What is bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, refers to a state of mind disorder with both manic and depressive episodes since its onset.
American psychologist Ludwig has counted 1004 leading people in various industries such as art, science and business, many of whom have been haunted by depression and mania. Among them, fictional writers are affected by the deepest, second only to poets.
But don’t think that “bipolar disorder” is just for geniuses! An epidemiological survey of mental illness was conducted and found that 9 out of every 100 people met the criteria for bipolar disorder (including depression and neurotic depression).
This strange disorder has plagued Van Gogh, Beethoven, Vivien Leigh and many other famous people. Hemingway was the most typical bipolar disorder, and it is said that when he was depressed, he could not write a novel for three years, while in a manic state, he could write three novels a year.
As early as 1987, Nancy C. Andreason of the University of Iowa surveyed 30 creative writers and 30 ordinary people as a control, and found that 80% of the writers had experienced mental illness, especially bipolar disorder and major depression, while only 30% of normal people had this experience.
It has long been said that “there is a thin line between genius and insanity”. Mental illness is either a curse or a gift that allows them to burn with a light that ordinary people cannot burn with.
Although medical research has not fully confirmed the existence of a direct link between mental illness and creativity, the genes of both may be neighbors in the brain. Generally speaking, people who engage in literary and artistic creation are emotionally delicate and sharp-witted, and their sensitive, fragile and unusual nerves may allow them to experience feelings that ordinary people do not experience, or even enter a fantastical mental world that ordinary people cannot imagine, and these experiences may inspire their writing.
Bipolar disorder is a common condition
Bipolar disorder is a cruel mental illness when viewed separately from the artistic achievements of famous people. When depressed, the patient appears to be depressed, self-blaming and anxious, and negative and light-hearted, while when manic, the patient is impulsive and irritable, energetic and complacent. This kind of mania and depression appear alternately or in a mixed way at the same time, which will directly damage the patient’s ability to work, study, live and interact.
Generally speaking, some patients will have some self-awareness when they are in the depressive state and will take the initiative to seek medical treatment, but when they are in the manic state, although they realize they have abnormalities, they will not consider it as a disease until they do something unimaginable, such as generating large debit and credit relationships, and are sent to the doctor after their family members have some awareness.
Everyone’s emotions are not a straight line
In our lives, we often feel that we have mood swings. For example, we may feel sad and depressed for some reason, but we may also feel excited and even spend money impulsively. Nowadays, the Internet is so advanced that when you search online, you will “self-diagnose”: is it bipolar disorder?
The truth is that no one’s mood is always a straight line, it will always have ups and downs like your ECG. It can fluctuate with your physiological cycle in a month, with the seasons in a year, and even in a day, it can be influenced by the cloudy or sunny weather.
However, the identification of mental illness is difficult. The diagnosis of internal surgery is made by the data after laboratory tests, but a patient in a manic state will find N reasons to justify the necessity of doing so in the face of his or her apparently unreasonable behavior.
So, if we find someone around us appears abnormal, how can we initially determine whether he is bipolar disorder? The following methods can assist in the identification.
1. There are symptoms of depressive and manic episodes. For example: depressive episodes, loss of interest, no sense of pleasure; low self-esteem, self-blame, or guilt; difficulty in association or reduced ability to think; manic episodes, increased amount of language, thinking running; self-esteem is too high or exaggerated; frequent reckless behavior (such as squandering, irresponsible, or reckless behavior), etc.
2.Depression lasts for more than two weeks, mania lasts for more than one week.
3.Social function is impaired, causing pain or adverse consequences to the person. For example, it is difficult to maintain school, unable to continue working, etc.
4.Somatic diseases must be excluded. Certain physical diseases and medication may also trigger depression or hyperactivity of mood.
It should be added that, as with other psychiatric disorders, bipolar affect is caused by biological, genetic and psychosocial factors. Psychosocial factors include adverse life events and environmental stressful events, such as unemployment, loss of love, poor family relationships, and long periods of highly stressful living conditions. Therefore, properly adjusting our mindset and improving our stress tolerance is a lifelong homework.