I’ve always had a support network to help me manage manic depression. Most aren’t so lucky

‘My own experience of having so much support made me a rarity in the mental health system,’ writes Eleanor de Jong. Photograph: Leamus/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In my last column I wrote about the support the “periphery” could offer a person experiencing a mental health crisis.

Many people with lived experience got in touch to thank me for the piece, some from psych wards, but also to remind me that a lot, if not most people with severe mental health issues, are not only without a periphery but also without close family and friends.