Her life had become a roller-coaster ride of dramatic mood swings where she hovered at euphoric highs before plummeting to dark lows.

“I flip-flopped from one mood to the next and my husband never knew who he was going to meet at the end of the day,” Ms Purtle said.

“When I was high I thought I was fantastic.

“I was enthusiastic and passionate and I would always be looking for the next project.

“I’d put it down to my personality but when I was depressed, I sensed something was not quite right.”

It wasn’t until Ms Purtle, 59, endured a prolonged episode of stress and was hospitalised that she began the long road to recovery.

Her journey was complicated by the fact she was had been misdiagnosed with psychotic depression, such is the complexity of the illness.

Now Ms Purtle knows what it takes to manage her condition and, while she still has bi-polar symptoms, she has learnt the warning signs and where to get help.

Mrs Purtle has been a peer support worker for five years, sharing her recovery experience.

That is why she is on a steering committee that has set up a support group for people with bipolar in the region.

It will hold its first meeting tomorrow afternoon from 1pm-2.30pm at The Hub in Albury.

The Mood Swingers will provide support and friendship for bipolar sufferers and an education about the disorder through guest speakers.

Tomorrow’s guest speaker is nurse Cate Clark, who has worked in mental health for more than 30 years.

Ms Clark said that with only 1 to 2 per cent of the population affected by bipolar, a support group locally would provide an opportunity for people with the condition to come together to “own their illness”.

She said the effects of living with bipolar could be isolating and also “extremely disruptive and distressing” for both the family and those affected.

“Often those who live with bipolar don’t have good knowledge themselves of the illness and education is valuable in helping them to live with and manage the condition,” Ms Clark said.

“Because bipolar is not common, it is far less understood, so the chance for people with the condition to meet in a group such as this could provide invaluable support.”

Ms Purtle said it was important for people to speak about their illness and as a means of demystifying it.

“When I was struggling along undiagnosed, it was the most terrifying experience,” she said.

“To find out that I had bipolar was a relief in a way.

“It provided some explanation as to why my life was panning out the way it was.”

Mood Swingers will meet at The Hub, 562 Macauley Street, Albury. For inquiries, phone Colin on (02) 6058 6500 or Karen on (02) 6051 0222.