I am a psychiatrist and writer with bipolar disorder. I became ill in my twenties when I was expecting my first daughter, and had a series of hospital admissions and treatment with medication and ECT. I subsequently trained as a psychiatrist myself (despite much advice to the contrary), and work in the field of addictions. Perhaps unusually, I work in the same hospital where I am treated (and was previously an in-patient).
I have been very lucky to live my life as I have, but still struggle with the changing role of both doctor and patient. I am married with several daughters and dogs, and play the violin with enthusiasm, if not talent. In recent years, I have written copiously about my experiences, both in my blog as well as the in Guardian and Prospect Magazine. I am now venturing into something completely different, and am currently working on my first novel, ‘The Mind Reader’.
