Mind helped us regain control

Adam
It was March 2023 and Christina and I were on a cruise in Antarctica when she had a psychotic incident and was sectioned in Argentina for two weeks. A week after returning to the UK, another psychotic episode resulted in her being sectioned again, this time for seven weeks. I'm not a control freak but I always feel that I know what I'm doing, and I know where I'm going. At that point I realised I had no control over anything. 

Christina
It's difficult to remember but I did have two episodes, which were like nothing I'd experienced before. I felt invincible, full of energy and capable of doing anything. I had been qualified as a nurse and a midwife and done a little bit mental health during my time, I realised that wasn't normal. I then sought some help from a psychiatrist. The change since my diagnosis, well, since when I started on the medication that I'm on now, has been huge. I don't know what I would be like without it, so I'm very grateful to them for taking the time to diagnose me.

Adam
"I wish I’d picked up the phone earlier. My advice would be don’t delay – a wasted call is far better than letting it get to the stage I did."

I reached out to Mind after it became clear that I didn't really understand what had happened legally. The helpline gave me legal advice and they explained the sectioning protocol and talked me through what might happen. I thought I would get an answer somewhere along the scale of 0 to 10, but I got an answer that was a 10. There's was nothing more they could have done for me. The conversation only lasted 10 or 15 minutes, but it meant the world to me. My anxiety came down a few notches. 

I wish I’d picked up the phone two years earlier and tried to work out what was going on with Christina, who has now been diagnosed with bipolar. My advice would be don't delay – a wasted call is far better than letting it get to the stage as I did. 

Experience of stigma

Adam
We moved to Angmering three years ago, and sometimes when you move to a new area people search you out. Because of Christina's illness we had people that crossed the road or turned and walked the other way rather than speaking to us. My closest friends have been brilliant. They've been there for both of us, which I see as a lesson to myself to make sure that I'm there for other people as well. You've just got to step forward sometimes however uncomfortable it makes you feel.

"There's a horrid look that people give you when they think that you're not quite right, which is really hard."

Christina
When I first started having mental health issues, I would stay at home. If I would go out when I wasn't depressed, I was maybe a little bit more manic, and people did not take to it well. There's a horrid look that people give you when they think that you're not quite right, which is really hard. Even my family were struggling. Since my diagnosis and the medication, a lot of my closer family and all my friends have been very supportive.

Adam
I believe there are so many things that go wrong in this country because people have mental health issues that are not treated.  There's so much that needs to be done, and I just want to be able to help in any way possible to get people access to mental health treatment. Mind were there for me, and I will always be incredibly grateful for that.