Bipolar Disorder, sometimes referred to as a manic-depressive disorder, is best described as an illness that results in drastic and unpredictable mood swings, energy levels and one’s ability to complete daily tasks. Not to be confused with simply being tired or in a bad mood, the symptoms associated with bipolar disorders are drastic, severe and frightening for many. It can easily annihilate relationships, jeopardize careers and in some cases, those with diagnosed bipolar can attempt and succeed in committing suicide. This paper will take a look at how this illness can affect one’s daily life and what that might mean to an outsider looking in.
A Day in the Life: Bipolar Disorder
To understand bipolar disorder, one must first understand the dynamics behind the illness. “Bipolar” means literally “two opposite poles” (Mrazek, 2008). Most often, bipolar disorder develops in one’s late teen years or early adulthood and while the official studies insist approximately 1% of the American population suffers from this order, new research suggests that it could be as high as 5% (Hedaya, 2010). According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a full one half of all diagnoses are made before the age of twenty-five (2008). The symptoms vary from one person to the next and what might be considered severe symptoms for one many be easily addressed in another (Das, Olfson, Gameroff, Pilowsky, Blanco, Feder, Gross, Neria, Lantigua, Shea, and Weissman 2005).
The only consistency in this mental health illness is, frankly, its inconsistency (Das et al, 2005). The diagnoses are made usually by incorporating guidelines from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM (National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2008). While this illness is usually present over the course
