“Attention seeker, you are just but an attention seeker. That word has been used against me so many times and it is not cool. It’s not easy, because in real sense you have a problem,” Wendy model living with Bipolar.

Our words have an impact. They are also like swords and if we do not realize their power we might be killing someone, who is smiling back at us. One in four Kenyans which is approximately 11.5 million people; suffer from one or a combination of mental disorders. Bipolar is one of the conditions which is often passed off by society as being an “attention seeker”, “overly dramatic” etc. However Bipolar is a medical condition is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression).

Wendy grew up in a broken family. Where in more than one instance she tried committing suicide to end her life. On her last attempt, while at the hospital she was diagnosed with bipolar in 2018. This made a lot of sense to her as it gave her meaning to some of her experiences, “I just told the doctor that enyewe it is true. I didn’t even argue and I told him I am ready to walk the recovery journey,” she continued to share.

A major depressive episode includes symptoms that are severe enough to cause noticeable difficulty in day-to-day activities, such as work, school, social activities, or relationships. At times people with bipolar don’t know when they are having episodes or even if what they are experiencing at the moment is an episode.

It is up to you and me to be more keen and cautious with the people around us. Bipolar is not a death sentence it is a condition one can live with and have a quality of life. “From then on, I took it as my foundation for everything that I do. I don’t take it as a negative it is a positive for me. It is opening doors for me. Because o,f it I have courage and everything happens for a reason,” Wendy Njoroge.

It is time to end the stigma associated with mental health issues. My tomorrow is greater than today.