When you first become a carer for a person with a serious mental illness it can be stressful and confusing. Often the person we care for is a close family member and it is distressing to see them become ill. But there’s good news: serious mental illnesses are very treatable and everyone with a serious mental illness can take steps towards recovery. As carers, we can take a positive role in this process. This plan is based on tips and feedback from carer Members at Hafal. It’s based on real life and it applies both to new and experienced carers. The plan sets out the positive steps you can take as a carer to improve your life and support the person you care for.

This weekend it’s time to put the clocks forward. While we’ll all welcome the start of Spring and the promise of lighter evenings, some of us might not be so excited about our alarm going off an hour earlier that we’re used to. Within a few days most of us will adjust to the hour of lost sleep, but for some people with mental health conditions, problems with sleep can be a year-round issue.

Bipolar Education Programme Cymru (BEPC) is an award-winning 10 week course that aims to help people with bipolar disorder improve their quality of life through a better understanding of their condition. Supported by the Big Lottery Fund, the course has already benefitted thousands of people. One of them is Julie Murray. This is her story (trigger warning):