Samke J. Ngcobo

• Ngcobo was diagnosed with bipolar I disorder at age 14. She has vivid memories of her first psychiatric hospitalization as a teenager, when she experienced a psychotic episode. [2]
• She has said that the diagnosis was not clearly explained to her at the time; when she asked what was wrong, she was told only that she had a “mood disorder.” [2]
• She has described spending many years in denial and struggling to accept the diagnosis, including during medical school, when she experienced further episodes and hospitalizations. Ngcobo has said that her understanding of the illness improved substantially during a three-week psychiatric admission in 2017, when her psychiatrist helped her understand the diagnosis and how it could be managed. [2]
• After another major relapse in 2020, Ngcobo began speaking much more openly about her experiences. That year she published Reflections of a Convoluted Mind: A Journey With My Mental Illness and wrote publicly that sharing her story was intended to challenge stigma, judgment and stereotypes around mental illness. [3]

• Ngcobo has described recurrent episodes of mania and psychosis beginning in adolescence. During medical school, she was hospitalized repeatedly—sometimes once or twice a year—while struggling to accept that she had a mental illness. [2]
• She has said that seeing other psychiatric patients who appeared much more severely unwell led her to view mental illness as something that affected “other people,” rather than herself, which contributed to her difficulty accepting her own diagnosis. [2]
• A particularly significant relapse occurred in 2020, when she experienced a public manic episode with psychotic features and was admitted to a state psychiatric facility. She later described the aftermath as involving intense shame, humiliation and trauma, as well as cognitive difficulties significant enough that she was placed on incapacity leave from work for six months. [2]
• Ngcobo has also written about the broader effect of repeated episodes on her sense of identity and agency. She has said that she cannot undo things she has done while unwell, but rejects the idea that those episodes define the entirety of who she is. [1]

• Ngcobo has described having a difficult relationship with treatment when she was younger. During medical school, she sometimes stopped or discarded prescribed medication after she began feeling well again, in part because she did not yet accept the diagnosis or understand why continued treatment was necessary. [2][1]
• She has described a three-week psychiatric admission in 2017 as a turning point. Her psychiatrist spent time explaining bipolar disorder and helping her understand her own patterns, which she says improved her insight and helped her see that relapses could be reduced with appropriate treatment and “safety nets” in place. [2]
• Ngcobo has also emphasized the importance of a multidisciplinary approach. She has credited her psychiatrist, psychologist and occupational therapist with different parts of her recovery, including psychological support and rehabilitation after severe episodes. [1]

• Ngcobo has described the period following her 2020 relapse as a major rebuilding process. After six months of incapacity leave related to cognitive difficulties, she returned to work and began developing the advocacy projects that grew out of her experience. She has said that she now sees bipolar disorder as a condition she can live with rather than something that defines her identity. [2][1]
• She has also emphasized that stability requires continued attention and support. Reflecting on her life with bipolar disorder in 2024, she credited her psychiatrist, psychologist, occupational therapist, friends and family with helping her recover after severe episodes, while also describing her own role in repeatedly rebuilding after relapse. [1]

• Ngcobo has made lived experience central to her advocacy. She has argued that people living with mental illness should have a meaningful voice in how mental health is discussed and understood, rather than being spoken about only from a professional or clinical perspective. In a 2024 first-person article, she wrote that sharing her own experience had become both empowering and a way to challenge stigma. [1]
• Through Vocal Mentality, which she founded in 2020, Ngcobo combines her experience as a doctor and as a person with bipolar disorder to provide mental-health education, public speaking and workplace wellness programs. She has described the goal as creating more empathetic and informed conversations about mental illness. [4]
• She also founded Sisters for Mental Health, an initiative intended to create safer spaces for people to discuss mental-health difficulties and to provide education and outreach in communities. Across both projects, she has emphasized self-advocacy, psychoeducation and reducing the shame associated with psychiatric diagnoses. [4][1]

“Living with bipolar disorder does not define my identity; it is part of my existence.”

— Samke J. Ngcobo [2]