Being someone with bipolar issues seems like something not to use the word "happy" about. People with bipolar can plunge into deep depression, while for some people, mania becomes psychosis at times. There's always the self doubt -- "Is this feeling real, or is my bipolar talking?" And any medication that works on brain chemistry is likely to have strange side effects, so the medication search for "what are the least annoying side effects" becomes an odyssey of pharmacopeia.
But here are reasons to be happy (and educational opportunities for the rest of you:
- Bipolar people are not crazy. "Crazy" is a word made up by people who fear difference. It has been used to marginalize people (with or without a mental health condition) for ages.
- Bipolar people are neurodivergent. Isn't that a cool word? That means our brains work differently than other brains. The Neurodiversity Movement is one that seeks to normalize people with mental health conditions, autism, epilepsy and other mental conditions as being "just the way some people are born." The Neurodiversity Movement does not prohibit treatment of symptoms of a condition, such as antipsychotics for someone with bipolar.
- Bipolar traits may relate to enhanced creativity. Some doctors still dispute this, but most doctors see a link between bipolar and creativity -- even when the bipolar is being treated. So that stereotype of the artist on the edge is true, but the artist is still an artist when pulled back from the edge with medication.
- Compliant people with bipolar are following the health advice that everyone should. We get enough sleep at night, establish regular routines, give up alcohol and (of course) illegal drugs, meditate, manage our moods through affirmations and cognitive exercises ...
Neurotypical people are scared of people who are bipolar, but it should compare to other health conditions:
- Being around a manic episode can be scary. So can being around someone who has a fierce temper and a disdain for cops (there's a story here). Neurotypical people can be scary too.
- Your bipolar friend sometimes gets spacy with their medication. Someone with diabetes gets spacy when their blood sugar is too low. Your friend who stays up late gets spacy when she hasn't gotten enough coffee. It sounds like a universal condition to me.
- Bipolar people get depressed. So do people with diagnosed depression. And those with triggered situational depression. One is not scarier than another.
So bipolar awareness day is happy because I get to share these points which tend to contradict the excessive drama on the Lifetime Channel. Now some people learn about their bipolar by something really dramatic like maxing out the credit cards or having an affair, but so do neurotypical people. And people who get medication fare better than people who don't. But I'm glad I get to talk about what people with bipolar disorder face in a positive way, where people aren't saying, "SHHHH. You shouldn't talk about it!"
Whether you're neurodivergent or neurotypical, I hope this has helped you see the world a bit differently.
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