Jo Leidreiter, Psychologist

23/06/2025

Heston Blumenthal: My Life with Bipolar
A powerful new documentary aired on the BBC this week featuring world-renowned chef — and now Bipolar UK ambassador — Heston Blumenthal.

In this deeply personal film, Heston reflects on his late-in-life bipolar diagnosis and the ways the condition has shaped his creativity, relationships, and challenges. He also sits down with others with lived experience — helping break through stigma and speak candidly about the long, often painful road to getting the right diagnosis.

As a psychologist who works daily with people living with bipolar disorder, I was moved by Heston’s honesty and advocacy. The film highlights something we see too often: the average delay of 9.5 years to diagnosis. And the toll that delay can take on identity, trust, and life direction.

I encourage everyone — clinicians, carers, friends, and those with lived experience — to watch this documentary and reflect on how we can do better.

📺 Watch “Heston: My Life with Bipolar” now on BBC iPlayer
💬 If you’ve seen it, I’d love to hear your reflections — what resonated for you?

https://go.bipolaruk.org/e/947582/2h-heston-my-life-with-bipolar/5lljbv/1064363914/h/BxeD5kMFNGZnfk9jpMVlX4eowIWYDQHoEicyXJGzs54

Chef Heston Blumenthal explores the impact bipolar disorder has had on his life, his creativity and the people he loves, as well as the state of bipolar care in the UK.

20/06/2025

Is Your Gut the Key to Bipolar Treatment Success? A new review of 12 studies found that individuals with bipolar disorder who responded well to treatment had gut microbiomes more similar to healthy people. The findings highlight the gut-brain axis as a potential factor in treatment success and suggest future opportunities for personalised, microbiome-informed care. Read on.

A new review has examined how bipolar disorder medications interact with the gut microbiome, revealing important links between treatment response and gut microbial composition.

29/03/2025

Watch an exclusive interview from the newly appointed Bipolar UK Ambassador, Chef and Restaurateur, Heston Blumenthal who is interviewed by fellow Bipolar UK Ambassador and Deputy Political Editor for ITV, Anushka Asthana where they discuss his diagnosis and stigma surrounding bipolar.

Watch an exclusive interview from our newly appointed Bipolar UK Ambassador, Chef and Restaurateur, Heston Blumenthal who is interviewed by fellow Bipolar UK...

28/03/2025

Join the Bipolar UK World Bipolar Day Conference 2025

This free online conference will take place on Thursday, March 27th from 6pm-8:30pm GMT. To learn more about the speaker line up and to register, click the box below.

World Bipolar Day is celebrated on 30 March every year. Sign up for Bipolar UK's free World Bipolar Day 2025 conference today.

28/03/2025

Last week, the CREST.BD research network assembled a diverse team of bipolar disorder experts to answer questions on Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) platform: r/IAmA.

In over 48 hours, the team of 71 experts helped to answer 400 questions and 1.5k total comments! If you missed the event, click the box below to read through the comments.

Explore this post and more from the IAmA community

26/04/2023

https://drewramseymd.com/brain-food-nutrition/9-mechanisms-of-nutritional-psychiatry/?inf_contact_key=241eed9fbb4966bcdc2bde0ed516e016680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1

I’m interested in how food can impact the mental health of my patients and my own mental health. I lecture a lot about this and go over some of the big mechanisms. There’s a lot of great research but it often comes down to one question I get asked, how does food actually impact mental…

25/10/2022

A topic that is raised by almost every patient. Bipolar Disorder (BD) is often associated with Binge Eating (BE), read on for a personalised account from a Bipolar patient, Louise, as she shares her experience.

“Hi. My name is Louise, and I’m a binge eater”. Bipolar disorder is not always a stand-alone illness; many other disorders may co-occur with it including my own personal nemesis, binge-eating disorder (BED).

29/07/2022

If u haven’t discovered Andrew Huberman yet…you’re in for a treat…excellent evidence based podcast on the latest information and research into Bipolar. Check out his other podcasts on light, sleep, and nutrition.

In this episode, I explain the biology, symptoms, causes and types of bipolar disorder (sometimes called bipolar depression).

22/06/2022

Check out the latest webinar from Professor Felice Jacka, President of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research, and mental health educator Victoria Maxwell discuss the importance of nutrition for mental health, provide practical tips on how to improve nutrition, and answer questions on food and mood

31/03/2022

Hello Reddit! We are psychiatrists/psychologists, researchers, and people living with bipolar disorder representing the CREST.BD network. March...

31/03/2022

In a recent survey, 77% of bipolar-I participants said living with the disorder made them feel isolated or alone, and 81% reported feeling like no one

01/11/2021

Please listen to the inspiring Dr Hattar who is credited with discovering the neurons in the eye that set our circadian clocks and regulate mood. Practical neuroscience tips to help you hack your brain to stabilise mood.

In this episode, Dr. Huberman hosts Dr. Samer Hattar, Chief of the Section on Light and Circadian Rhythms at the National Institute of Mental Health