A politician diagnosed with bipolar disorder four years ago has said he wants to share his diagnosis in a bid to encourage others to seek support.
Gareth Davies is a Conservative member of the Senedd and has represented the Vale of Clwyd in Cardiff Bay since 2021.
He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in late January 2020, shortly before the COVID lockdown.
The 36-year-old told Sky News he initially didn’t want to accept that “there might be something wrong”.
“The further time was going on, the issues were snow-balling more and becoming more acute,” he said.
“So that then manifested to the point where I considered taking my life.
“Obviously, I don’t want to see other people getting to that point.
“That’s the reason I want to raise awareness, and, if there is anybody who might be suffering in silence, to give them the confidence they need to go to a health professional, GP, or even speak to a relative or friend who might be able to help.”
Mr Davies has now become an ambassador of mental health charity Bipolar UK.
“I’m pleased that I did have that something inside me to seek help,” he added.
“I want to use that experience in helping others and having been there myself, I know how it feels.
“You don’t feel like you’ve got any other option when you’re that bad and if we can stop people getting there, improve rates and improve the statistics around suicide, hopefully by speaking out about it, I can raise awareness and help people across the country.”
Around 50,000 people in Wales – nearly 2% of the adult population – are estimated to be living with bipolar.
The average time to diagnose bipolar after first discussing symptoms with a clinician is 11.9 years in Wales, compared to 9.4 years in England, according to Bipolar UK.
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A spokesperson for the Welsh government spokesperson said it recognised the “complexities” of arriving at a bipolar diagnosis.
“We must ensure the good mental health support is available for people, whatever the diagnosis,” they added.
“To support this work, we have invested more than £2m in the NHS Executive to establish a new programme for mental health to improve access, quality and outcomes from our mental health services.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
