The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic brought unexpected hardships — disruptions to daily life, overwhelming uncertainty and a sense of disconnection. For Andrew Bloom, the crisis came with an additional challenge: a bipolar diagnosis. It forced Andrew to navigate a global health emergency while also coming to terms with his own mental health journey.
“It was a bit of a challenge to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder as COVID was happening,” Andrew said. “It just seemed like everything turned into chaos.”
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes clear shifts in a person's mood, energy, activity levels and concentration. When Andrew was diagnosed with bipolar 1, he was glad to finally have a diagnosis that explained past behavior, but the news still came as a shock.
“It was very overwhelming,” he said. “I learned that during some of the major events of my life, I experienced manic episodes where I was hearing intrusive voices for my own thoughts, but I wasn’t actually in control.”
Andrew initially turned to alcohol and struggled with addiction to cope with his diagnosis, but quickly found Mental Health America of Ohio’s bipolar support group, which is funded by the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County.
“Everyone in the group is a peer so it was very comforting to know these were people who felt similarly to me,” Andrew said. “When it was early in my diagnosis, I felt very poked and prodded, like I was an alien species being studied, but the group didn’t make me feel like that.”
Building A Community of Connection
Mental Health America of Ohio began offering bipolar support groups in 2016, said Hannah Hite, Get Connected Senior Program Manager at Mental Health America of Ohio.
“Mental Health America of Ohio is always trying to figure out how to give certain communities more support than maybe therapy or medication, so the (bipolar support group) came out of a realization that there were people who had been diagnosed with bipolar who were looking for community,” Hannah said.
Each group consists of two, trained peer facilitators who start meetings with a breathing exercise and a check-in question before opening the floor for discussion. Andrew became a facilitator in October 2024.
“I became a facilitator because the group has benefited me so much,” Andrew said. “I’m not perfect, but I know I’ll show up to group and be there, even if it's just to listen.”
Hannah said groups are open to both newly diagnosed individuals and those who have been managing bipolar disorder for years. Andrew believes this mix of experiences makes the group even more relatable and valuable for its members.
“Without a doubt you're going to have somebody there who's manic, hypomanic and ready to go, and somebody who may be severely depressed,” Andrew said. “Being in a room where all the emotions that come with bipolar disorder are present at once has been really impactful for me. It reminds me of what it’s like to be in each of those places.”
As Andrew continues his journey living with bipolar disorder, the support group remains a steady source of connection and encouragement. No matter the challenges ahead, he finds reassurance in having a space where others understand the everyday obstacles individuals with bipolar disorder navigate.
“There’s nowhere else in the world I can go that gives me the same type of connection you get from being in a room with somebody else, crying and laughing with them and seeing the emotion on their face when they talk about struggles we all can relate to,” Andrew said.
Interested in learning more about Mental Health America of Ohio’s bipolar disorder support group? Register here, call or text 614.242.4357 or email connect@mhaohio.org.