Amelia, a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at the University of Liverpool, is undergoing a study which aims to explore if and how people with bipolar experience awe in their everyday life and how this affects personal recovery. Awe can take many forms for people and be triggered by a variety of different objects, situations and people. Some examples are looking up at a waterfall, being in a forest surrounded by tall, ancient trees, gazing at the stars, standing at the top of a mountain, watching a sunrise, standing in a cathedral or admiring beautiful architecture, listening to a piece of music or being struck by a piece of art. People experience awe in many different ways for different people; you may experience awe in a different way to the definitions given.
Awe can be described as the feeling one gets when they are in the presence of something vast that they might struggle to place in their understanding of the world. Research into the effects of awe have shown benefits such as increased sense of well-being, enhancing time in nature and stronger connections with others. Many of these benefits overlap with personal recovery in bipolar disorder where people manage and live a fulfilled life alongside their experience of manic and depressive episodes. To date, there have been limited studies on how experiencing awe in day-to-day life can affect bipolar recovery.
This study aims to explore the association between experiencing awe and coping strategies (skills people use to manage their well-being), self-appraisal of mania and depression (how a person thinks about extreme mood states), positive and negative appraisal affect (how the thinking affects the mood) and personal recovery using a daily diary over 30 days.
Requirements to participate:
- People who are over the age of 18.
- You have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and have experienced at least one episode of (hypo)mania and/or depressive episode.
- You are able to speak and understand English and live in the United Kingdon.
During this study, your wellbeing is paramount and therefore to ensure your safety and wellbeing in the study, they cannot include you if you meet any of the below criteria:
- Lack capacity. To have capacity you must be able to understand information given, retain this and weigh up the pros and cons and communicate your decision back about it.
- Are currently experiencing a (hypo)manic or depressive episode.
- Currently being detained under the Mental Health Act.
- Currently suicidal and/or a risk to others.
Expected commitment from participants:
If you would like to take part in the study and meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria then they will discuss a time to meet via Microsoft Teams for around 60 minutes, which will consists of:
- Clarifying what the study entails and answering any questions you may have.
- Limits of confidentiality. Confidentiality is paramount; however, it may need to be broken if the researcher feels that you or someone else is at risk of harm.
- Completing a short interview to verify your research diagnosis of bipolar. This will ask questions about how you experience bipolar including manic and depressive symptoms and number of episodes to date.
- Gaining consent to contact your GP to inform them that you are taking part in this study.
- Share the definition of awe that they are using in this study.
- Go over the daily diary that will be used, so that you can ask questions and clarify any issues.
- Arrange another meeting at the mid-way point of the study (around 2 weeks later) to check-in.
After this meeting, you will complete the diary daily and should take between 5-10 minutes to complete. This can be completed at any time in the day, but to capture a full picture of what that day looked like it may be beneficial to complete it in the afternoon/evening. It will ask about mood, thinking styles and recovery. There is an option for participants to be contacted via text or email by the researcher each day as a reminder to complete the diary, however this will only be done with the participants consent gained from the initial meeting and through the consent form.
If you experience awe at any point during the study, you will be asked to complete another, separate questionnaire within 15 minutes of experiencing awe. This questionnaire will take around 5 minutes to complete.
Half way through the study we will meet to check-in on how you are getting on with the study. This will take around 15 minutes.
After 30 days, you will offered to meet via Teams with the researcher for a debrief and to be signposted to other organisations to support with well-being.
The study can be set up online where we meet via Teams and the daily diaries are completed via an online platform. However, people may not have access to the internet so there is an option for the initial session to be setup via a telephone call and paper versions of the diary to be sent out via the post.
The diary can be completed at any time of the day that suits the participant, we just ask that where possible it is the same time each day to help with capturing the best picture of your day.
Closing date to apply: April 2026
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