Bipolar Disorder
Hey! Welcome back to my blog. I'm writing about a mental disorder called Bipolar disorder. What it is, and how it affects your everyday life. So far, what we've been doing in my class is learning some pretty hard math equations, and learning about cancers and disorders and things that aren't essentially "normal" with someones' body. We've been learning about certain brainwaves, and what activities cause certain types of brainwaves. There is 5 total, which is called Gamma, Alpha, Beta, Theta, and Delta. Gamma is the highest awareness type of brainwave, and Delta waves occur when you're asleep.
Not only do I have an essay about Bipolar Disorder, but if you don't want to read too much, I also have a presentation prepared with images so that it's less boring. The slideshow will be right after the essay if you want to scroll down to see it.
The disease I’m writing about is called Bipolar Disorder. Defined scientifically, “bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental illness that brings severe high and low moods and changes in sleep, energy, thinking, and behavior. People who have bipolar disorder can have periods in which they feel overly happy and energized and other periods of feeling very sad, hopeless, and sluggish.” It’s a disorder in which people diagnosed with it have violent mood swings, and it affects people's everyday lives because they can go from heavily partying to deeply suicidal within days to months. There’s no way to know exactly how bipolar disorder is caused, but there are some factors in which it helps get developed. For example, bipolar disorder has more of a chance to develop in a person if one of their family members or close relatives has it. Drugs or alcohol abuse can also cause this disorder to develop. Also high-stress producers, such as the death of someone you loved or another traumatic event.
For a diagnosis, you would need to meet the following criteria for a manic episode and depressive episode. First, "a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lasting at least 1 week and present most of the day, nearly every day." (DSM-V) Second, during that period, having three or more of the following symptoms depending on if you're irritable or not, which are: a larger sense of self-esteem, a lesser need for sleep, and the ability to get distracted too often and too easily. There are five symptoms in a depressive episode that if you have, you could be closer to getting diagnosed with this disorder. The first symptom is having a depressed mood most of the day. The second is having an extreme diminish in the interest in everyday activities, or hobbies. The third is a large amount of weight loss or weight gain. Fourth, is either loss of sleep or an over-average amount of sleep. And last but not least, the fifth. When you feel worthless, or unnecessary guilt whether it be delusional or not.
“Bipolar disorder had the largest effect on left pars opercularis, left fusiform gyrus and left rostral middle frontal cortex.” (Jay Graminga) The pars opercularis is involved in language production. The fusiform gyrus helps with visual information, it helps identification and differentiation of visual objects. It’s also involved in memory. The left fusiform gyrus makes up about one-third of the frontal lobe.
There is a foundation called the International Bipolar Foundation (https://ibpf.org), and it’s dedicated to helping people with Bipolar disorder. It was founded in June 2007 by four parents with children affected by bipolar disorder. They bring mental health awareness and education to people all around the world.
I read an article called “Can One Individual Be Both DID And Bipolar?” and the woman who wrote it, whose name is Emma Lou, has bipolar herself. This is how she described it: “I can be sky-high by morning but by lunch, I am extremely depressed to the point of being suicidal.”
There was a woman named Ellen Forney in a TED talk that I watched that said that her energy bursts, mania episodes, were dizzying. She said that seemed like she was out of control, but she couldn’t stop. The manic episode for her stopped after 5 months, and then her mood changed into the opposite. She started feeling depressed. She felt lonely, and like there was nobody around to help her.
There are a few myths about bipolar disorder that I am about to dispel. First, people think that bipolar disorder is quite rare. But it actually affects over 2 million people in America alone. The second myth about bipolar disorder is that people think the disorder is just mood swings. People with bipolar disorder can also experience changes in energy and sleep patterns.
I think the best way to perceive what bipolar disorder is like is to watch this YouTube video series called Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_HReR_McQ) I’m sure a lot of people reading this have seen the YouTube series already. This is a video that starts off very happy and energetic, and then it turns dark and depressive really quickly. For people that are bipolar, these emotional changes happen over a course of weeks to months, but the easiest and fastest way to see what it’s like is to show you this video. This is the embedded video, if you would like to watch it.
I made a graph about the brainwaves that I think you would have during this video.
Minute 1: Beta. This is when the video just starts.
Minute 2: Gamma. This is when the video is mellow, pretty chill.
Minute 3: Gamma. This is when the video turns dark.
Minute 4 - 5: Alpha. Reflecting on the video.
Here are three websites that are dedicated to helping people with Bipolar disorder, and spreading awareness to people with other mental disorders as well.
https://www.ryanlichtsangbipolarfoundation.org/ - The Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation. It’s here to bring awareness and research for Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder.
https://ibpf.org - International Bipolar Foundation. I mentioned this foundation earlier in my essay. This foundation also brings awareness to bipolar disorder. On their website, there are educational videos and articles, and people sharing their experience with bipolar disorder. There are also tons of stories about people who’ve struggled with bipolar.
https://www.thekimfoundation.org/bipolar/ - The Kim Foundation - A foundation that’s not only about Bipolar Disorder, but a ton of other mental illnesses too. They support families and people who suffer with mental illnesses and suicide.
Here is the slideshow.
“Bipolar Disorder.” Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, 5 Mar. 2019, www.bbrfoundation.org/research/bipolar-disorder.
“Can One Individual Be Both DID And Bipolar?” International Bipolar Foundation, 27 Dec. 2019, ibpf.org/can-one-individual-be-both-did-and-bipolar/.
“Bipolar Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. American Psychiatric Association, 2017.
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