1.07 Gareth, Emma's Husband, Supporting and living with someone who lives with Bipolar

My guest for this episode is my Husband, Gareth. Bipolar also affects those that support those living with bipolar, so in this episode I wanted to ask Gareth how things felt for him, how they impacted him and how he copes with being the partner of someone living with Bipolar. We talk about how he felt when I first told him that I have Bipolar, how this changed when we started living with each other and how him witnessing me through highs and lows feels for him and what he things about it.  He also shares some of what he does that can be helpful or not so helpful through the different ranges of mood that present themselves within me and the importance of sharing our big feelings with each other regardless of if there is mental illness in the couple-ship or not.  We also talk about suicidal phases and how that impacts him and our relationship, the importance of safety plans and care plans and how they will need revisiting as time goes on as we will always be changing as people and encountering different life stressors that may affect how we cope.  Please listen with care as we do discuss topics that may feel difficult and triggering as we do discuss a specific trigger for myself when I experience suicidal phases.  If you have any questions please email me on [email protected] and we will answer them directly or at the beginning of a future episode of Let's talk Bipolar. We hope that this may speak to those partners/support people who support those living with Bipolar. Thank you for listening Emma and Gareth Please find support and resources on our website www.bipolaruk.org Insta: @bipolar_uk Twitter: bipolaruk Facebook: bipolaruk Hosted by Emma Belle Insta: @emmakbelle www.emmakbelle.com