The Medical Way to Peace of Mind
From punk rocker, to police officer, to inventor and businessman, Jonathan Kemp is on the road explaining his profound lifelong bipolarity and how he's finally now at peace with himself.
Jonathan Kemp (right) with author Mike Gartside
A talk about mental health at the Create Centre, Bristol, inspired an animated discussion of shared experiences this July, when a walk by fundraiser Jonathan Kemp passed through the city. Starting in the Shetland Islands on New Year’s Day, Jonathan has walked the length of Scotland and England and is now heading through Wales to raise money for four mental health charities. When he finishes the walk in Ireland this October, he will have covered over 2,600 miles.
Jonathan briefly described his own experiences: written off as “stupid” at school, he raised hell as a punk rocker before he dramatically changed direction and joined the Metropolitan Police. Subsequently he acquired qualifications and became an entrepreneur, despite being dogged by profound mood swings and difficulty reading and writing. He was diagnosed with depression and bi-polar at the age of 39, receiving a diagnosis of dyslexia shortly afterwards, making his two qualifications all the more remarkable.
He explained how, for many years, he resisted following medical advice for these conditions before realising that medication was the only reliable way of managing his highs and lows, allowing him to find peace of mind. During the discussion a range of issues emerged including the historic stigmatisation of those with mental health issues. Most agreed that mental health was now much more widely understood than in the past and that attitudes had changed dramatically for the better in the last 15 years.
Create Centre tenant Mike Gartside helped organise and publicise the talk and accompanied Jonathan on the last English leg of his walk before he crossed the border to Wales: a short six mile stint from Central Bristol to Parkway station.
So far, Jonathan has raised over £13,000 for MIND, SAMH, Aware NI and Aware Ireland. Proceeds of the first year of print sales of his autobiography ‘Finding Peace of Mind’ also go to the charities. To donate or download a free digital copy of the book, follow the link below.
