TWO friends have spoken out for the first time about living with a mental illness in a bold bid to help others.

David Smith and Alison Mahon both have bipolar disorder - known in the past as manic depression - a condition that can cause extreme mood swings.

The pair attend the Inverclyde Bipolar Self Help Group and hope to encourage others to join up.

Civil engineer, David, 63, of Castlehill Crescent in Kilmacolm, was diagnosed with the condition six years ago.

He told the Tele: "It really kicked in when I was in third year at secondary school, I was about 14.

"I had the classic signs such as mood swings and I also had flu symptoms and I sunk into a depth of desperation and didn't understand why.

"Being bipolar, it means that other days you are the life and soul of the party - laughing and joking." Despite having the condition, David left school with eight O Grades and two Highers and became a civil engineer.

He added: "Bipolar disorder seems to occur more often in brighter people, there seems to be a correlation.

"I'm now work freelance and the great thing is if I get ill and I can't cope, I can leave my job and pick it up again when I'm better." Mum of three, Alison, who stays in Greenock's Morton Terrace, is - like David - keen to banish the stigma surrounding mental illness.

In her teens, she noticed some signs of the condition but was not diagnosed until she was 40.

Alison, who takes 11 tablets a day to control the condition, said: "I would get very high.

"Some people experience more lows but I got more highs, though not so much now as I get older.

"I'm very artistic and did interior design at college, so I used to spend all night decorating and my kids used to get up in the morning and I would still be up a ladder." Thanks to the self-help group, where people can share experiences, find out information and give each other support, Alison's confidence has grown.

She said: "I wish people would understand it, as they seem to think mental illness is frightening.

"But you can walk along the street and not realise you are passing someone with a mental illness, as it's not like a broken arm or leg - you can't see it.

"It must be really hard for people to walk through the doors at the group for the first time.

"But I want to stress that anyone can come along with a family member, partner or carer - it has helped bring me out my shell." The self-help group meets in Craigend Resource Centre, McLeod Street, Greenock, on the third Thursday of the month from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

For more information phone 07906 842167.