Causepods

The journey a person who suffers from bipolar disorder inevitably has with the condition is a challenging one. Diagnosis can often be postponed until late in life because telltale behaviors get mistaken as symptoms of different root causes. Our guest on the show today is Dawn Sherine Bernard, and while she knew from a young age that her mental health was not optimal, she was only finally diagnosed at age 40. The lessons she learned from the battle she fought have inspired her to start a podcast called Dancing with Bipolar, and today she joins us to speak more about it.

Dawn never had the privilege of a medical aid and so even scheduling a meeting to get a diagnosis was riddled by obstructions for her. She ended up having to fake a suicide attempt just so that she could get admitted and finally see a healthcare provider.

Joining this episode, you will hear Dawn share her experiences living with bipolar disorder and how these have taken her to a place where she felt a calling to become a voice on the matter through her podcast. She shares the memories of how she ended up getting diagnosed, which form a scathing critique on privatization and the lack of a good public healthcare system in the US. We also get into some of the other ways a person with no medical aid might begin the process of seeking help and discover that the national suicide hotlines might be a good place for somebody to start.

This episode also covers the story behind Dawn’s podcast’s name. Dawn tells us about her love for dancing and her daily practice of going dancing with her dog. For Dawn, the relationship a person with bipolar has with the condition feels like a dance for several reasons. It becomes a play of smoke and mirrors which presents a constant struggle between making progress and then losing ground.

Dawn also talks about how starting Dancing with Bipolar has been an incredibly empowering experience, one which has helped her with her journey, as well as hopefully touched the lives of her listeners. We hear how Dawn has grown her listener base and what she has to keep doing to stay afloat and be a service to her audience. Living with bipolar is something which can be made much more bearable with the right set of tools, so tune in to find out what an incredible resource Dawn’s show could be to those in need of it.

Key Topics:  

•   The impetus behind Dancing with Bipolar originating in Dawn’s own struggles. (01:13)

•   Challenges to diagnosis and accessing help that Dawn faced. (02:08)

•   Non-medical aid users having to use suicide attempts to access healthcare. (03:43)

•   Other ways of seeking emergency help by using a national hotline. (05:44)

•   How Dawn came up with her podcast’s name: links between bipolar and dance. (06:52)

•   Dawn’s hopes for how her story might help others who listen to her show. (08:19)

•   Why Dawn chose the podcast as a format to accomplish her mission. (09:52)

•   Personal gains Dawn experiences from her show that help her stay on track. (11:01)

•   Ways Dawn promotes her podcast so that it can reach people who need it. (13:12)

•   Advice for people who want to start a podcast: make sure you know your subject. (16:09)

•   Why Dawn wants listeners to support unMASKing Hope which explores trauma. (18:56)

Guest Info:

Dawn Sherine Bernard, creator of the Dancing with Bipolar Podcast.

Link to Podcast:

https://dancingwithbipolarpodcast.com/