Blumenthal brings attention to bipolar

As celebrity chef says we need to do more to not let sufferers down, here are some of the disorder's early warning signs

- BY DR RAJ PERSAUD, CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST

Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal has bravely opened up about his bipolar disorder, revealing details of the manic episode in which he hallucinated a gun, heard voices, and began planning suicide, before being sectioned.

There is a world of difference between the kind of mood swings we all experience, and bipolar, a critical, clinical illness which includes a loss of insight into what is going on.

The sudden and unexpected arrival of a series of policemen at his home in Provence, France, was not considered odd by the chef, who appears to have politely let them in.

In the end, it took nine officials, besides a doctor, including several policemen and even firemen, to section the 59-year-old. That such a large number were required to facilitate Blumenthal's involuntary admission is not unusual, sadly.