University of Cardiff Bipolar Study

They have 3000 participants already but need 3000 more, so if you are reading this, live in the UK and have bipolar disorder I’d suggest you get in touch with them. You do not have to be British.

They are researching the effect of DNA and stressful life events and their interplay on the onset and development of bipolar disorder in adults.

Here’s what happened:

There was an interview of about an hour where she asked me a large number of questions about my illness. There was a section on when I got ill, for how long, what hospitalisations I’d had, and how often; a list of medications where I circled those I had taken in the past or was taking now; a lot of questions about what symptoms I suffered from when depressed or hypomanic; questions around the area of psychosis; and a series of questions designed to check for stressful life events around episodes of illness or its onset. Because I told her about my alcoholism, she had numerous questions about that as well. She was polite, nice and to the point and although occasionally I did wander a bit (I really do like the sound of my own voice) never made me feel like a specimen, always a person.

Then she attempted to take a blood sample, but couldn’t find a vein so instead of sticking me multiple times gave me a kit to take to my GP’s to get the practice nurse to take the sample instead and gave me a freepost envelope to return it. Finally, she gave me a stack of questionnaires to do, which I then need to send back in another freepost envelope. The questionnaires were of the psychometric test variety where you are given a statement and tick “yes” or “no”; or there are some multiple choice questions where you pick the most suitable answer.

Points to consider:

• The whole thing is completely confidential. Universities are used to this and employ lots of smart people who ensure your details do not go walkies Home Office-style. Also, this is unlikely to be gobbled up by the maw of Big Pharma, never to be heard of again, seeing as they are not funding it.
• You do not need to leave your home to do this study other than to post the questionnaires back.
• You will be allowing a stranger into your home for an hour and I know for some this is an issue. The researcher who visited me was really nice and put me at my ease pretty quickly. They see lots of people every day.
• You will need to be able to concentrate enough for an hour to answer detailed questions about your condition.
• You will also need to answer a set of questionnaires after the researcher leaves, which take about an hour to complete. Again, you’ll need to have enough concentration to do this within a week of them visiting you.
• You are not required to answer any individual question just because you have answered others and can cut the whole process short at any time if you are no longer able to participate or change your mind.
• They will take a blood sample. This is never fun. If you are really nervous or they can’t find a vein they can give you a kit to take to your GPs instead for the practice nurse to do it.
• The vast majority of the questions asked my the researcher are pretty impersonal and so probably not an issue for you. However, you will be asked if you have ever attempted suicide and if so how, and also to list if you’ve done any really stupid or risky while manic.  There are also questions about negative life events and you may have had something nasty happen to you that you don’t like talking about (eg. rape, sexual abuse). If you find it really difficult to mention any of this perhaps you could write it down beforehand and give it to the researcher at the appropriate moment. They will not ask you for details.

To quote Stephen Fry on the study’s site: “If you took time to participate in this study, you’ve no idea how much good you will be doing. It would be a wonderful, a kind, a graceful and a noble thing to do. So much good for so little effort. How you will glow. By choosing to assist one of the greatest problems facing human happiness you will have done your bit to help remove stigma, shame and hidden pain as well as hastening the day when we all understand the operations of mind and brain a little better”.

So go for it!