Kim McCarthy, 55, from Northampton
I rocked my son in my arms as he wept, both sadness and relief engulfing me.
‘It's going to be OK,’ I promised.
It was 2010, and Hayden, then 12, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
In 2002, when Hayden was 5, his father, Dave McCarthy, 33, died by suicide.
Dave had bipolar, so I knew the signs. And Hayden showed them all.
Mood swings and big highs followed by extreme lows.
I'd started homeschooling him, but it wasn't until Hayden attempted suicide age 12 himself that docs took me seriously.
‘I'm scared, Mum,’ he said, the day he was diagnosed.
‘I know, sweetheart. But now we can get you the help you need,’ I
