Skateboarding helps me manage my bipolar - Amber's story
Written by Amber Eggleden
After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Amber decided to take some time away from her job and focus on herself. During this time, she decided to take on a new challenge: skateboarding. It’s not the easiest sport to get the hang of, but she hasn’t looked back since starting and now you’ll find her taking on 8ft skate ramps like a pro. Feeling inspired? A new year can be a great time to take on a new hobby…
I cannot thank skateboarding enough for entering my life. It came at the right time and it pretty much saved me in 2021. I have never really been an adventurous or sporty person and the last thing I could imagine was me rolling down a ramp on a piece of wood with wheels…
In 2021, I received a bipolar disorder diagnosis after a really tough time. Covid and lockdowns really threw a spanner into the works with all of our lives, and I’m sure without it I might have gone on living unbeknown to having bipolar disorder. I always knew I would sometimes feel a bit down, but most of the time I’m out enjoying my best life! I had an inkling my spending habits might have had something to do with my mental health, and after experiencing several manic episodes in a short period of time during lockdown and spending an obscene amount of money I knew something was wrong.
After experiencing a depressive episode I ended up taking some anti-depressants, which led to me having a really mixed episode for a few months because of the anti-depressants. I knew something was really wrong when I had racing thoughts, anxiety, sleepless nights, constant energy running through me, things ended up getting really scary and I experienced suicidal thoughts for the first time. Although this was all really difficult to go through, the reaction to the anti-depressants is what helped me get a bipolar diagnosis. I was really fortunate to have a mental health specialist GP, who instantly referred me to a psychiatrist and I received my diagnosis almost straight away.
I chose to move home with my parents, to focus on my health and put my fast-paced career aside for a while. I was desperate for a distraction, and somehow stumbled across skateboarding. As I am such an uncoordinated person I expected it to be a total laugh and for me to fall on my butt and give up, but six months later I haven’t looked back! It’s been the best thing I have discovered and it's been amazing for my continued recovery. It introduced me to a huge welcoming and friendly community. There’s really something special about people cheering you on for learning a new trick or tapping their boards in celebration for you doing something scary!
Skateboarding has given me a chance to focus my energy, when I’m down I try to push myself out to a skatepark and get some endorphins, and when I am manic best believe I am skating 24/7 to use that energy in a positive way. It’s been the best thing for me.
There’s something really great about overcoming fears and anxiety whether that’s stepping on a skateboard in the first place or dropping into an 8ft ramp (which I can now say I have achieved). You can find me cruising around a skatepark bowl mostly, it’s such a freeing sensation, it sort of feels like you are flying. I really recommend it to someone who wants to tackle anxiety head on as it really does feel amazing.