Description

Bipolar disorder is a major global healthcare crisis, causing untold levels of distress and costing lives daily. For too long this crisis has gone unacknowledged. Lack of progress in understanding and addressing bipolar disorder means that too many people worldwide are left in a painfully dark limbo, in search of a meaningful diagnosis and for effective treatments that work for them. Hope for prevention remains a distant dream. This has drastic consequences – rates of suicide are up to 20 to 30 times higher in people with bipolar disorder than the general public. And life expectancy is as much as 15 years less – largely due to poor clinical management of physical health. As organisations and individuals committed to bipolar research, we are calling time on this. For the first time in two decades, leading UK research funders are bringing together international experts to provide leadership to bipolar disorder research. This is taking place alongside the largest UK survey to understand patient priorities. Together, these offer us a chance to truly build momentum for advances. We need a radical shift in our understanding, to put bipolar and other chronic mental health conditions on a par with conditions like cancer and heart disease – where science has been put to work to transform care, improve treatments and save lives. 

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/08/a-radical-shift-in-thinking-on-mental-health-issues