Lisa MacLeod

• MacLeod publicly disclosed in October 2022 that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder after a severe mental-health crisis earlier that year. She said the diagnosis helped her understand changes in her mood and behaviour that she had previously struggled to explain. [3][1]

• MacLeod has described a prolonged period of depression that shifted into mania and then sharply back into depression in 2022. During the resulting crisis, she harmed herself. She subsequently received hospital and psychiatric care. [4][1]
• She has also said that depression sometimes left her unable to get out of bed and that her mental-health difficulties made the demands of political life and campaigning much harder to manage. [5]

• MacLeod has said that she manages her diagnoses with medication, regular therapy and changes to her nutrition and exercise routines. She has also described working with psychiatrists and her family doctor following her 2022 crisis. [3][1]

• After taking several months away from the legislature in 2022, MacLeod returned to Queen's Park that October. She said that treatment had helped her become more stable, sleep better and think more clearly. [3]
• She has continued to describe bipolar disorder as a lifelong condition requiring ongoing management. [3][1]

• MacLeod has said that she disclosed her diagnosis in part so that other people who felt alone or afraid might feel more able to speak about their own mental-health difficulties. [3]
• She has also used her public platform to discuss mental-health awareness and access to support, including through a recurring series she called Mental Health Mondays. [6]

“Someone who you think is strong and can do anything and is capable, could be sick. … So maybe let's not judge people.”

— Lisa MacLeod [7]