Astrid Freisen
DoctorAdvocate
Germany
Astrid Freisen is a German psychiatrist and advocate whose work combines clinical psychiatry with lived experience of bipolar disorder. She co-founded a peer network for healthcare professionals with bipolar disorder and later wrote Wir fliegen hoch, wir fallen tief about living and working with the condition. [1][2]
Career and work
Freisen studied medicine in Freiburg and went on to specialize in psychiatry and psychotherapy. She worked as a psychiatrist in Aachen and Düren before moving to Reykjavík in 2021, where she has continued working as a psychiatrist. [3][1]
In 2014, she co-founded Selbst Betroffene Profis, a support network for healthcare professionals with lived experience of bipolar disorder that is now part of the German Society for Bipolar Disorders. She later published Wir fliegen hoch, wir fallen tief, which combines her perspective as a psychiatrist and as someone living with bipolar disorder. [1][2]
What has been publicly discussed
- Freisen has said bipolar disorder was first considered in 2006 after she became severely depressed, experienced suicidal thoughts and was hospitalized. At the time, she did not accept that recurring periods of unusually elevated mood might be hypomania and stopped the mood-stabilizing medication she had been prescribed. [4]
- In 2010, Freisen experienced a severe manic episode that she has described as the point when she could no longer deny that she had bipolar disorder and became willing to pursue appropriate treatment. She initially felt intense shame about being a psychiatrist with a serious mental illness, but in 2014 decided to speak publicly about her experience. [4][1]
- Freisen has described her 2010 manic episode as involving racing thoughts, intense inner agitation and a loss of contact with reality. She believed that letters on car licence plates contained messages specifically intended for her, including instructions about major decisions in her life. [3]
- She has also described dangerous and impulsive behaviour during mania. On one occasion she went swimming in the Rhine at night and was nearly swept away by the current; on another, after an intense argument, she stopped in a motorway construction zone and hit herself in an attempt to relieve overwhelming inner tension. [3]
- Freisen has also spoken about severe depression. She was hospitalized for a depressive episode in 2006, and has said that the period after her later mania was especially difficult because of the shame she felt about having become seriously ill while working as a psychiatrist. [1]
- Freisen has said that after her severe manic episode in 2010, she became willing to pursue treatment for bipolar disorder. Following a hospital stay, she found an outpatient psychiatrist whom she described as supportive and nonjudgmental. She has said that appropriate medication, psychiatric care and contact with other people with bipolar disorder have all been important to her. [4]
- Freisen has also described occasional later shifts in mood, saying that she was generally able to respond to them with small adjustments to her medication. [3]
- In 2023, Freisen said she had had bipolar disorder “under control” for 13 years. She said there had still been occasional shifts in her mood during that period, but that she had generally been able to respond to them with small changes in medication. [3]
- Freisen has also connected her recovery to being able to continue working as a psychiatrist. After her severe mania, she completed her specialist examination and received a permanent contract eight months later; Freisen said keeping her job gave her a sense of security that was very important to her recovery. [4]
- Freisen has made reducing stigma around mental illness—particularly among healthcare professionals—a central part of her advocacy. Through Selbst Betroffene Profis, she has helped provide peer support and challenge discrimination within healthcare professions. [1]
- She has said that her own experience of bipolar disorder has changed how she works as a psychiatrist, giving her a deeper understanding of mental illness and of the shame professionals may feel when they themselves become patients. Through public speaking, professional writing and her book Wir fliegen hoch, wir fallen tief, Freisen has worked to reduce stigma and shame around mental illness, particularly among healthcare professionals. [5]
Sources and other resourcesExpand to view the sources used in this profile and resources to learn more.
Sources used for this profile
The following sources contain information that supports the claims made on this page.
German Society for Bipolar Disorders“Für Betroffene Profis” Diagnosis, disclosure and professional peer network.
University Medical Center Freiburg“Reading about life with bipolar disorder” Career and book.
Der TagesspiegelAstrid Freisen interview Mania, psychosis, medication and later stability.
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Schleswig-Holstein Medical AssociationAstrid Freisen interview Diagnosis, hospitalization and treatment.
“Changeover…”Psychological Services Lived experience and work with healthcare professionals.
Learn more
Recommended books and other resources about Astrid Freisen and their experiences.