Happy World Bipolar Day to all. This day reminds us that there are still so many people who are not aware of this mental illness.
Did you know?
World Bipolar Day is celebrated on March 30th each year because it is the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh who was posthumously diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.
In honor of World Bipolar Day today I’m going to talk about, you guessed it, Bipolar Disorder!
**TRIGGER WARNING: While this blog will provide basic information about bipolar, I’ll be referencing the different aspects of Bipolar including mania, depression, and suicide. If you feel any of these things might be difficult for you to read about, please don’t! We have plenty of other blog posts about all sorts of awesome things you can learn about :)
You’ve likely heard of bipolar disorder. You may also have some assumptions of what bipolar disorder is. It’s usually portrayed as those stereotypical, high highs and low lows going back and forth. Oftentimes, in movies it’s also shown as someone who is really intense and goes a little off the rails when manic and then becomes extremely recluse when depressed.
While some of that is true for some people with bipolar, not everyone’s bipolar looks the same! So I’m going to start by breaking down what bipolar disorder is and then talk a little about people with bipolar, how to be an ally, and how to support people with bipolar on a large scale.
Bipolar disorder used to be called manic-depressive disorder. Today there are 3 Bipolar Diagnoses: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, and Cyclothymic Disorder.
Bipolar looks different for everyone. It’s not a one size fits all.
Breaking down the aspects that make up Bipolar Disorder
Mania: Mania is the high high people tend to joke about being super fun and exciting. Sometimes mania is fun for the person experiencing it while they are in it but mania usually consists of some pretty destructive behaviors with negative consequences so by the time the person comes down from it, they likely have a lot of collateral damage to deal with and it can be pretty embarrassing. Mania includes things like grandiose feelings, euphoria, racing thoughts, not sleeping, anger or rage, excessive spending, lack of impulse control, and more. Mania can wreak havoc on one’s life and get them fired from a job for either acting out or not showing up, expelled from school, or ruin their relationships. For mania to be classified and diagnosed as mania in the DSM V it must go for a period of at least 7 days.
Psychosis: While experiencing mania, some people can also experience psychosis. This would be things such as imaging people are plotting against you, having delusions, and having hallucinations that can be visual, auditory, or even sensory.
Hypomania: Hypomania is a more mild version of mania. It’s still a high high but not quite as intense. It has the same symptoms but they tend to not be intense enough to disrupt your day to day life in quite as severe of a way. For hypomania to be diagnosed it must occur for at least 4 days.
Depression: The depression in bipolar is no different from regular depression in terms of the symptoms. It includes being angry, extremely sad, feeling empty and lonely, overly fatigued, feeling worthless and hopeless.
Mixed Episode: A mixed episode is a time where someone is experiencing the features of mania and depression at the same time. They might be really irritable and agitated with racing thoughts and speech. This can manifest as being extremely happy and sad almost at the same time like feelings of grandiosity and loneliness at the same time. It can look really strange to someone on the outside because they might be expressing two really different emotions at once. It is more common in Bipolar I.
Unfortunately, during a mixed episode, people are at an increased risk to attempt suicide. This is because usually when someone is depressed and may be feeling suicidal they also have very low energy and motivation to do anything due to the depression. When someone is manic, on the other hand, they have very high energy and very low impulse control. So a suicidal thought can quickly go from a passing ideation to an action if they are experiencing mania and depression simultaneously.
Rapid cycling: Rapid cycling is where someone goes back and forth between mania and depression at a fast rate rather than having longer episodes. To be diagnosed it must be that someone has 4 alternating episodes of depression, mania, or hypomania in a single year. Rapid cycling can happen every other month or as fast as every week. Rapid cycling is most common in Bipolar II and also increases risk of suicide or self-harm. Changing mood can be very unpredictable and sudden.
Mixed Episode &
Rapid Cycling
During a mixed episode and rapid cycling, people are at an increased risk to attempt suicide or self harm.
The Diagnoses
Bipolar I: Bipolar I has to have manic episodes that last a minimum of 7 days. It’ll also include depressive episodes that last at least 2 weeks at a time. Bipolar I can include mixed episodes or rapid cycling as well. Bipolar I can also include psychosis.
Bipolar II: Bipolar II has to have depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes. It can also include rapid cycling or mixed episodes.
Cyclothymic Disorder: Cyclothymia is characterized by depressive and hypomanic episodes that are not intense or long enough to qualify as Bipolar I or II.
Treatment
Treating Bipolar Disorder works the same as any other mental illness by using psychiatrists and psychologists to prescribe medication if needed and talk therapy. Many people with Bipolar Disorder will need to be on medication for their whole life. It’s very hard to stabilize the mood changes that come with Bipolar and are often unexpected without medication. Many people with Bipolar Disorder take mood stabilizers including lithium, lamotrigine and depakote. It is also common to take antipsychotics such as Seroquel, Xyprexa, or Thorazine. Some people will also take an antidepressant but usually if you are Bipolar you must be on a mood stabilizer if you take an antidepressant otherwise you risk being put into a manic episode.
Talk therapy is also very important for people with Bipolar Disorder. Therapy is also usually done long term. People with Bipolar often do well with creating and maintaining routines and tracking their moods to avoid triggering an episode. People with Bipolar Disorder can live very normal and happy lives if they get treatment and stick with their treatment plan!
Advocating and Supporting
There are many ways to help advocate for and support people with Bipolar Disorder. This can be done on a large and small scale. Something you can do in your own life is help stop the stigma. People with Bipolar Disorder are often portrayed as scary and unstable and “crazy”.
When you hear people calling the weather bipolar or their mom or some stranger bipolar just because they got upset or went from being calm to not so calm, call them out! It’s really easy to call people out when they are saying disrespectful things if you do it in a kind way. It’s as simple as saying “I’m sure you didn’t mean any harm when you made that joke but saying those things further worsens the stigma against people living with Bipolar. There are many other words to use that aren’t harmful and still get your point across.” You can encourage them to do a little research about Bipolar Disorder or even give them a few facts you know if they’re interested.
It really doesn’t have to be anything more than that! You can do this right when it happens or you can pull the person aside and do it 1 on 1 later. I do this pretty frequently when I hear people use mental illnesses as adjectives and I’ve never really had anyone get upset. People are usually pretty receptive and express interest and apologize if you do it in a nice way.
Remind them that mental illnesses are not adjectives and that for people with them it can be extremely demoralizing to hear the very thing that heavily and negatively impacts their life be used to describe the weather. This is possibly the thing that almost cost them their life.
There are tons of other ways to support people with Bipolar Disorder and I will list a few links below of websites to visit! A huge way to show your support is to educate yourself! If you have a long commute, maybe commit to listening to a podcast about bipolar disorder 3 times this year. If you are in school and are taking a class that involves writing a research paper or project, maybe consider doing it about Bipolar Disorder. If you have a loved one in your life who has Bipolar Disorder, maybe consider attending a support group once a month where you can learn how to be there for your loved one.
There are also webinars, blogs, TED Talks, Podcasts, books, etc that you can commit some of your free time to. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Just one podcast or TED Talk during your commute or while you’re cleaning every now and then will just make you that much stronger or an ally.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading and I really hope that you learned something new today!
At FMF we are all about movement, of course, but we understand that mental health impacts physical health and vice versa. We know it is important and vital to treat both mind and body so we are always making sure to check in on our client’s mental health. We know that movement is medicine and that it can be so healing!
Until next time!
Sabrina
***Not medical advice. All opinions are my own.
**If you or someone you know is struggling please contact the suicide & crisis hotline: 988