By Justin Brown | 03 MARCH 2008 | Cincinnati
A couple of years ago, my mother called me to tell me that a very close relative of mine had stabbed her boyfriend over, what seemed to be, a trivial matter. They had a regular argument over something all normal couples often do.
I was shocked and thought, “there must be more to the story”. While there was another side, it never elevated to the point of justifying her physically assaulting her mate.
Over the next year or so there were more violent episodes. Her demeanor would sometimes be jovial or generous. Then, all of a sudden, she would be sad, withdrawn, and angry. She rarely ever drank, and only took the drugs that were prescribed by her doctor. It just didn’t make sense.
Then it hit me like a two ton Mack truck! Two years before her stabbing incident, she’d been diagnosed with Severe Bipolar Disorder. Because I didn’t know much about the disease, I never thought anymore about it. naive I know. Last year I began to research it on my own.
According to the Depression and Bipolar Suppport Alliance, nearly 5.7 million adults suffer from the Jeckly-n-hyde-like disease in the U.S.[A] Taking medications, or not taking medications, can drastically affect the expression of its symptoms. Even to the point that, “one in five patients with Bipolar Disorder completes suicide”, adds the DBSA [A].
Recently, while listening to a friend’s talk show [1], I caught a glimpse of what it’s like to have BP from a group of her special guests. All officially diagnosed with the disease, they described child experiences that eerily mimicked those that my own family member had exhibited growing up.
With the humor of a comedian they takled the nuances of living bipolar; the good, the bad, and the ugly. (Sorry about the worn cliche). While it would seem that the disease doesn’t yet have a complete cure, it is highly manageable with the appropriate balance of diet, medications, exercise, adn education. The National Institute of Health has continues to conduct a host of clinical trials that promise to improve the lives of those living in pain.[2]
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Additional Resources
[1] Conversations with B | Radio Talk Show Broadcast on Depression -http://www.blogtalkradio.com/conversations/2008/03/24/Conversations-with-B-Featuring-Rob-our-own-Psycologist
• Visit the host of Conversation with B’ at her MySpace.com page at:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&frien did=139930137&MyToken=467392cc-7885-444a-83a6-af5901bab5d1• Also see :http://www.blogtalkradio.com/conversations
Treatment | National Institute of Health -http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bipolardisorder.html#cat3
[2] Clinical Trials | National Institute of Health -
http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Bipolar+Disorder%22
Coping | Track Your Mood Swings -
http://www.dbsalliance.org/pdfs/calendarforweb.pdf
Sources
[A] Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance website -
http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_statistics_bipolar
