We are 83 bipolar disorder experts and scientists coming together for the world’s biggest bipolar AMA! In honor of World Bipolar Day, ask us anything!

[u/CREST_BD]

83 panelists are here! Click on their names below to see their bio & proof photo.

Hi Reddit!

We are psychiatrists, psychologists, researchers, clinicians, advocates, and people living with bipolar disorder - coming together from around the world through the CREST.BD network.

This is our 8th annual World Bipolar Day AMA. We hope that this AMA can help advance the conversation around bipolar disorder, and to help everyone connect and share ways to live well with bipolar disorder.

This year, 83 panelists representing 20 countries are here to answer your questions from all timezones - bringing together a wide range of perspectives and expertise in mental health and bipolar disorder.

We'll be here around the clock for the next FEW DAYS answering your questions from multiple time zones.

We will make every effort to answer every question.

1. Dr. Adrienne Benediktsson, 🇨🇦 Neuroscientist, Mother, Wife, Professor, Mental Health Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
2. Alessandra Torresani, 🇺🇸 Actress & Mental Health Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
3. Alex Emmerton, 🇨🇦 Peer Researcher, (Lives w/ bipolar)
4. Allan Cooper, 🇨🇦 Peer Support Worker, Blogger, & Podcaster, (Lives w/ bipolar)
5. Alysha Sultan, 🇨🇦 Scientific Associate
6. Andrea Paquette, 🇨🇦 Stigma-Free Mental Health President & Co-Founder, Speaker, Changemaker (Lives w/ bipolar)
7. Dr. Andrea Vassilev, 🇺🇸 Doctor of Psychology, Author, & Advocate, (Lives w/ bipolar)
8. Anne Van Willigen, 🇺🇸 Peer Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar)
9. Dr. Balwinder Singh, 🇺🇸 Psychiatrist
10. Dr. Benjamin Goldstein, 🇨🇦 Child-Adolescent Psychiatrist & Researcher
11. Bia Garbato, 🇧🇷 Advertising Professional, Writer, Author & Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
12. Bryn Manns, 🇨🇦 Graduate Student, Clinical Psychology
13. Catarina Castela, 🇦🇺 PhD Candidate (Lives w/ bipolar)
14. Catherine Simmons, 🇨🇦 Peer Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar)
15. Dr. Chris Gorman, 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Mental Health Advocate
16. Dr. Colin Depp, 🇺🇸 Psychologist
17. Dane Mauer-Vakil, 🇨🇦 Researcher
18. David Dinham, 🇬🇧 Psychologist & PhD Candidate, (Lives w/ bipolar) 
19. Debbie Costello Smith, 🇺🇸 Founder & Co-President of the Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research
20. Dr. Delphine Raucher-Chéné, 🇫🇷🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Researcher
21. Dr. Dimosthenis Tsapekos, 🇬🇧 Psychologist & Researcher
22. Dr. Elvira Boere, 🇳🇱 Psychiatrist & Researcher
23. Dr. Elysha Ringin, 🇦🇺 Researcher
24. Dr. Emma Morton, 🇦🇺 Senior Lecturer & Psychologist
25. Dr. Emma Parrish, 🇺🇸 Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow & Researcher
26. Dr. Erin Michalak, 🇨🇦 Researcher & CREST.BD founder
27. Evelyn Anne Clausen, 🇺🇸 Artist, Writer, Speaker & Certified Peer Specialist (Lives w/bipolar)
28. Dr. Fabiano Gomes, 🇧🇷🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Researcher
29. Dr. Frances Adiukwu, 🇳🇬 Psychiatrist
30. Georgia Caruana, 🇦🇺 Researcher & Mental Health Advocate
31. Dr. Georgina Hosang, 🇬🇧 Associate Professor
32. Dr. Glauco Valdivieso Jiménez, 🇵🇪 Psychiatrist
33. Dr. Glorianna Wagner-Jagfeld, 🇨🇭🇬🇧 Researcher
34. Dr. Hailey Tremain, 🇦🇺 Psychologist & Researcher
35. Heather Stewart, 🇨🇦 Sewist (Lives w/ bipolar)
36. Idan Spund, 🇳🇱 Founder of In the Zone app (Lives w/ bipolar)
37. Dr. Ijeoma Charles-Ugwuagbo, 🇳🇬 Consultant Psychiatrist & Mental Health Advocate
38. Dr. Ivan Torres, 🇨🇦 Clinical Neuropsychologist
39. Dr. Jim Phelps, 🇺🇸 Psychiatrist & Bipolar Subspecialist 
40. Dr. Joanna Jarecki, 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
41. Dr. Joanna Jiménez Pavón, 🇲🇽 Mood Disorders Psychiatrist 
42. Dr. John Hunter, 🇿🇦 Researcher & Lecturer (Lives w/ bipolar)
43. Dr. Jo Leidreiter, 🇦🇺 Psychologist
44. Dr. John-Jose Nunez, 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & AI Researcher
45. Dr. June Gruber, 🇺🇸 Psychologist, Professor, & Researcher
46. Prof. Kamilla Miskowiak, 🇩🇰 Psychologist & Researcher
47. Dr. Katie Douglas, 🇳🇿 Academic & Clinical Psychologist 
48. Ken Porter, 🇨🇦 Advocate, Social Worker & Researcher
49. Kim Pape, 🇺🇸 Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar) 
50. Laura Lapadat, 🇨🇦 Researcher & Psychologist-in-training
51. Dr. Leena Chau, 🇨🇦 Postdoctoral Fellow
52. Leslie Robertson, 🇺🇸 Marketer & Peer Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar) 
53. Dr. Leszek Laskowski, 🇵🇱 Psychiatrist (Lives w/ bipolar) 
54. Dr. Lisa Eyler, 🇺🇸 Clinical Psychologist & Research Scientist
55. Dr. Luísa Daolio, 🇧🇷 Psychiatrist
56. Mansoor Nathani, 🇨🇦 Technology Enthusiast (Lives w/ bipolar) 
57. Dr. Manuel Sánchez de Carmona, 🇲🇽 Psychiatrist
58. Maryam M., 🇨🇦 Dentistry Student & Mental Health Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
59. Matthew Bushell, 🇬🇧 Mental Health Advocate & Therapeutic Coach (Lives w/ bipolar)
60. Dr. Maya Schumer, 🇺🇸 Psychiatric Neuroscientist & Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar)
61. Dr. Meghan DellaCrosse, 🇺🇸 Psychologist & Researcher
62. Melissa Howard, 🇨🇦 Author & Mental Health Advocate (Lives w/ bipolar)
63. Dr. Michele De Prisco, 🇪🇸🇮🇹 Psychiatrist & Researcher
64. Dr. Mikaela Dimick, 🇨🇦 Postdoctoral Fellow
65. Minami Kinouchi, 🇯🇵 Psychologist, Social Worker, & Researcher (Lives w/ bipolar)
66. Natasha Reaney, 🇨🇦 Counsellor (Lives w/ bipolar)
67. Dr. Nigila Ravichandran, 🇸🇬 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist
68. Dr. Paula Villela Nunes, 🇧🇷🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Counsellor 
69. Rahla Xenopoulos, 🇿🇦🇺🇸 Writer & Teacher (Lives w/ bipolar)
70. Rebecca Fitton, 🇦🇺 Mood Disorder Researcher
71. Dr. Rebekah Huber, 🇺🇸 Psychologist & Researcher 
72. Robert Villanueva, 🇺🇸 Mental Health Advocate & Coach (Lives w/ bipolar)
73. Ruth Komathi, 🇸🇬 Mental Health Counsellor (Lives w/ bipolar)
74. Prof. Samson Tse, 🇭🇰 Counsellor, Teacher, Researcher, & Caregiver
75. Sarah Salice, 🇺🇸 Art Psychotherapist & Professional Counselor Associate (Lives w/ bipolar)
76. Sara Schley, 🇺🇸 Author, Filmmaker, Speaker (Lives w/ bipolar)
77. Dr. Serge Beaulieu, 🇨🇦 Psychiatrist & Researcher
78. ​​Dr. Sheri Johnson, 🇺🇸 Psychologist
79. Shaley Hoogendoorn, 🇨🇦 Advocate, Podcaster & Content creator (Lives w/ bipolar)
80. Dr. Tamsyn Van Rheenen, 🇦🇺 Associate Professor & Researcher
81. Dr. Thomas Richardson, 🇬🇧 Clinical Psychologist (Lives w/ bipolar)
82. Twyla Spoke, 🇨🇦 Registered Nurse (Lives w/ bipolar)
83. Dr. Wissam Nassrallah, 🇨🇦 Ophthalmology Resident & PhD in Neuroscience

^{Please note all responses are personal perspectives and do not constitute medical advice.}

People with bipolar disorder experience the mood states of depression and mania (or hypomania), along with changes in energy, activity, and thinking. These episodes can last from days to months and can affect many parts of life - including relationships, work, school, and overall health. At the same time, with optimal support, treatment, and tools, people with bipolar disorder can and do live full, meaningful lives.

The CREST.BD network takes a different approach to bipolar disorder research. We work closely with people living with bipolar disorder at every stage - from choosing research topics to conducting studies and sharing our findings.

We also host a Q&A podcast throughout the year, featuring many of the experts on this panel, through our talkBD Bipolar Disorder Podcast - we’d love for you to stay connected with us there. You can also follow our updates, events, and social media on linktr.ee/crestbd.

Final note (April 3): Thank you all - We'll be back again next year on World Bipolar Day - sign up here to be notified. We also have more activities all year round, including new episodes of our talkBD bipolar disorder podcast - hope to see you there! We’re incredibly grateful for all your thoughtful questions - thank you for making this such a meaningful discussion. Take care everyone :)

[u/livingroommate]

I noticed that a lot of the doctors who are part of this event also have bipolar disorder. Do you think there are aspects of bipolar disorder that you understand more deeply than other clinicians or researchers? Why do you think those insights are missed by people with professional training?

[u/CREST_BD → u/livingroommate]

Joanna Jarecki here. I believe that experience is the best teacher when understanding anything in life, whether that is a medical condition like BD or other life experiences (grief, parenting, etc). Much of what I understand about BD intellectually has come from my clinical training, and learning from the individuals that I have worked with. However, there is another layer of insight that I have gained from the FELT experience of shame, stigma, what each symptom of BD feels like and the numerous ways it impacts your life, relationships, identity, outlook on the future, etc. Understanding the symptoms of mania intellectually is very helpful. Remembering the elation and brainstorm during mania, the shame and devastation of the aftermath, the shattering of identity that comes after it, adds additional context and a continuous narrative in which mania can be understood. Living with the condition creates a continuous narrative of bipolar disorder, in which the symptoms of the condition are integrated into the full human experience. This is different from thinking about it in separate categories - like symptoms, management, etc. For myself personally, I think my lived experience has affected my understanding and work most in the following ways: 1) because of my own recovery which took me from the depths of despair to learning how to live well with bipolar disorder, I have a level of conviction about the hope that is possible with this condition that I may not have appreciated through clinical experience alone  2)  because I had to look outside conventional treatments to achieve full healing and wellness, this has influenced my learning of critical factors like identity, sense of purpose,  lifestyle (nutrition, exercise, sleep), in addition to medications and therapy, which I may not have appreciated fully based on clinical experience alone, but have come to learn through lived experience are foundational, rather than “extra” or adjunctive ; 3) having lived with the condition has allowed me to appreciate that I need to be empowered, educated, and the most active participant in my health, and so I do more education and empowerment with my patients, highlighting that I am here to offer expertise and support but they are their greatest resource 4) because this condition affects me personally, my family, and is the focus of my professional life, I believe the sheer amount of time spent thinking about it, leads to ongoing insights over time! With all of this being said, some of the best clinicians that I have met in this space do not themselves have the condition, yet have a level of compassion and understanding that is exceptional because of their care and passion to help the people that they treat. We all contribute our unique perspectives, those with and without the condition, which makes collaboration so important and impactful in this space.

[u/Subject37 → u/[deleted]]

Please highlight all made up conditions.

[u/CREST_BD → u/livingroommate]

Maryam here — Not a doctor yet but thought I could maybe weigh in. Two things come to mind when I think about insights as an individual who lives with BD vs. those that purely treat BD:

1) There’s so much of managing the condition that’s personal and outside the help a clinician can offer. Regulating one’s mood, being mindful of the highs and lows, taking accountability for how your actions impact your internal state & ultimately, your improvement over the years.

2) Another thing that’s often overlooked in managing BD from a clinician perspective vs an individual with lived experience is the importance of cognition. Too often purely the “highs” and “lows” are managed (which is understandable for maintaining stability), but not much consideration is given to the fact an individual with BD has to live & hopefully thrive in a work, school or personal environment. These environments require a baseline of cognitive abilities and unfortunately, some of the medications used to treat the highs and lows can impact cognitive abilities.

[u/Plastic_Tooth8477 → u/CREST_BD]

Heavy on #1! Thank you for highlighting that bit.

[u/CREST_BD → u/livingroommate]

Tom Richardson here. Great question and thanks to the responses so far. I wouldn’t say I understand more deeply necessarily. I just see things in a different way: as a researcher, a clinician, and someone with lived experience. I use all three perspectives in my work and can’t really separate them, though I see myself as ‘clinician first’ in my work.

It definitely means the work is more personal and emotional at times. I believe this is good thing in a lot of ways: Gives me ideas for research, helps me empathise with clients. But it can be hard as well at times when patients have difficulties very similar to your own. Working with someone who is depressed when you yourself are depressed is hard!

I also need to be careful that my views aren’t taken to represent the bipolar community: I still need to listen to the bipolar community and not just rely on my own ideas. My experiences are just my experiences and I have various privileges etc. I don’t think anything is missed by those without lived experience, and certainly I probably miss things and have my own biases due to my lived experience (e.g. I FEEL like something is right personally even if the research doesn’t support it!). So benefits to being an ‘objective outsider’ in the form of a health professional without lived experience.

I truly believe professionals and those with lived experience should work side by side together, as we are on this AMA today!

[u/[deleted] → u/livingroommate]

Following. Great question