A MAN has bravely spoken out about his ongoing four-decade battle with mental illness.

Adrian Polding, 75, from Darwen, asked to share his story in the hope that he could change perceptions of the illness and help others.

He has called for more funding and improvements to health services across East Lancashire.

Around one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year, according to leading charity Mind.

It was in 1980 when Adrian first became ill after a marriage breakdown and losing his job as an insurance broker.

“The breakdown in my marriage with my wife who I had two lovely children with broke my heart, and I’ve been on anti-depressants ever since then,” he said.

At first, Adrian said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia but it wasn’t until 1990 when a psychiatrist told him he in fact had bipolar, a mental disorder that causes periods of depression and spells of elevated mood.

Adrian, who lives in Mayfield Flats, said: “I would suffer from agoraphobia and extreme anxiety, while I would just want to stay in bed all day and not go out of the house.

“I had mood swings where I would be depressed for a few days and my mood would change and I would be okay.

“I also suffered from extreme tiredness, general exhaustion, would struggle to sleep and I’d drink a lot to deal with it.

“The way I’d describe it is like a dark cloud in my head full of negative thoughts and I felt like there was no future.”

Adrian said his battle saw him have ten sessions of ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy), a treatment that involves sending an electric current through the brain to trigger an epileptic seizure to relive the symptoms of some mental health problems.

He also had two six-month spells in psychiatric hospital in Blackburn.

Adrian said he is now feeling a lot better but still takes anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs to this day, while he is awaiting counselling.

He said: “I am feeling a lot better now due to the support I’ve had from my family but some days are difficult .

“There is still a stigma towards people with mental health problems but it’s not like it used to be in the 1950s and 1960s.

“I think the string of high-profile celebrities who have spoken about their battles with mental illness has helped normalise and raise awareness of mental health problems.

“There is still an issue with access to mental health services in the NHS though, where I feel mental health is the poor relation to physical health when it comes to funding.

“I’ve just gone in for counselling through Mindsmatter and I’m having to wait 22 weeks before I will have treatment.

“So there is an issue with mental health service provision and funding in the NHS that does need addressing.

“My main aim though is to raise awareness of mental health problems through my own battle.

“This way I can hopefully help other people in the same situation, so they know there is a way out." For information on mental illness, visit mind.org.uk/.