How Does Bipolar Disorder Affect Our Daily Life

Many people have heard of bipolar disorder but do they actually know what it is? Sure, they might label someone as “bipolar” because they experience mood swings, but the actual mental illness is more complicated than that. Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). (“Bipolar Disorder”) As someone who has this mental illness, it is more than just “mood swings.” It is a disruptive, long-term condition that effects my daily life, my performance in school, and my relationships with others. Since this illness is categorized by extreme mood swings, it has a major effect on daily life. A mood swing can occur at any time which causes a lot of anxiety. Mood shifts may occur only a few times a year or as often as several times a week. (“Bipolar Disorder”) They are often unexpected and can disrupt normal life by disturbing sleeping schedules or food consumption. During emotional highs, or mania, I tend to run on little to no sleep. I also tend to need to be

During my manic moods, I have racing thoughts which cause me to get distracted easily. Imagine how hard it is to sit in class, trying to learn but cannot really focus. Another thing about manic moods is that I tend to overestimate my abilities and the amount of work I can actually finish. I might be able to finish the work while I am still in a state of mania but I could also have another mood swing causing me to end up being overwhelmed. On the other hand, during a depressive mood I lose motivation and interest in school and classwork. For instance, there are days where getting up, getting dressed, and going to class seems like an extremely hard thing to do. There might be days where I simply cannot make it to class causing poor attendance, potential important information being missed, and falling behind the rest of the