An "Illness"

Bipolar



Before I get into the in depth about my illness I want to give you some facts and definitions about it so we can all be on the same page.

Bipolar is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) under the mood disorders. Bi-Polar is a disorder where the primary symptom is a disturbance in mood. The Etiology of this disorder is that it has been shown a strong biological component and that environmental factors play a role in the exacerbation of the symptoms (allpsych.com). According to the DSM, Bipolar disorder is broke down into two types.

To be diagnosed with Bipolar 1, you must have at least one manic episode. Mania is like the opposite of depression. It is a very intense high, a person can feel euphoric, and they may feel indestructible in areas like finances and relationships. They feel that they don’t need sleep; they will have an elevated self-esteem, and may be easily distracted. They high may be appealing but it will often lead to severe difficulties in the areas listed above. For example, they may spend much more money than intended or make extremely rash personal decisions. Also in Bipolar 1 disorder you will experience depression. Depression is where the high will fade and the person realizes what they may have done during their manic episode, and the severity of the depressive episode can be increased (allpsych.com).

The second type of Bipolar is called Bipolar 2. Bipolar 2 is very similar to Bipolar 1. The only difference is that instead of manic episodes they are called hypo manic. The episodes are not as severe as manic. They don’t cause severe enough impairment in someone’s social or occupational functioning (allpsych.com).

Treatment for this disorder is medication. They find that medication is what helps the most. There are different medications that you can take for this disorder. But lithium is an example. But also, therapy is another treatment (allpysch.com). If you put both of these together is when you get the best results. But you cannot just throw in some medication and call it good. It can take years to find the correct combination of medications and therapy to get it all correct.

As the definition states, the behaviors that would be seen as deviant are the manic episodes. During these episodes you spend money you don’t have, relationships get ruined, business stuff can get messed up and other things as well. All these things are seen as deviant in our society. And also when you are in your manic episode and if someone steps in the middle of it and is making it to where you cannot do what you want, you can get out of control. Our society does not see that as the right way to handle things. And then also when you get depressed you can get so depressed you don’t want to get out of bed. Here is an article called “Hey, Why Are You Crying?” and it shows a great understanding of the depression part of this disorder.

The people that are diagnosed with the disorder of Bipolar gain from this because they get answers on why they act the way they do. It also helps the people around them understand their diagnosis and how to act around them. As Life Love and Bipolar says that family has to learn coping mechanisms. It comes down to routine, organization, and planning (Life Love Bipolar 2011).

They can also lose by being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder because they are looked at as being deviant. They are different than others and having the Bipolar disorder becomes their master status. That is all that people see is them being Bipolar, when there is so much more to them.

Whitney Blair Wyckoff says in the article “Despite Deeper Understanding of Mental Illness, Stigma Lingers” that some research suggests that the science behind being mentally ill is a brain disorder and not a defect in character. And maybe that is powerful enough to have the stigma of the condition disappear (Wyckoff 2010). This is going very well. People may understand that it is a brain disorder but there is no decrease in stigmatization. “Many people see mental illness as something that never goes away. ‘When you attach a feeling of permanence to this, then it justifies, in some ways, a person's sense of 'otherness' or 'less-than-humanness,’ Bernice A Pescosolido says” (Wyckoff 2010).

Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally. But if you went into the clinical area you would find a lot more women than men because women are more likely to come and get treatment for this disorder (Sachs 2008).

Being diagnosed with Bipolar it becomes your master status. That is all people think off. I think back to the article we read at the beginning of class called “My Gay Lifestyle” and how the author makes fun of how everyone thinks things are different because he gays. Some comments he makes are like he is just taking a gay shower or eating a gay dinner etc. I think of this when I think of Bipolar because when you are diagnosed with this disorder and really any other disorder that is all that people look at. If you were to write that same article but instead of gay use the word Bipolar. You eat a bipolar dinner; you drive Bipolar to work, etc. Just because you are gay or bipolar doesn’t mean everything is different than if you were “normal”.

Also Bipolar becomes there label. When we wrote all those labels on the board like jock, welfare mom, bitch, gay, etc, Bipolar should have been one on the board as well. You are labeled with this diagnosis for the rest of your life.

To bring this disorder home a little bit. My mom is diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder. It was very hard to understand at first. I remember always having fights with her because I didn’t understand her and she didn’t understand herself. It was about five years ago that she finally got diagnosed with it. And it was just about two years that things are finally normal in her life. I understand when they say it’s a strong biological component. It has taken us this long to finally get the right medication for her. And then also, environmental factors do play some role in this disorder. Now that she has a stable life and things are much better than before she has fewer reasons to have a manic episode. There are fewer things that may trigger a manic episode. Being bipolar is always thrown in my mom’s face. Everyone (but me, because I understand it) blame her being bipolar on any little thing she may do. If she is aggravated then it’ is like because she is bipolar, because no one else in this world gets aggravated. It is because it is her master status, which is all some people look at.

Being Bipolar is hard. It is almost like you are two different people. But with the correct treatment and the right support you should be just fine.

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Works Cited

Krulwich, Robert. "Hey, Why Are You Crying?" NPR. 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. .

"Living With Bipolar Disorder." Life Love and Bipolar. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .

Psychiatric disorders. (2011, Nov 29). Retrieved March 20, 2012, from Allpsych Online: http://allpsych.com/disorders/mood/bipolar.html

Sachs, Gary. "Are Men or Women More Likely to Develop Bipolar Disorder?" Abc News. 28 Feb. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. .

Wyckoff, Whitney B. "Despite Deeper Understanding of Mental Illness, Stigma Lingers." Npr. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .