Marya is a successful author commonly noted for her publication of the popular book called Wasted recounting her venture through eating disorders. Soon after Wasted, she released her book Madness: A Bipolar Life which tells her life story from beginning to her current life. Marya was diagnosed with Ultra Rapid Cycle Bipolar disorder which is considered to be the most severe type of bipolar disorder (Hornbacher, 2008). Although this diagnosis happened later in her life and there were several years of distress and confusion leading up to and even after the diagnosis. Before anyone can fully understand Marya’s story and tribulations we first have to get a basic understanding of her Mental illness. Bipolar disorder is characterized by mood swings to both ends of the emotional spectrum or ‘pole’ (book cite). It ranges from major depressive disorder to manic episodes that can last for days to weeks in length (book cite). When the subject goes into major depression, it is obvious, because they take less pleasure in activities they used to enjoy or refrain from doing any activities at all. Manic episodes give the subject a god like viewpoint on everything and are characterized by extreme happiness. During a manic episode the subject often refuses to believe facts that other people are telling them and in extreme cases believe they are a mythical god or a different person altogether. Another sign of mania is fast speech and incomplete sentences. In order to be classified as bipolar disorder the clinician must identify one or more manic episode in the history of the patient (Rivas-Vazquez, et al). The treatment of bipolar disorder is varied and has had mixed results. There are several medications used to treat bipolar disorder each tar... ... middle of paper ... ...piring person for everyone especially regarding her eating disorder. As for her bipolar disorder she received a lot of different medication from lithium to (other drugs). Her treatment also included a lot of group therapy and support from her family and husbands. Works Cited Hornbacher, M. (2008). Madness: a bipolar life. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. N. (2012). Psychology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. Rivas-Vazquez, Rafael A.; Johnson, Sheri L.; Rey, Gustavo J.; Blais, Mark A.; Rivas-Vazquez, Ana. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 33.2 (Apr 2002): 212-223. Leon, Gloria R.; Fulkerson, Jayne A.; Perry, Cheryl L.; Cudeck, Robert. Personality and behavioral vulnerabilities associated with risk status for eating disorders in adolescent girls. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 102.3 (Aug 1993): 438-444.
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed., p. 600). New York: Worth Pub.
Throughout the graphic memoir Marbles by Ellen Forney, she talks about and discusses her daily struggles with dealing with her recent, formal, diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. She, from the very beginning, explains her constant struggle with dealing her mental state and her constant high and lows. When she illustrates her daily life she intensely details her emotions and how she interacts with people and different places. She uses the illustrations to speak for her when there are no words to be said. These words, spoken and unspoken, account for some deep, meaningful thoughts and questions that arise about her and her daily life with bipolar I disorder. Afraid of and questioning her mental state, Forney’s initially uninformed life creates panic
More than 57 million people in the United States suffer from some type of mental disorder. Mental illnesses can turn a person’s world upside down. These medical conditions can disrupt every aspect of a person and their family’s lives. Mental disorders do not discriminate; age, sex, or color does not matter when it comes to mental illness. Many people live with different types of mental health problems. These problems can be anxieties, drug or alcohol addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder, and personality and mood disorders. People can suffer from one or more of these conditions. There are treatment options available but unfortunately treatable mental illness is being left untreated. Many people feel ashamed or just don’t realize the help available to them. In the past several decades there have been substantial changes in the care for those with mental disorders but even with all the technology, science and a better understanding of what mental illness is, improvement of the lives of those with a mental illness still falls short. One disorder seems to be making its way to the front of the line of all the different disorders out there. Bipolar disorder. Statistics are saying by 2020 bipolar disorder will be the number two health ailment, right behind heart decease (Reilly 224). We can teach society about this disorder and educate people on the see-saw of emotions tied to bipolar and the treatment that is available to them to help ease some of the weight on bipolar patients and their loved ones. There is hope!
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mood disorder characterized by periods of mania, depression, or a mixed manic-depressive state. The condition can seriously affect a person’s reasoning, understanding, awareness, and behavior. Acco...
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a psychopathology that affects approximately 1% of the population. (1) Unlike unipolar disorder, also known as major affective disorder or depression, bipolar disorder is characterized by vacillating between periods of elation (either mania or hypomania) and depression. (1, 2) Bipolar disorder is also not an illness that remedies itself over time; people affected with manic depression are manic-depressives for their entire lives. (2, 3) For this reason, researchers have been struggling to, first, more quickly diagnose the onset of bipolar disorder in a patient and, second, to more effectively treat it. (4) As more and more studies have been performed on this disease, the peculiar occurrence between extreme creativity and manic depression have been uncovered, leaving scientists to deal with yet another puzzling aspect of the psychopathology. (5)
In order to understand the effects of said malfunctions, it is vital to brief crash course in what it means to be bipolar. This disorder is typically characterized by periods of intense mania, followed closely by deep, unadulterated depression with “mixed” periods sprinkled throughout. Manic periods are characterized by intense feelings of euphoria. This may seem like a positive, however these phases typically lead to bouts of impaired judgment. Behaviors can become grandiose in nature and look extremely hyperactive. The person may have raised libido, want to stay up all night, and exhibit overall decreased inhibition. The depression that follows these bouts of ecstasy comes quickly, and they are both dark and unforgiving. Individuals with bipolar disorder lack a middle groun...
Bipolar disorder involves going from a state of extreme happiness or concentration to a major depressive state and back to “normal.” Depending on the individual in question, the three states may come in various orders and lengths. For example, the upward swing or the elated feeling of bipolar disorder can last from a week to a few years. The same can be said about the major depressive part of bipolar disorder. The exact length of each state of mind varies amongst each individual. For those who have manic episodes, this can involve intense feelings of being on top of the world or they may indulge in spending recklessly with a lack of consideration of friends and family. Therefore, the bipolar person’s friends and family may feel the need to pay off his or her debts. Unlike manic episodes, people with hypomanic episodes experience extreme concentration and have personal insight. Hypomanic people have the capability to listen to their friends and family. For example, people in a hypomanic state may have the energy to write a book in a single night. Over the last five years, bipolar disorder has been on the rise in the media. More and more stories about bipolar are being published in the newspaper, films, television, and online videos, and passed on through word of mouth. More often than not, these stories involve people who are exhibiting bipolar traits. Although bipolar disorder does have some negative parts to it, the stories portrayed in the media often involved only the most severe bipolar cases. Therefore, messages in the media often involve myths. Certain sources do not involve myths but have the potential to cause misinformation. Media messages can become biased. There are many bipolar disorder myths that come from word of mou...
Westen, D., Burton, L., & Kowalski, R. (2006). Psychology: Australian and New Zealand edition. Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons.
Crowe, M. (2011). Feeling out of control: A qualitative analysis of the impact of bipolar
Bipolar disorder is the condition in which one’s mood switches from periods of extreme highs known as manias to periods of extreme lows known as depression. The name bipolar comes from the root words bi (meaning two) and polar (meaning opposite) (Peacock, 2000). Though often bipolar disorder is developed in a person’s late teens to early adulthood; bipolar disorder’s early symptoms can sometimes be found in young children or may develop later on in life (National Institutes of, 2008). Bipolar disorder has been found to affect both men and women equally. Currently the exact cause of bipolar disorder is not yet known, however it has been found to occur most often in the relatives of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder (National Center for, 2010).
Hockenbury, Don H., and Sandra E. Hockenbury. Psychology. 6th ed. New York, NY: Worth, 2013. Print.
...er. Using this knowledge of behaviors that often occur among people with a Bipolar Disorder, we can tell the story of her struggle with a mental illness, which at the time was known but could not be treated. Telling her story about the influence of her Bipolar Disorder had on her accomplishments and failures is captivating and reveals a life and death that is almost comprehensible.
The film, Of Two Minds, is based on real life accounts of individuals living with bipolar disorder. Before watching this film, I had an idea of what bipolar disorder is , but after viewing this film I was completely mistaken. Previously, I thought being bipolar was going from a “normal” mood to an angry or sad mood in a matter of seconds and could be simply fixed by taking medicine. But my previous thoughts were completely wrong and bipolar disorder is very serious and complicated. I didn’t know the severity of this disease and I think a lot of the general public is uneducated about bipolar disorder as well as mental illness. Terri Cheney describes having bipolar disorder as, “Take the best day you ever had and multiply it by a million, it 's like a flu but one hundred times worse. It 's having flu in your mind."
Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2012). Invitation to psychology (Fifth ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Edited by Raymond J. Corsini. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Second Edition, Volume 3. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.