Songwriters write about their lives since their lyrics are a reflection of their personal experiences. Often, a coping mechanism for dealing with a problem is to bring the issue out in the open. The lead singer and song writer of alternative rock band Blue October, Justin Furstenfeld explains on a suicide prevention video that he has “battled with bipolar disorder, psychiatric tendencies as well as anxiety issues throughout much of his life and admits he self-harmed during his teenage years and has reoccurring suicidal thoughts” (Freunde fürs Leben, 2010). Many songs that he wrote are about his mental illness and problems he faced because of it. In the song X Amount of Words, Furstenfeld clearly wrote this song about his mental …show more content…
Oh! (We’re recording you)” (Furstenfeld, 2005). The feeling of being watched by someone is likened to a phobia, an intense fear of someone which would be considered irrational by others. The line “I never knew you till you left me with the crying disease” suggests a failed relationship led to major depression (Furstenfeld, 2005). It is not made clear whether it was romantic interest or a family member or friend but the wording may be intended to be very general. Further proof of Furstenfeld’s trouble with relationships is stated in the lyrics “Give me recipes for sorry I’m admitting I’m wrong”, which he blames his disorder on causing rifts in his relationships (Furstenfeld, 2005). Bipolar disorder causes unusual mood changes so it would be fair to say that it is a factor. Biological Factors Furstenfeld explains that bipolar disorder is a malfunction of the brain hence the lyrics “your brain is faulty wiring” (Furstenfeld, 2005) and recognizes that there is a biological mechanism that causes the disorder. According to Butcher, Hooley, and Mineka, “cortisol levels are higher in bipolar disorder patients and evidence of mood changes are caused by abnormalities concerning the hypothalamic-pituitary thyroid axis which
“Bipolar disorder, also commonly known as manic depression, is defined as a serious mental illness in which common emotions become intensely and often unpredictably magnified. Individuals with bipolar disorder can quickly alternate from extremes of happiness, energy and clarity to sadness, fatigue and confusion. All people with bipolar disorder have manic episodes abnormally elevated or irritable moods that last at least a week and impair functioning. But not all become depressed ” (American Psychological Association, 2015). Bipolar disorder can vary in each individual. The symptoms fluctuate in pattern, severity and rate of recurrence. Some people are more susceptible to either mania or depression, while others change proportionately between the two types of episodes. Some have frequent mood disruptions, while others live through a few throughout their lifetime.
There is no known specific pathophysiology that is associated with Bipolar spectrum disorder, nonetheless, it’s thought that this disorder arises from many areas such as, genetic, physiological, environmental, epigenetics and psychosocial
Although everybody reacts emotionally to environmental factors to a certain extent, people who have bipolar disorder “can develop extreme moodiness in reaction to events in their environment.” (Miklowitz, 2010, p. 74). Furthermore, according to Miklowitz (2010), scientists still do not completely understand the importance environmental influences and stress, but
Bipolar disorder also known as manic depression has always been a mystery since the 16th century. History has shown that it can appear in almost everyone. Bipolar disorder causes mood swings in energy, thinking, and other behavior. Having a bipolar disorder can be very disabling (Kapczinski). A study was evaluated and about 1.3% of the U.S population of people suffers from bipolar disorder. Stressors and environmental influences can trigger and cause a person to go through numerous episodes. Bipolar disorder is characterized according to the severity of the stages. According to Kapczinski, there are four different stages that a person with bipolar disorder can experience. The prognosis of a disorder is different in each particular patient
As the child grows up, bipolar disorder may affect the size, shape, and function of the brain. Experts believe bipolar disorder is partly caused when brain chemicals called neurotransmitters are unbalanced. Humans have three chemicals in their brain called noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. Noradrenaline and serotonin have been known to link to psychiatric mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. Dopamine has to do with the pleasure system of the brain. Disruption to the dopamine system is connected to psychosis and schizophrenia, two mental disorders characterized by distortions in reality and illogical thought patterns and behaviors.
This source gives the readers an in-depth overview of Bipolar Disorder and the causes of having the mental health issue. There’s a great distinction between the ups and downs people experience and bipolar disorder. Due to the ups and downs teens and children experience, bipolar disorder is hard to diagnose during those early years. The National Center of Biotechnology Information’s research program is run by Senior Investigators, Tenure Track Investigators, Staff Scientists, and Postdoctoral Fellows which makes the source credible. The source contained
Bipolar Disorder or manic-depressive disorder is a disorder characterized by highs, manias, and lows, depressions, and can therefore be easily distinguished from unipolar depression, a major depressive disorder in DSM-5, by the presence of manic or hypomanic episodes (Miklowitz & Gitlin, 2014). Bipolar disorder is generally an episodic, lifelong illness with a variable course (American Psychiatric Association, 2010). There are two classifications of bipolar disorder; bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder. If the episodes are primarily manic but there has been at least one depressive episode, the diagnosis is bipolar I disorder (Early, 2009). If the episodes are primarily depressed but there has been at least one episode of hypomania, increased mood that is more euphoric than normal but not quite manic, the diagnosis is bipolar II disorder (Early, 2009).
Bipolar disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), is “a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels,” and
At his younger ages, he was a sickly bronchitic kid. The situation became worse when he was seven, because his parent's divorced and he never felt in secure or being loved again, he was really lonely. Due to this situation he became anti-social. He often moved from relative to relative and unfortunately he became once homeless, who was living under a bridge, which is a shrine of the Nirvana fans until today. However, he later mentioned that these actions inspired lots of Nirvana’s music. At high school, his situation wasn’t better. Because of his strange and odd behavior, he didn’t have any friends and his schoolmates
Causes of bipolar disorder are not clearly defined. There are possible genetic connections to the disorder. Probable occurrence of and excessive calcium buildup in the cells and also dopamine and other neurochemical transmitter seemed to be implicated in bipolar disorder.
Where and how bipolar disorder is caused is still a bit of a mystery. Some information is known but nothing concrete, and a lot of dead ends. Genetic predisposition is one possible cause for bipolar disorder. The disease usually can be seen throughout a family tree of an affected individual. Twin studies have been conducted to see if there is a higher chance of identical twins, who have the same genetic make up, both getting the disease. These have shown that there is an increased likely hood of one twin to have bipolar disorder if the other has it, but it is not a certainty. The gene for bipolarity has mainly been traced to chromosome 18 as well as some others. It is uncertain which is responsible because it has been found in some cases that chromosome 18 is unaffected in bipolar patients. It is most likely that bipolar disorder is linked
I grew up listening to music everyday not knowing it would save my life in the end... the words that I would listen to would somehow connect with how I was feeling or what I was going through. Music truly soothes the soul and just somehow gives you hope to continue on or to stop something. I think I related my problems to the songs, it would give me comfort knowing I wasn't the only one who was feeling the way I once was. It showed me life was worth living and fighting for. Take Demi Lovato for instant, she was going through major depression and found herself through the music she would produce. A lot of artist are actually like this and only some really come out and tell their true story on how music saved them. It's incredible to know that no matter what you're going through someone, somewhere has gone through it too.
The time I’ve spent over the summer I listened to a lot of music and its was mostly hip-hop and R&B and rap, but I liked pop as well as a genre in music and while I was sulking over my old life in Wallingford school I developed a close attachment to music to deal with the emotional tension that was going on within myself. At the time school at Branford had started and I didn’t know it exactly at that time but this was the point where I was started to write music I was hooked on all the music from over the summer I guess my mind started translating beats and words and I can recall these beats and words because these became my first song ever written while I came to Branford. The periods I spent over the course of the first year at Branford had been socially and emotionally traumatic for me I cannot lie; the people there were nice some friendly and some not and I found myself alone most of the time. At these point in school I started to question myself and my social skills with others and my self-esteem continued to drop.The epiphany I had happened when I felt as though I wasn’t important anymore and when that happened I started to write songs to express these feeling inside of me;I hadn’t said anything about my days at school to anyone besides my mother, but even with her she couldn’t fully understand what I as in my situation was going
Bipolar Disorder also known as Manic Depressive Illness involves outstanding mood swings. The individual has periods of depression, and periods when they feel either unusually good or pressured and irritable. It affects 1-2% of the population. Genetics plays a significant role. About 15% of children with one bipolar parent develop the disorder.