Life with Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder affects as many as 60 million people worldwide. Bipolar is a lifelong chronic illness for which there is no cure. Someone living with this disorder will experience revolving episodes of depressive and manic behavior, each episode lasting for a week or more at a time. Due to the nature of this illness, many who are diagnosed as bipolar also have at least one other mental disorder diagnosis such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Dissociative Personality Disorder, PTSD, and Schizophrenia.

Perhaps one of the most alarming statistics in the bipolar community is the suicide rates. Suicide rates in the bipolar community are 60 percent higher than the rates in the general population. The statistics also show that the suicides in the bipolar community are likely to happen before they reach the age of 30. I believe the stigma around these mental illnesses is, in its own right, more dangerous than the disorder itself. These illnesses have become a joke to society, and it has become the norm to sling these diagnoses around as an insult to others. Many have stopped asking for help to avoid being called "crazy" or to avoid being labeled with an "embarrassing" diagnoses. This leads to people suffering silently and needlessly, isolating themselves because they feel "less than" the rest of our seemingly functional society.

The truth that the bipolar community needs to hear is that you are not alone, or crazy. Bipolar disorder affects up to 60 million people all around us. It takes great strength to live a life fighting an internal war. You are not weak, or less than any other member of society. You are stronger than most can imagine. I know there have been days so dark that you begged to be released from this world. I know there have been weeks that have flown by while the most you could do was simply convince yourself to keep on living. I also know about the week that you were on top of the world, organized and crushing every task before you. You build yourself happily, making commitments and intentions... before it all comes crashing back down on top of you. I know about climbing through the rubble and convincing your shattered soul that it is worth doing it all over again... and again and again.

I encourage you to speak out—to a therapist, to your friends, or to another that understands your struggles and shares your diagnoses. I encourage you to take the reins of your life back into your hands, and take small steps each day towards improving your quality of life. I encourage you to take up an art—any art: music, drawing, writing, gardening, cooking, dancing, etc. Mostly, I encourage you to remember that you are capable of living a happy life even with a mental health illness.

Treat yourself each day to a breath of fresh air outside, or a few minutes of self-care—some time alone to meditate, a nice warm glass of tea, or a blank canvas for you to express yourself through drawing or writing. Slowly but surely, we can fall back in love with life and ourselves. We can flip the stigma by taking our diagnoses seriously, and proving that there is hope to the sufferers in the shadows.