Yvette Caster on battling bipolar disorder and life as an emotional eater

This is an episode you need to listen to if you want to understand the experience of suffering mental illness. Yvette, as one of our unheard voices describes with stigma blowing clarity what it is like to live with mental illness. She suffers from bipolar disorder, depression and binge eating. 

The first thing you will realise is that suffering from a mental illness is very different from having difficult feelings. It is a serious, life changing and often misunderstood condition that can be managed but takes a huge effort to do so. 

In this conversation, we touch on: 

• The mood swings of bipolar disorder, how seriously unwell it can lead someone to be and the scary nature of a manic episode.
• The way bipolar and binge eating influence each other. Yvette goes into detail about eating all her strong feelings - and how she expresses her anger. 
• On how depression ‘tells you lies’. If you have suffered depression, or are close to someone with depression you will find Yvette’s description of depression illuminating. 
• How being a young person entering a mental health unit can be thought of as shameful but how Yvette felt there was a fellowship and it was an important space outside of home that was curative. 
• How ’suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem’. This is truly something to hold onto and we should use to influence ourselves and the other. Her story gives us all hope when life gets terrifyingly dark.
• Finally how choirs should be an NHS prescription and how curative singing can be to lift spirits and connect with others.

Yvette’s wisdom from facing such huge challenges comes from a deep knowing. She acknowledges that you don’t have to fix everything at once but just focus on one day at time. If you are suffering from similar feelings, just remember feelings are not permanent and you won’t feel like this forever. 

Support links:

BEAT: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/

MIND: https://www.mind.org.uk/

Rethink Mental Illness: https://www.rethink.org/

Bipolar UK: https://www.bipolaruk.org/

Find Julia:

Website: https://juliasamuel.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliasamuelmbe/

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/therapy works and get on your way to being your best self.

A big thank you to Youth & Earth for sponsoring this episode. Head to www.youthandearth.com now and take advantage of a very generous 25% off when using the code JULIA25 on your first order. 

Produced by Georgie Rutherford

Edited by Nick Kingswell

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