Dispelling one or two Parables about Bipolar Disorder
Hello again, fellow wackos and electronic rubberneckers!
If you are here because you are like meâ€"just a little "off"â€"then welcome. If you're here to find out more about bipolar disorder, stick around, because I know a bit and I like to talk. If you're here to watch the train wreck occur, hoping I'll melt down and post something wild about the speaking wombats that live in my chiller and their TV viewing habits well, you can doubtless be a little unhappy. I could be a freak, but I'm not crazy.
Yep, that's right. I just called myself a freak. I reckon if others are going to call me that, I can possibly get away with announcing it myself. Wacko, nutcase, loony, psycho... There are a lot of things folk say about bipolar disorder, and most of them just aren't accurate. Let's take a look at a couple of those things at this time.
Bipolar Myth 1 "Folks with bipolar disorder are not really sick."
A few individuals say that bipolar disorder is "all in your head." They say things like "everyone gets depressed. You simply need to suck it up and sort it like everyone else." If this is true, then diabetes sufferers need to get over their sickness, too. I mean, too much sugar is bad for everybody, right?
Just as a diabetic's body does not process sugars properly, a person with bipolar disorder's brain does not process dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine quite right.
Don't take my word for it, though. Take it from research scientists at the College of Michigan who have studied Abnormal Brain Chemistry Found in Bipolar Disorder . They know what they are talking about.
I'm just some freak, remember?
So, you can tell me I haven't got a "real" illness and I just need to sort it, but first you gotta tell Ms. Diabetic to eat six Twinkies and handle it. Go ahead. I'll call 911 while she's chewing.
This myth is so commonplace that insurance corporations are able to treat itâ€"or more precisely NOT treat itâ€"like it's not a "real" disease. The last health care insurance I had would pay for 80% of the bill if I had to have major surgery, but only 50% if I saw a doctor for bipolar disorder. Also, they limited the amount of times I could see a doctor for treatment to 12 times ever year. Tell you what let's limit diabetics to 12 insulin shots every year and see how well they do.
What? We should not do that because they could become ill and die?
Well, people with bipolar disorder die, too. Actually without proper treatment, 20% of them commit suicide. That's one in 5, people. I would say that represents a heavy health issue. Maybe this bipolar thing is a genuine illness after all.
Bipolar Myth 2 "Folk with bipolar disorder are beyond hope."
He has got bipolar disorder. He's insane. He won't be helped. He's a total waste of time. Or is he?
The plain fact isâ€"he isn't. Bipolar disorder is one of the best conditions to treat. There are a few effective medications, some of which have been used for quite a while. Lithium, for instance, has been about since the 1950's. Lithium doesn't work for everybody, though. That's the reason why there's Lamictal, Depakote, Zoloft, Tegretol, Wellbutrin, Prozac, Effexor, and a partridge in a pear tree. A psychiatric expert can tinker with medicines until he finds a combination that works.
Medications can be helpful but so can just speaking. Talk therapy did me more good than any tablet ever did. However, without the pills, I almost certainly would not have listened to anything when I was at absolute bottom.
The point is this: folk with bipolar disorder CAN be helped. So if you have bipolar disorder or know someone who does, never give up. There is hope.
Well gang, it seems like I'm over word count. I let you know I like to talk! We'll talk some more next time when I dispel a few more myths about bipolar disorder.
So to all my friends and fellow freaks, until next time keep fighting!
If you are here because you are like meâ€"just a little "off"â€"then welcome. If you're here to find out more about bipolar disorder, stick around, because I know a bit and I like to talk. If you're here to watch the train wreck occur, hoping I'll melt down and post something wild about the speaking wombats that live in my chiller and their TV viewing habits well, you can doubtless be a little unhappy. I could be a freak, but I'm not crazy.
Yep, that's right. I just called myself a freak. I reckon if others are going to call me that, I can possibly get away with announcing it myself. Wacko, nutcase, loony, psycho... There are a lot of things folk say about bipolar disorder, and most of them just aren't accurate. Let's take a look at a couple of those things at this time.
Bipolar Myth 1 "Folks with bipolar disorder are not really sick."
A few individuals say that bipolar disorder is "all in your head." They say things like "everyone gets depressed. You simply need to suck it up and sort it like everyone else." If this is true, then diabetes sufferers need to get over their sickness, too. I mean, too much sugar is bad for everybody, right?
Just as a diabetic's body does not process sugars properly, a person with bipolar disorder's brain does not process dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine quite right.
Don't take my word for it, though. Take it from research scientists at the College of Michigan who have studied Abnormal Brain Chemistry Found in Bipolar Disorder . They know what they are talking about.
I'm just some freak, remember?
So, you can tell me I haven't got a "real" illness and I just need to sort it, but first you gotta tell Ms. Diabetic to eat six Twinkies and handle it. Go ahead. I'll call 911 while she's chewing.
This myth is so commonplace that insurance corporations are able to treat itâ€"or more precisely NOT treat itâ€"like it's not a "real" disease. The last health care insurance I had would pay for 80% of the bill if I had to have major surgery, but only 50% if I saw a doctor for bipolar disorder. Also, they limited the amount of times I could see a doctor for treatment to 12 times ever year. Tell you what let's limit diabetics to 12 insulin shots every year and see how well they do.
What? We should not do that because they could become ill and die?
Well, people with bipolar disorder die, too. Actually without proper treatment, 20% of them commit suicide. That's one in 5, people. I would say that represents a heavy health issue. Maybe this bipolar thing is a genuine illness after all.
Bipolar Myth 2 "Folk with bipolar disorder are beyond hope."
He has got bipolar disorder. He's insane. He won't be helped. He's a total waste of time. Or is he?
The plain fact isâ€"he isn't. Bipolar disorder is one of the best conditions to treat. There are a few effective medications, some of which have been used for quite a while. Lithium, for instance, has been about since the 1950's. Lithium doesn't work for everybody, though. That's the reason why there's Lamictal, Depakote, Zoloft, Tegretol, Wellbutrin, Prozac, Effexor, and a partridge in a pear tree. A psychiatric expert can tinker with medicines until he finds a combination that works.
Medications can be helpful but so can just speaking. Talk therapy did me more good than any tablet ever did. However, without the pills, I almost certainly would not have listened to anything when I was at absolute bottom.
The point is this: folk with bipolar disorder CAN be helped. So if you have bipolar disorder or know someone who does, never give up. There is hope.
Well gang, it seems like I'm over word count. I let you know I like to talk! We'll talk some more next time when I dispel a few more myths about bipolar disorder.
So to all my friends and fellow freaks, until next time keep fighting!
About the Author:
Bryce Albertson suffers from bipolar disorder. Here he's dispelling one or two parables about bipolar disorder.
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