I have done tons of research on bipolar disorder. My husband is bipolar and I wanted to be informed. Anyhow it gives me something to keep my mind occupied when he is being outrageous. So, I have read that something like 6% of the population is diagnosed with B.P. OK. Then how is it possible that at one time last week there were 7 here at my house who were and only two who were not? No, we are not having a convention. Everywhere I go to socialize it's the same. So, either the official figures are lying or there is just a very heavy concentration of bipolars everywhere I travel for some unknown reason... And, damn it, they have a way of setting each other off like dominoes... I never noticed this epidemic of mood disorder until about 3 or 4 years ago. Maybe it was because I didn't see it before? Or didn't know the proper symptomology? Or maybe I mistook bipolar for living around a bunch of assholes. 6% huh? And those are only the ones who are "diagnosed". I figure the mental health facilities around here must be overcrowded and psycologists are doing a booming business! But what I really want to know is WHY??? How is this possible? What is happening that suddenly causes so MANY people to start going bonkers???? The odds are not good. I wonder how many people in places of power are bipolar, maybe even undiagnosed. Frightening. What if George Bush should suddenly think that he is posessed by GOD and God is telling him to push the red button? How to cope? Who knows. Maybe that's how you cope, by becoming "bipolar" too. An entire nation of mentally disabled citizens. Who will be left standing to help pay for their disability checks??? Who will help care for the masses as they fall one by one to the ravages of mood disorders? I think we may be witnessing the fall of the human race. I have noticed that bipolar disorder and other mental disorders as well mimic the same symptoms as things such as heavy metal poisoning. Meth psychosis too. Do you suppose that there is something greater at work here that we are not being told? Something in the water or the air or the food we eat? I'm being serious here. If the rate of mental illness continues to rise like it is, what are we, the ones who find ourselves sane in an insane world, going to do?
I believe that the reason the rate of mental illness is rising is because in a sense it is a fad, or something cool. I'm not trying to be a smart-ass either because I do suffer from a legitimate mental illness, and I have done extensive research myself. I think that there are a lot of people today who use it as a crutch or as an excuse for poor behavior. I don't think that half of the people who think they have a problem really do. The unfortunate part about it is that the doctors are not qualified enough to either see through these "patients" or they don't care enough to tell them that there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. See, I don't think the world is full of nutjobs, I think the world is full of greedy people. The drug companies are making tons of money by promoting mental instability and doctors are right there willing and able to diagnose and treat it. Don't get me wrong, not all doctors are doing this, but I think a lot are. And someone tried to point out to me befor that drug companies are exploiting all illnesses, which for the most part may be true, but you don't see skits on SNL or kids running around saying "I have diabetes, feel sorry for me, or I have cancer, so it is cool for me to wear all black." No, but people, teens included, for some reason think that it is cool or socially acceptable to be depressed or have some other mental illness. People who have absolutely no problems both psychologically and in reality, still feel as if they are "so oppressed" and their life is really that hard to lead. It is crap in my opinion. Not only that, but people talk about it so much more and it dosen't carry the same stigma it did in the past. There were probably sick people before, but they either didn't get diagnosed, or they sure as hell didn't flaunt it, like people today. I'm not suggesting we should be ashamed by any means, I'm just saying that people should really stop commercializing it. Now, as far as the people in your house, there is an easy statistical explaination for what happened. What event were you holding that all of those people were there. Was it an open house because you were selling your house? Was it friends or a support group for bi-polar people? Was it family members (because mental illness does run in families). If I were holding a Bible study for example, and I had 7 people show up who were Christians, and 2 people come who were Athiests, I would not be surprised. Further, when you are going on your trips all around the world, where are you going and for what purpose? Does it have anything at all to do with the disease? Chances are if you are going to a retreat for couples, you will find a lot of couples on the plane there. Catch my drift? Also it could be in how you are approaching people. If that is the first thing you bring up, or if it is the center of your conversation chances are likely that you will find more people who are like you or your husband. Honestly, having dealt with my personal mental illness I know for a fact that I attract people with the same type of illness I have. I don't know why, I'm sure there is a simple explaination for it, but I try not to analyze it too much. As far as bi-polar disorder itself goes, I personally believe that it is misdiagnosed and over diagnosed far too often these days. A lot of people, including doctors and psychologists don't fully understand the symptoms and have a tendency to lump a lot of things together that do not belong. This is just my experience, I'm not suggesting for one minute that your husband is not bi-polar, I am suggesting however, that all of the other people around you who you think are, or they even think are, might not actually be. I was misdiagnosed 3 times before anyone figured out what I had, and honestly it was something they made up. A hybrid of other disorders so to speak. But 2 different doctors thought it was bi-polar, and I tried to tell them that while it may sound similar it is not. I finally found a doctor who put the pieces together for me and helped me greatly. Anyway, this is just my two cents on what you are talking about. Feel free to disagree with me all you want, it is soley based on my own experiences and thoughts on the topic.
This topic was one of the best discussions we ever had in my sociology class. I don't know the answer. Personally, I think there really are that many people out there who have some type of disorder, or "dysfunctional tendency", whether it's just a phase or something more severe is a little harder to decipher, especially when looking at something like depression. I tend to gravitate towards parenting, how kids are raised and the society they're raised in, as being the crux of the problem. What I don't believe in is eugenics, which has historically been the psychiatric communities solution to the issue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics). I don't really know a better solution, either, but that's besides the point . There's a really good book on this subject called, The Invisible Plague: the Rise of Psychoses from 1750 to the Present... and actually, here's a good article that sums up the best points of the book.... http://www.schizophrenia.com/newsletter/allnews/2002/disordersincrease.htm
LOL, maybe the ones with "dysfunctional tendencies" are really the norm, and everyone else is the problem. I've always thought that anyway. I've studied eugenics in philosophy class, I think Ayn Rand was a big proponent, course I think there is something askew with that woman anyway. I'm afraid to think about what Jer and my kids will be like with all of the mental illness between our families. He/she will be a raving lunatic. (hey, I can make fun of my own problems! I have a sense of humor). I do have to agree the way children are raised these days is very different from before. I think that one's environment does have an impact, of course, but I also think there are people out there claiming to be "depressed" or "bi-polar" and have no idea what it is like to be remotely either of the two. It kind of pisses me off because it doesn't help inform anyone of the true nature of the illnesses. I mean I can't argue that the statistics say incidence is on the rise, but I generally don't believe statistics anyway, because they are always biased. Like I said it could just be because more people are reporting it now, or it is being recognized better. That doesn't mean it wasn't always there. Know what I mean? Good links, but I really don't think it is an "epidemic" as they suggest. I mean honestly, if I were homeless (and I have been) I would be going a little crazy too. And put me in a jail cell and I will chew through my arm. Well, maybe not my arm, but I would definitely exhibit signs of being off balance. Plus, using that logic means that we could cure the "epidemic" simply by giving homeless homes, and letting people out of jail. I'm all for giving homeless people homes, but that you'd have to talk to the rest of the country about. I'm even down with letting petty criminals out of jail. There is so much more we could discuss on this topic. It is all quite fascinating.
Not good for the home team. These were all just folks who came to a party. And My hubby seems to collect bipolar friends now that he knows what is wrong with him. Like attracts like... I agree that alot of folks must be getting diagnosed who just have alot of bad habits. And I think the world growing steadily more horrible in general is not helping one bit. But to all those who in their remotest dreams think it's somehow "cool" to be mentally ill, well, I can tell you it is NOT at all cool. It will not only screw up your entire life and at times turn you into pretty much a cripple, but it will make all your close friends and your mate completely crazy and keep them from being able to live any kind of "normal" life. Try being married to one. You make a committment to the disease. It's even hard to know sometimes where the sickness ends and the actual person starts. It ain't always like that, but it's definately like riding on a yoyo. Well, we didn't let any doctor diagnose this. I spent many hours researching everything from demon posession to channelling to lists of mental disorders and their symptoms. I even found myself researching ancient history from the time of Atlantis... And the usual list of symptoms for BP don't even really express it, they are too generic. Well, anyhoo, it takes a very strong person to keep their sanity when everybody around them can't or won't. I DO think that perhaps someone who is bipolar could at least try to be responsible for their illness by staying away from mind altering substances or other things that tend to hurt instead of help, and try to practice forming new habits to take the place of the old bad ones that you fall into when feeling "troubled."
That was my point exactly. Don't get me wrong, like I said there are people out there who exhibit signs of this or that illness, but there are more factors involved than what one can find through research. I'm just saying for a long time I thought I was bi-polar, I did years worth of research and I was convinced that my symptoms were that of Bi polar disorder, and I went to docs and asked and they said do you do this this or this, and I said, well yes, sort of. They said yup you are bi-polar. So they put me on Abilify for the days when I was supposedly "manic", which I really wasn't, and that just put me to sleep and made me cry like a loon, and then I was supposed to take the Wellbutrin every day to keep me from crying like a loon, which amped me up and made me "freak out". Turns out that wasn't the issue after all and I had to go to 3 different doctors before someone bothered to take the time and delve a lot deeper into my life to figure it out. Now I know what I have and I'm on my way to recovering. And that is possible. Sometimes though, I think that we are all in such a hurry or wanting to fix the problem or understand it better, and what we do is just find something that sounds somewhat similar to what we feel or are going through and we automatically assume that is it. Take depression for example: everyone in the world would be classified as depressed if you went with the regular description of the disease. I mean 2 weeks of feeling tired, not liking things you used to, not wanting sex, change in appetite, hell- that happens when you get pregnant! There are so many different things it could be, and it more than likely is linked more to your environment and lifestyle and less on your brain chemical balance. I am a firm believer that most people who are depressed or think they are depressed just need something different in life to shake things up a bit. LOL then again I'm nuts so why listen to me anyway.
You can rate bipolar people on a 1 to 10 scale according to my thinking. The 9's and 10's are in mental hospitals, jail, or the grave. During manic sinister espisodes, they get in fights, spend all their money, talk fast and come up with big ideas, stay up at night, commit crimes, drink, then they return to normal for weeks. Later they go into deep depression. The 9's and 10's kill themselves. My Mom was a 7 then digressed to a 10 and was hospitalized. At that time during the 50's doctors has no clue as to the cause. I'm probably a 5 or 6 and Effexor and Lamictal have really helped. It's is really not that common except for the 1 through 4's who can work, raise families.....but can be difficult. This is probably the 6% that you mention. Why is it more common? We know what causes it, and in the 70's, many had no clue. We now know that neurotransmitters, that are organic molecules cause the brain to malfunction when the neruons produce to many of too few. LSD, psilociben sp?, mescaline, and other agents have a similar molecular structure to these natural brain chemicals. These compounds push the natural compounds out of the way and cause the brain to alter perceptions. Mentally ill people suffer from altered perceptions most of their lives unless treated.
I'm going to completely summarized and to the point: I think a lot of cases are very misdiagnosed. I also think too many people try to diagnose themSELVES. Psychiatrists are still only human, and make mistakes as well. A diagnoses is usually just simply an "educated guess" anyhow.
Hey Spooner.........I don't know if to laugh or be offended. What is the string theory? The others don't want to fit in Down Syndrome category unless you offer to join in. Four year old?.............lets bump it up to six and a half! Spooner, how is school coming along? I hope you are being good in class....I'm a teacher so keep your name off the board....just kidding. You never said what all the run in's with the cops were about. You sound like you are going in the right direction.
Thankfully it was not up to my old man to diagnose himself! He figured that the rest of the world was screwed up and that he was super human. He thought he was perfectly normal. Seriously. Sometimes it takes a SOBER and objective other party to see that there is something amiss. Sometimes it takes a whole roomfull. He would not accept that there was anything wrong with him until he started actually having physical symptoms. Plus, I spent several months charting his mood swings on a calandar. The pattern then became more obvious to him. So, he is either bipolar or he is really a woman with some of the worst PMS I have ever seen. It is very cyclical. However, he STILL believes that some of his stronger symptoms are simply normal for him due to his being superhuman... Like I said, most of those descriptions of bipolar that you find on the internet are far too generic. Anyone could mistake being bp or depressed if they just go by that. Those were not very helpful to me in diagnosing anything. So, if you think you might be bipolar, or you think you're not, get several other opinions! And in order to see what is really going on, you need not to have your mind clouded up with alcohol or drugs. Sometimes the problems stem from too much alteration.
I was being facetious - trying to make the point that you've taken something extremely complicated and dumbed it down (and it is incorrect, anyway). And that pic was taken when I was 16. I threw a beer bottle at a cop car.
Of course many things are misdiagnosed. The fact that there is a drug for every aspect of one's personality and fear that something is wrong with you is a great excuse for lots of people to lean on something else and feel that nothing they do is their fault. And I am bipolar, have been diagnosed, have been in a hospital, have nearing on ten years documented experience with it. I know there are plenty of functional bipolar people in the world, and I don't think it is going to ruin society. This is a complicated subject and with all the generalizations and assumptions on this page, I can't quite say much more right now. I will say there are plenty of people who have problems and don't realize it, and plenty of people who really don't have anything that needs to be medicated and yet that is how they are dealing with problems that could be dealt with if they changed their attitude and such.
First, most mental illness is much more complicated than simple imbalances of neurotransmitters. Secondly, psychadelic drugs don't imitate neurotransmitters. This statement "These compounds push the natural compounds out of the way and cause the brain to alter perceptions." is simply false.
