Many are familiar with Albert McCarthy as the rubicund gentleman in a red suit lined with fur and a big-buckled belt, spreading festive cheer among delighted children as Malta’s Santa Klaws.

But very few people know that the man behind the snow-white beard has, for many years, battled the serious mental health condition known as bipolar disorder.

Having been stable for the past 17 years, Mr McCarthy, together with his wife, Lina, has decided to reach out to other sufferers and their families by setting up the Be Positive – Bipolar Support Group Malta.

The couple, who have been married for the past 46 years, recall the devastating effects of a disorder which could easily have destroyed a family had it not been for ample doses of perseverance, patience and understanding.

Mr McCarthy, 72, remembered how a lack of job security was the trigger which pushed him into his first low.

I would think I was God’s gift to humanity, that I was superior to everyone around me

In 1979, he took the decision to leave his job as a teacher and set up his own tour operator business. The instability and volatility which came with being newly self-employed proved to be too much to handle, and Mr McCarthy fell into a depression.

“I would spend the entire day in bed. I felt I needed to get the business on its feet but that I was failing my wife and three children.

“Each time the telephone rang, I would feel like smashing it up. But a close friend of mine would phone daily and just tell me: ‘Albert, you’re great.’ He provided me with massive support.”

The resourceful Mrs McCarthy, now 70, set up her own kindergarten business to support the family while her husband recovered. Mr McCarthy was put on temporary medication.

Yet after he escaped from the ‘low’, he was soon propelled into a massive ‘high’.

When his business did well after a busy summer, Mr McCarthy would be overwhelmed by bouts of energy. He would sleep little and his mind would be invaded by countless new projects and ideas.

“I would become incredibly creative and ambitious – even thinking up projects which were too innovative for their time, such as medical tourism. I would think I was God’s gift to humanity, that I was superior to everyone around me.”

During these hyperactive, restless phases, he would also uncontrollably spend large amounts of money.

But when the month of April approached, when business would be slow and with Mr McCarthy realising that he had spent a lot of money, he would once again slip into a depressive mood and become miserly.

“I observed his moods but I didn’t know what they meant,” Mrs McCarthy recalled.

“I learnt to adapt myself. So if he was in his low mood and I, for instance, would realise we needed a new television set, I would keep back.

“Then when he was in his high moods, I would ask him for two television sets. I would take advantage of the situation,” she said with a chuckle.

Yet the true melting point as well as the turning point came years later, in August of 1998.

Mr McCarthy was in Zurich as the tour leader of a group, when a series of unfortunate incidents tipped him over the edge.

Some of his people were robbed, a man threw himself beneath their coach and the hotel, booked through a tourist office was, to his great embarrassment, situated in the red light district, where waitresses served them topless. His group comprised people from religious and MUSEUM circles.

Mr McCarthy broke down and locked himself up in his room, where he experienced psychosis and would imagine seeing the devil. He was committed to a mental health hospital, where he was joined by his distraught family before returning to Malta.

“It was so painful,” Mrs McCarthy said as her voice broke.

“I was terrified of the stigma. But now I’m no longer afraid. It is an illness like any other and, with proper treatment and medication, sufferers can live a fulfilling, normal life. We want to raise awareness and help people identify the symptoms of bipolar. I could easily have left Albert, with all the mischief he got up to. If we managed to save at least one marriage, we would be happy.”

For more information, visit Be Positive – Bipolar Support Group Malta on Facebook or e-mail linbertu@yahoo.com.

What is bipolar disorder?

• Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, causes extreme mood swings that range from feeling very high and overactive (mania) to feeling very low and lethargic (depression).

• Unlike simple mood swings, each extreme episode of bipolar disorder can last for several weeks (or even longer). In most cases, bipolar disorder can be controlled with medications and psychological counselling (psychotherapy).

• The exact causes of bipolar disorder are unknown, although it is believed that several factors can trigger an episode. Extreme stress, overwhelming problems and life-changing events are thought to contribute, as well as genetic and chemical factors.