More humans have been into space than have trekked to the North Pole.

More people have scaled the summit of Mount Everest than have reached the South Pole from the Antarctic coast.

THEBIPOLAREXPEDITION will take a team of 12 to the South Pole and the North Pole. Each team will be trekking to the ‘last degree’ of latitude in both hemispheres, which is expected to take three weeks per trek. Each expedition team will comprise of two experienced expedition guides, one camera person/documentary producer and nine members of the community who are in some way affected by Bipolar Disorder, whether that be through the illness itself, a medical practitioner dealing with the disorder or other community members.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness characterised by extreme mood changes between mania and depression, and has a suicide rate higher than any other disease or mental illness. Bipolar Disorder, with a worldwide prevalence of about 3-5%, is the sixth leading cause of medical disability worldwide among people 15 to 44 years of age, and is associated with a greater degree of disability than a number of prominent chronic medical conditions, including osteoarthritis, HIV infection, diabetes, and asthma.

Despite its seriousness and prominence, a staggering 70% of patients are misdiagnosed and one third of patients wait ten years or more before a correct diagnosis is made. This is an appalling waste of human potential and a major public health burden. In fact, in Australia the disorder also has a substantial economic cost amounting to $1.59 billion and as high as $45 billion in the US. Of this, about half is incurred by indirect costs such as the effects on work productivity as well as social welfare costs and criminal justice costs, which is exacerbated by the 10 year gap in correct diagnosis.

1 in 200 people have Bipolar Disorder
Every untreated patient with Bipolar Disorder costs their employer
an average of $10, 000 a year in lost productivity.

Greater research needs to be invested to provide a better understanding of the disorder, to increase correct diagnoses so that people with Bipolar Disorder can manage their lives and achieve great things.