Recover From Bipolar, Prison, Addiction & Alcoholism! School of Rock Bottom 3: Mark Lockyer

[TW//Bipolar, Prison, Addiction, Alcoholism, Depression, Suicide] Today I welcome actor, RADA graduate and RSC royalty Mark Lockyer. In the early 1990s, he was a rising star of the The Royal Shakespeare Company. By the mid-90s, his life was in chaos that led to imprisonment and eventually a mental hospital where he got the treatment he needed. Mark took his one man autobiographical show, Living With The Lights On, on tour in the UK and abroad to five stars reviews. Just like this podcast, it is a story of hope and turning your life around from the depths of dispair. Mark takes us to his rock bottom moment, living through his life with untreated bipolar disorder, suicide attempts, alcoholism, substance misuse and prison - then onto an incredible story of hope and a tremendous recovery. Mark is a hero and is proof that any situation can be turned around. If you've been affected by any of the issues discussed on today's episode please contact MIND on 0300 1233393 or email: [email protected] (Mon-Fri 9am - 6pm). If outside these hours, visit: www.mind.org.uk/need-urgent-help/using-this-tool/ Topics - 0:00 Intro 3:10 Mark's rock bottom 5:40 How did you get there? 8:03 The early years before diagnosis 12:40 What it is like living with bipolar disorder 21:08 Identifying the negative force inside 25:20 Does addiction stem from mental illness or the other way round? 29:00 How did you get better? 31:50 Dealing with the stigma against mental health 33:05 Alcoholism and suicide attempts 35:35 The road to recovery 37:30 The role of passion and purpose 42:15 Getting his play to The Young Vic 46:03 What is working and not working within mental health 48:40 Advice to protect yourself as a performer and creative This Podcast is not for profit but my goal is to break even. To help me make more please donate here. Thank you. https://bit.ly/3kSucAs Follow Oliver - Instagram - https://bit.ly/3IemHLY Twitter - http://bit.ly/3GQYj2l Facebook - http://bit.ly/3w8S1Gx LinkedIn - http://bit.ly/3kp4ymC TikTok - https://bit.ly/3YGLsYm Listen on - Spotify - https://bit.ly/3FiXuzA Apple - https://apple.co/41IrJt4 or search 'School of Rock Bottom' where you listen to your podcasts. YouTube - https://bit.ly/3leM7BB About this podcast - Welcome to the School Of Rock Bottom Podcast with Oliver Mason. I work as an actor, voice-over artist, Performing Arts School Principal and a Mental Health Coach. It's these careers and passions combined that have inspired this podcast! People working in the entertainment and performing arts industry are twice as likely to experience depression, are up to 15x more likely to suffer from anxiety and those working across all the creative industries are 3x more likely to suffer a mental health problem. In this podcast, we invite creatives who have lived through a rock bottom but have survived! These stories need to be heard to help others realise that no matter how bad things seem there is hope and always a way out. We will also be discussing how to protect your mental health whilst working within the creative industries.