Darren’s words struck home to many of the audience…

David Carr shares his thoughts on an evening spent with Darren McGarvey.

Darren’s interest is in lived experience: what it means to those who have it and how it can be abused. While he does not have bipolar disorder himself, he brought together some strands from his own experience of trauma and of addictions and their corresponding peer support environments. In his view, the story of lived experience is still to be told and people are afraid to tell it. His forthcoming book will delve into the concept of lived experience but not without controversy.

Darren is impressively articulate. Engaging and insightful, he started by talking about how he encountered hip hop culture – an environment in which authenticity is a currency – which first gave him a voice. The work of artists from 50 Cent to Kanye West to Eminem is informed by their various traumas.

We all want someone to hear our stories. There is a sense of community in sharing, as is done at support groups, and we all want to be seen, heard and validated. But can this sharing ever be dangerous? Darren referred to the ‘fool’s disclosure’ whereby we cannot ‘undisclose’ and are at the mercy of others as to how our disclosure is received. It becomes public property.

Lived experience has its perils. In the digital age, authenticity has become commodified. Content providers, incentivised by algorithms, are encouraged to overshare. People in reality shows are expected to put themselves on display in a way that will maximise ratings. Darren spoke also of his own experiences with social media and how what you say can be met with unexpectedly hurtful hostility.

Darren has been informed by Standpoint Theory (from feminist thought) the stance that activism needs to include points of view from those for whom it is advocating. This does not always happen – voices are not always heard or, if they are, the stories told do not result in positive outcomes for their tellers.

Many of us, myself very much included, struggle with how to use our lived experience. Do we disclose? How? When? To whom? Darren’s words struck home to many of the audience, who shared their own experiences.

This was a stimulating and thoughtprovoking evening, with much relevance to our support groups. If you get a chance to see Darren speak – take it. And look out for his book on lived experience.

Bipolar Scotland is grateful to Darren McGarvey for sharing his experiences and views with our group and we wish him all the very best for the future.