering blood pressure, reducing pain, and helping  to improve psoriasis!

MRIs show that meditation modifies brain functioning in a positive way. Neuroscience tells us that we all have the potential to be happy if we use our prefrontal brain and mindfull meditation is one way of passing from automatic mode to prefrontal thinking mode. It physically modifies the brain both momentarily and in the long term thanks to neuronal plastisity.  According to a study by Richard Davidson, people who practice mindfullness on a daily basis activate the left prefrontal cortex , which is associated with positive emotions, more than the right prefrontal cortex.

It is important to note that certain types of meditation can provoke mania, so it is best to consult your psychiatrist. It is always best to learn to meditate with a teacher, and if you have bipolar ideally you should go on a course aimed at people with bipolar disorder. 

So how does one meditate in a mindful way? Get into a natural position- for westerners this is sitting in a chair or lying on your back - but whatever the position make sure your back is straight, as this is better both for your breathing and psychologically. You can choose to focus on one of three things: your body, your breathing, or your senses. Additionally you can choose to focus on observing your thoughts without getting carried away by them - like observing clouds going across the sky. You will need to practice, (five minutes a day is better than one hour a week) but with time you will reach a state where you are neither awake nor asleep. In fact you may find yourself actually falling asleep! Better sleep is just one of the many pros of mindfulness.

Later this month I am going to start an eight week mindfullness program, so I'll let you know how it goes!