What is it about?
The article is about my history of bipolar disorder, including my biographical background and my struggle of accepting the diagnosis. I describe the development of a severe mixed episode due to not taking my prescribed medication, and about the pain and shame resulting from it. It took time to understand that my experiences as a doctor and a patient had advantages like a greater understanding of my patients and of psychiatric disorders. I also talk about the "Selbst Betroffenen Profis" (“self-affected professionals”), a self-help and interest group of people working in psycho-social fields diagnosed bipolar, I established in 2014 aiming at reducing feelings of guilt and shame and trying to reduce mental health stigma.
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Why is it important?
The narrative describes how I overcame feelings of guilt and shame and began to understand what advantages for my work as a psychiatrist my own lived experience has. It describes the development of "Self-affected professionals" ("Selbst Betroffene Profis", a group of people diagnosed bipolar who work in psycho-social fields. It may encourage colleagues in other countries to disclose their mental health issues and form similar groups to help to reduce mental health stigma.
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This page is a summary of: Changeover—How my lived experience changed my life, my work as a psychiatrist, and how it resulted in the establishment of a support group for prosumers in Germany., Psychological Services, February 2022, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/ser0000487.
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