Bipolar Disorder In 'Notes To My Biographer'

The essay ‘’Bipolar Disorder: The Agony and the Ecstasy” written under the pseudonym Thomas Wheaton focus on the pleasant and the appalling sides of having bipolar disorder such as the medication, the different types of disorders there are, also how others treat people with bipolar disorder. To start off with some of the medications are Depakote, Zoloft, Xanax and Trazodone which a few must be taken daily or whenever needed. However, like every medicine there are side effects including but not limited to organ damage, heat-sensitive, dry mouth, also dizziness. Wheaton says he from his experience he must drink unpleasant amount of water just to avert serious side effects. To continue, the medicine help whoever take it feel stability is more

Mental illness has been around since the days of recorded history. People such as Aristotle, Thomas Overbury, and Jean de la Bruyere have studied the personality disorders. However, through history, people with personality disorders have been shunned and feared because of who they are.

Bipolar disorder is a severe illness because they are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through time to time.

Max Lerner an American Journalist stated “the turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” Throughout The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette and her siblings, Lori, Brian and Maureen are faced with an unpleasant upbringing that they are put through by their parents Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Due to the terrible living conditions and bad parenting they had to endure for many years, they had to teach themselves and each other to be strong and survive on the very little food and necessities that they were given. Throughout the memoir, it is seen that Jeannette has a special connection with her father unlike any of the other siblings, but despite Jeannette believing in him Rex struggles to raise her and the kids in the normal life that they deserve due to his battle with mental illness.

The article “Bipolar Disorder: The Agony and the Ecstasy” by Thomas Wheaton explains that Thomas is diagnosed with “Bipolar- Not Otherwise Specified, with ultra- ultra-rapid cycling” and he struggles with it daily it affects him in many different ways. Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition which causes you to have multiple mood swings and can cause you to have draining depression. The author’s bipolar disorder is so strong that he has to take different kinds of medicines that have very high dosages daily and if he misses dosages he is not able to go out in public. When he takes them on time he states that his stability is easier, he has to see his therapist and psychiatrist to make sure they’re working. The meds cause side effects

Internal pain, external pain, suicidal thoughts, drugs, and societal pressures, Craig Gilner experiences it all. Craig is a 15 year old boy from Brooklyn, New York, who lives with his family. One night when he plans to kill himself, he calls the suicide hotline, and they tell him to go to the nearest hospital and he does. Behind the doors, a huge world of experience and recovery awaits him. In the “short-term facility for adult psychiatric”(Vizzini 185), Craig meets new patients and works with others to heal himself. In It’s Kind of a Funny Story, the author, Ned Vizzini, illustrates Craig's journey and development as a character, as well as introduces Muqtada and Noelle, two other patients in the ward, who also develop and recover. However, it eventually gets better for everyone no matter who you are, but for some people it takes longer.

The illness model focuses on diagnosing mental illnesses and providing medications to alleviate the suffering, this method however neglects to recognize how essential relationships and development may impact mental health. Although medication may be useful in coping with mental illness, not everyone with mental illness needs to be treated with medications. In the movie Short Term 12, Jayden’s rough upbringing of abuse and neglect has shaped her into a defiant teenager. Using only the illness model, how her abusive father contributes to her mental suffering can be overlooked. Only viewing Jayden’s suffering though the view of suffering as a transaction with the universe, her need for alternative coping methods may be unnoticed. The movie never specifies what medication Jayden has been taking but they are probably beneficial in the sense that they improve her mood. These paradigms can coexist and be used together to be most beneficial to ease mental

In the last few years, the representation of people suffering from mental illness in popular culture has greatly increased, showing actual teenagers that characters and idols have real problems in everyday life. One of the literary leaders in this psychological revolution is the novel, and recent film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Throughout this story, the viewer learns about different types of mental disorders from depression, to post-traumatic stress disorder, to schizophrenia. The events that occur throughout this storyline show real-life situations and struggles that teenagers go through. Stephen Chbosky expertly handles the topic of mental illness in the novel and film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

In the book Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen, one of the biggest focal points is mental illness. Mental illness can be tough to talk about, simply because the phrase “mental illness” encompasses such a wide range of conditions and conjures up images of deranged people, but it is very important, especially in this book. There is a certain stigma that people who are put into mental hospitals because they have medical problems or are insane and a possible danger to society. While this is sometimes true, it is far more common for patients to need help for a disorder, but just don’t know where to go or what to do, and can end up putting themselves or someone else in danger.

Contemporary society is a variety of all things good and bad that one might misinterpret as perfect

There was a five-year-old boy sitting in a public school bus next to fifth grader who was repeatedly sticking a sharp object into his leg, waiting for him to react.

At some point in most people's lives, he/she will question reality. It might be as simple as déjà vu or as complex as doubting one’s own existence. This is a theme that is constantly explored by literature, and science fiction seems to particularly like the topic of existentialism. One such science fiction story is The Yellow Pill by Rog Phillips. In it, the two main characters, Jerry and Gar, are forced to challenge each individual perception of his world. Gar is convinced that his real name is “Dr. Cedric Elton” and that Jerry is his patient “Gerald Bocek”. The uncertainty causes readers to disagree on whose version is correct, whether the story takes place in space as Jerry tells it or on Earth as Gar believes. The answer is that story The Yellow Pill actually does take place in space.

The video “Ride the Tiger: A guide through the Bipolar Brain” introduced and explored new insights in brain science that are being used to create new and more effective treatments for Bipolar and depression. It is important to understand about how the biological components of these disorders affect our patents and how effective medication can be. I can use this information to guide clinical decisions when working with clients who suffer from Bipolar or Depression. Initially, this video gave me a greater understanding about how much biology affects these disorders and the importance of incorporating referrals to a psychiatrist is in our work. Using medication to address these disorders can be a life and death issue because of the prevalence of suicide risk associated with them. Should a clinician not refer a client for medical intervention, they would be negligent in their care in addressing the whole person. Additionally, addressing issues from the biological perspective can help reduce feelings of guilt for clients that are associated with their disorder. Often clients are told to “buck up” by friends and family. This often results in guilty feelings for them because that they can’t seem to escape their symptoms no matter how hard they try. Educating clients about the impact of the

Ellen Forney’s Marbles provides an insight into bipolar I disorder from the patient’s perspective. Unlike DSM-IV, which explains this disorder solely from a clinical perspective, the author attempts to reveal the social and personal challenges that a patient with bipolar I disorder encounter. She began this

Kay Jamison is an influential psychologist, Jamison focuses on psychological diseases like mood disorders, suicide, bi-polar and depression. She has conducted extensive research into both “normal” and “abnormal” moods, frequently arguing that the two are not easily separable. Jamison has also stressed the importance of employing psychotherapy in combination with medication to treat mood disorders. Jamison focuses on client centered therapy, she as well as Carl Rogers think that people are free to make choices and control their destinies, despite the burdens of the past (Ratus, 2012, 2014) She follows the cognitive perspectives on motivation theory.