Great British Bake Off winner Georgina Grasso has been diagnosed with bipolar 2 and autism. The 36-year-old TV star, who won the 2024 series of the Channel 4 show, initially believed she had ADHD, which affects the brain's ability to handle tasks requiring memory, concentration, or stillness.
After a particularly "depressive" period recently, Georgina took to social media with a rare post disclosing that she had experienced four "manic" episodes over the past eight years. She said she wants to use her platform to raise awareness.
What Georgina Shared on Instagram
In her Instagram post, she wrote: "I've been caught up in moving house, mental health assessments for me and the kids. Clearly in a 'depressive' episode for the last couple of months. I keep saying to myself 'I've got bipolar' trying to figure out what that means. I know I'm still me. But everything I thought I knew about my mental health, isn't what I thought it was."
She continued: "I've had 4 severe hypotonic/ manic episodes over the last 8 years, the last one being last year, but you'd never have known. I never ever want one ever again. They are scary. What scares me most is I have no control over anything I'm doing and it's tunnel vision."
She added: "You guys know how much I advocate for mental health. And how much I did for ADHD. I've got loads to learn about bipolar and am in no position to be spreading awareness about it until I know a lot more. So for now, this is just a - this is me! Hope you can all stick around for the ride, for the highs and lows!"
Diagnosis Came as a Shock
In the slides of her post, Georgina expressed that the diagnosis came as a "shock" and that she worried about her career as a content creator. She said: "It has come as a shock, it feels scary, and it's taking me a while to absorb, and I didn't think it would. My dr mentioned last year that he thinks it could be, but I thought there's no way."
She explained: "I've spent years researching about adhd, I know next to nothing about bipolar. I feel like I'm not sure who I am right now, and scared to be judged even more so now. Apparently it can be common for bipolar to be misdiagnosed as adhd. I think the turning point for me was being 100 [per cent] truthful with my psychiatrist about my history and symptoms."
She reflected: "Lots of things make more sense. My struggle to hold down jobs. Why for periods I'm amazing at my now job at content creating, then for weeks and months I physically cannot do anything. It gives me a bit of relief. But it doesn't help the times where I need to work but can't. Being a content creator means you have to be consistent, so it scares the hell out of me can I actually keep doing this."
Starting New Medication
Georgina said she is due to start new medication and concluded her post by thanking fans for their support. She wrote: "Right now, I don't think I want to go into the depths of my really bad periods of highs and lows. I've done some crazy things over the years. Not only that, but I only ever want to share knowledge about mental health that I'm fully knowledgeable on. Right now, I don't know much about it."
She added: "I really want to keep going, support my family as much as I can. Doing this from home is the only way I can do it. So having you guys here with me, some new, some of you OGs from bake off. I appreciate every single one of you! I am starting new medication and really hope I can be 'stable' and be able to work and create with consistency. They come with side effects which do worry me, but I hope the benefits outweigh them."
She also asked for advice: "If any of you who have bipolar have any advice for me. I would greatly appreciate it. And again, thank you for being here! I need you now more than ever. Every save share comment and like helps me be able to stay doing this. I promise I'll be back creating lots of new recipes from this week!"
