A Primer on Bipolar Disorder

Note on Author

What is bipolar disorder?  Well, it is a physical illness with behavioral and emotional symptoms. A side effect of bipolar disorder is the creation within the sufferer of psychological problems. What did I do to cause this?  What is wrong with me?  Guilt. Unbearable, repressive guilt. What a tragedy – feeling guilty for being sick.

On her Variety Show, Carol Burnett used to have an impromptu question and answer session with her audience. On one show, a man asked what it was like giving birth. She said, “Grab your lower lip … and stretch it over the top of your head.”  The audience roared with laughter: the men because of the humor and the women for both the humor and the accuracy of the description. Sort of a ‘you go girl’ kind of appreciation for the answer. Do you understand?  Well, yes, if you are a woman; but you haven’t a clue if you are a man. You can understand that the birth process begins with a pleasurable act wherein a man sends seed into the woman and hopes that his guys are good swimmers. That is the beginning for both partners; but the start of a journey for the woman. She endures the joys and hardships of pregnancy as that little person grows inside her. She may let him touch her tummy when the little one if moving; but that only allows him to feel something he does not and cannot understand. No matter how much a man can understand the process intellectually, he cannot actually understand what it is like – even if he is an obstetrician. All other women who have undergone the process understand and can identify with the pregnant lady.

What does this have to do with bipolar disorder?  Well, I did my best to use an example that we can all agree to if we are honest. Bipolar disorder is the modern, politically correct way of identifying manic-depression. During the manic phase, you feel at least a multiple of ten times better than it is possible to feel in your ‘normal’ state. Nothing is impossible for you. (Sound familiar.) In your depressive phase the situation is reversed: you feel at least ten times worse than it is possible to feel in your normal state. In either state, you believe that the phase will not end – though it usually does, but not the psychological problem the illness has created. Do you understand?  Of course you don’t understand. Unless you are bipolar yourself it is not possible for you to understand. What I mean is that you can process the facts intellectually, but you cannot understand the illness unless you have it.

Now the ugliest symptom of bipolar disorder is suicide. You see, the deep, deep clinical depression is unbearable – and since in that state you believe it will go on forever, you believe that the only way to stop the emotional pain is to end your life. Some are successful whereas some fail – though many, many more attempts at suicide are tried than you can imagine. I have heard, “Well, his wife divorced him so he was depressed …” or, “He lost his long term job so he was depressed …”  Folks, we have the cart before the horse. He was depressed resulting in his wife divorcing him. He was depressed so his boss fired him. I realize that those are over simplifications, but I do not have the time or inclination to deal with explaining the entire scenario. Suffice to say that the lives of those around the bipolar patient are affected as well – and since they cannot comprehend the struggle, they often tend to look out for number one. In the Catholic church suicide is an unforgivable sin. Not so with someone who truly has a relationship with Jesus. He will thwart the suicidal plans of those He is not finished with, and allow the plans of those who have fulfilled their mission for Him.

We go to visitations and view the remains of the suicide victim. That is what they are you know, remains. The person’s spirit most likely is face to face with the Lord hearing Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

Bipolar disorder is also hereditary. My mother was one of eleven children. At least two of her siblings demonstrated symptoms of bipolar disorder; as did my maternal grandfather. One of the siblings committed suicide as did my maternal grandfather.
Now at that time and all of the way into the 1970’s, all mental health patients were diagnosed as Schizophrenic. This was unfortunate as this diagnosis resulted in inadequate drug treatment. Finally, in the 1970’s, a Dr Ronald Fieve in New York ran a study group using Lithium on the apparent bipolar patients. They responded well.  I, personally, was on Lithium for a little over ten years but I had to move on to other drugs because the Lithium was reducing my kidney function. Dealing with bipolar disorder is a constant battle to try to overcome the psychological problems it creates as well as going as far as you can with given drugs until they begin to affect another part of your body or lose their effectiveness.
Many alcoholics and drug addicts create their own addictions by trying to treat their depression by themselves. They simply know that they feel ‘better’ when they are drunk or ‘high’. Unfortunately, most of these people never seek treatment for the root cause of their addiction.

Now if you have not paid attention to anything up to this point; please, please, please pay attention to this. Suicide is a very personal and private decision. There is absolutely NOTHING that you have done to provoke it; and there is absolutely NOTHING you could have done to prevent it. Suicide does not mean that the victim did not love you or feel loved by you. It simply is. If there is a character flaw in suicide victims, it is that they have the ability to love too much.

I pray that I have helped. For further help, go to the link below and open it. Then click on the link at the left that says Famous 2. (You can scroll the entire site if you are so inclined.)

http://www.mixednuts.net/depression-famous.html

The author is Glen Reel, a 71 year old male from the USA.

The most important thing I have learned is that no one can make me feel unworthy or inferior unless I allow it (which I will not).