Up and Down

Bipolar Disorder is an illness of the mind that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function in everyday life. It is not a one-time treatable disorder either; it has to be managed throughout a person's whole life. The reason I'm writing about this is because a lot of people close to me deal with this illness and while some struggle to contain it, others live without a care. Even most of my family members have some form of the disease. I feel extremely grateful everyday that I do not have to deal with it myself. Especially since I see how terrible it can be for my older sister at times since she lives by herself and struggles to keep jobs. My father on the other hand takes the right prescriptions and it is doing him well. However, growing up in my house was not easy because years ago, manic depressive disorder was not very well known.

Twenty-five years ago, most people diagnosed with it were older. However now the most common age of diagnosis is 19. Even now, a lot of people live for years without knowing; they just feel mixed up and don't know how to deal with it. It isn't easy to go through life without treatment and unfortunately many people do.

A person with bipolar disorder experiences extreme high periods, known as "manic episodes" and extreme low periods, "depression". During a manic episode a person would feel extremely energized and restless; possibly extremely irritable. They would have racing thoughts and be easily dstracted with poor judgement, increased provocative and/or aggressive behavior. During a depressive episode a person will feel empty, sad, and anxious; along with worthlessness and pessimism. In addition, they would feel fatigued and have less energy causing an increase of sleep; possibly change or appetite causing a loss or gain of weight. More importantly, thoughts of death and suicide are common. A person without the disorder can feel and/or experience these same symptoms, however it's the time period and frequency in which these symptoms occur that determine if a person has the disease.

My best friend suffers from the disorder as well and she even attempted suicide a few years ago. When she is manic, she is a lot of fun and everyone enjoys being around her because she acts wild, but unlike a lot of others, I know that her getting up so "high" is dangerous because her mood can just as easily drop to an extreme low. From being around the disease in my family, it's made me more understanding of others I meet who have similar emotional issues.

There are even many celebrities that have been diagnosed with the disorder: Jim Carey, Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Edgar Allen Poe, Tim Burton, Robert Downey Jr., Martin Lawrence, Tracy Ullman, Vincent Van Gogh, Winston Churchill, DMX (Earl Simmons), Ludwig van Beethoven, Theodore Roosevelt, Darryl Strawberry, Mark Twain, etc....