The Relationship Between Social Support and Personal Recovery in Bipolar Disorder

Objective: Mood symptoms may impact on personal recovery and psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder (BD). This study aimed to explore whether recent mood symptoms were associated with recovery and social support from friends, family, and partners. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 312 participants who self-reported a confirmed diagnosis of BD and were recruited through social media. Results: A series of one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. Those who reported depression (52%) or hypo/mania (47%) reported lower recovery scores. Those who reported seeing family and >1 friend reported higher recovery scores along with those who were employed, did not receive benefits, and had higher education. Recent hypo/mania symptoms were associated with less family contact. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Friends and family may be conducive to recovery, however recent symptoms may have an impact. More research is required to understand how hypo/mania symptoms may influence accessing family support. Impact and Implications This research highlights that personal recovery may be affected by current mood symptoms and that this may be particularly relevant for people living with bipolar disorder. How people living bipolar disorder engage in family help-seeking and support during hypo/mania is important as it may have an impact on the duration and severity of the episode and its treatment. As reduced contact with family was found to be associated with recent hypo/mania symptoms in this research, an exploration of how this could be addressed through the treatment and management of the condition is needed, along with a better understanding of how these symptoms may undermine help-seeking and subsequent treatment delay during these episodes.