Case Study 3: Bipolar Disorder. Steven Fry Made A Documentary

In pop culture Bipolar Disorder is described as someone quickly switching emotions. The term gets flown around easily without evidence of the alleged diagnosis. This publication changed my perspective on mental illness due to always hearing society's opinion on the phrase. Kay’s experience shows an individual who suffered tremendously behind doors that no one else could relate to, having episodes last days to months not switching every minute like society's stereotypes. It is obvious that there is not control and while medication helps, there is a significant consequence when missing treatment. Additionally, material learned within this book can help fundamentally determine someone suffering this illness. For example, if someone has manic highs and lows that force them to change their daily lifestyle for a period of time and developes changing impulsive decisions there could be an underlying illness. Even though there are few details that can fall into the category of Bipolar, it is still rare and unless diagnosed by a doctor one should never jump to conclusions about another

In England, keeping up appearances is paramount (for some) to maintaining social acceptance, and social obligations are held in high esteem. In people with bipolar disorder, these cultural norms seem to be easily converted to neuroses, overt concerns with the opinions of others, and lessened self-esteem as a result of those opinions. In the documentary, for example, Stephen’s sister described his reaction to the less-than-optimal reviews of one of his performances as him having “a hissy fit.” It was also his imagery of his parents looking on while contemplating suicide that prevented him from completing the attempt. 27-year-old Zoe Schwartz was described as being “desperate to be a success,” and a close friend said (regarding her suicide) that “it was her pride [that] killed her.” Even Cordelia Feldman, when asked pointedly, “I mean what’s it say about you if you can’t write?” by her cognitive behavioral therapist Jan Scott of the Institute of Psychiatry in London, was left speechless and emotional in response. When she was able to talk, she replied with what I know to be typically English: “I hate weakness in myself.” Teaching vulnerability, I believe, would therefore be a beneficial addition to CBT in treatment for clients of similar cultural

story in a memoir titled Madness: A Bipolar Life, in an attempt to shed some light and insight on the

Canada is one of the many countries to improve mental health conditions culturally and medically, another leading country is Australia. In Australia, a two-day event was held at the University of Melbourne called Try Walking in My Shoes. Try Walking in My Shoes, “look[s] at how empathy can be boosted and community awareness raised by,” (Sun-Herald 5) depicting what life is like for the mentally ill. Included in the event was a symposium that explored the on-screen portrayals of people with a mental illness. In an effort to end the comical relief and violent killer stereotypes of the mentally ill, Australian films like The Sunnyboy, a documentary of the life of a singer suffering from schizophrenia, and Hypothesis, a film about the director's twelve year battle with bipolar disorder, were presented at the symposium. Canada’s latest project and the symposium in Australia encourage equality in care and behavior towards these patients. Equality is not seen in other parts of the world as people in other countries continue to classify people with mental illnesses as a disgrace.

Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness that causes rapid mood swings and depression. “Some studies have suggested that environmental factors can trigger the illness”(Bipolar Disorder 1). He got the disorder from how he grew up and for being in World War II. He is a person that never speaks nor does anyone think he listens, the patients and hospital staff just thinks that he is just there, until a man named Randle McMurphy causes him to reveal that he is neither deaf nor mute, and that he actually suffers from bipolar disorder. One time when they were voting on whether or not to watch a World Series game “McMurphy did something to…put some kind of hex on it…he’s doing it, wires…

This book was very inspirational. It is not only inspiring to people with bipolar disorder but to all other people that are suffering from any kind of mental illness. It also speaks to people that do not have a mental illness by giving them and inside look of what someone’s life is like and how they deal with their problems. The book shows how not only is life possible with mental illness but that it is also worth living.

Currently effecting between 2-4% of the overall population and as one of the leading causes of homelessness, suicide, and hospitalization, bipolar disorder is yet, still one of the most perplexing, as well as the most misunderstood mental disorders out there. With this particular disorder, the complexity arises given one’s predisposition, diversity, and non-specific range of hazards for said disorder; thusly, making a cure, or at best, prevention, difficult, if not impossible, if not for appropriate early intervention. Bipolar not only puts a strain on the economic condition of our country, but on the individual, as well as society as a whole; given, its propensity to bring about financial difficulties, employment difficulties, and poor self-esteem and this is simply three examples, out of quite possible a largely finite numeral of disparities realized within the afflicted, as well as the overall populace. Nothing left of what we deem normal will be left untainted, and with limited governmental funding and a lack of knowledge, mankind’s naïve, uncaring nature will only bring about less than desirable responses to treatment, medicinally or otherwise; given, the disorder is far more difficult to treat later in life. With the proximal factors of which occur within one 's own environment, such as acute

Bipolar disorder is typically a condition that affects people in their late teens and early adulthood. It is usually not thought to affect a child but it is something that, if present at a young age, can seriously affect the way a child grows up. Bipolar disorder affects every aspect of a person’s life and is not as understood as it should be. Researchers are still looking for the cause of this illness and how it can be treated but overall it is a condition that many people are undereducated on and that is something I’m hoping this paper might be able to change for some.

The video showed a number of children and teenagers from all social backgrounds suffering from mental disorders, schizophrenia, autism and emotional problems, leading them to isolation from society while treating their issues in mental health facilities. These young individuals face obstacles and mistreatments in inadequate places under the supervision of careless professionals. The documentary tracks some of those public mental institutions and another private center dealing with troubled kids and reveals what's wrong with their procedures, and the irreversible harm they cause in those patients. In the beginning, the video showed a boy named Brian with 16 other mentally ill children on a bus going to the zoo. Brian suffers from mania and schizophrenia

This is done with careful evaluation of the client history and recurring symptoms of extreme emotions. According to Varcarolis and Halter (2010), "Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and devastating brain disorder that affects a person's thinking, emotions, language, social actions, and ability to recognize reality accurately". On the other spectrum Larson, Walker and Compton (2010), states that "Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are among the most debilitating mental illnesses because multiple facets of functioning are impaired". Patients with schizoaffective disorder typically are withdrawn, isolated and suspicious of others. These characteristics will greatly impact their quality of life. In addition, bipolar is a mood disorder with repeated event of depression and

Charlie and the panelist did a thorough job in conveying the strides that has taken place in science on how mental disorders are viewed. This is the notion that every mental process, from the most trivial one-- hitting a golf ball- - to the most sophisticated, elaborative, creative act are all mediated by the brain and that mental disorders have a genetic basis. This change in view of how mental disorders are viewed is something that I have been exposed to before, however, it is something still worth noting

In this documentary of Stephen Fry, The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, actor and comedian Stephen Fry goes on a journey to deepen his understanding of his mental illness. Fry starts by looking into his own past, beginning when he was just a young boy in boarding school, and searches for any signs that may have been a precursor of his eventual diagnosis. Fry also spends a good portion of the documentary talking to others’ with his shared diagnosis and listens to each of their own unique experiences and stories. Then Fry takes a deeper look into medications and treatments that are commonly used to treat bipolar disorder including electroconvulsive therapy, ETC, cognitive-behavioral therapy, CBT, and a common bipolar drug called Lithium. While doing so, Fry talks to those who have already been through or administer these various treatments, considering if he should start due to the increasing severity of his own depressive and manic states. Fry explains that although the depressive states of this illness is tremendous, the manic states are ones that have contributed considerably to his career. Just like many people suffering from bipolar disorder, he wouldn’t trade his life now for one without this mental illness.

However, I think the older lady reacted positively having been being labeled with a Bi-polar disease simply because she was not performing well; she was one of the “normal” five. Moreover, I agree with Rob Liddell, the documentary producer that the participants tell a powerful story, that having a mental illness doesn't have to define a person characteristic and that it shouldn't set them apart in society. The stigma of the mental illness is one the main reason people so not seek help and it’s a

Ultimately, I had a positive reaction to the guest speaker. Is it weird to say that she reminded me of several people in my family had they been treated for their own disorders? She was quirky and organically funny and that made it easy to listen to her story and empathize with her. From her I learned that if handled correctly people who have Bi-polar disorder can go years without a manic phase. This has always been a gray area for me, the only person I’ve even been in contact with that had bipolar disorder was my cousin and he never really stayed on his meds longer than a few months at a time, so it seemed like he wasn’t stable for long. But it makes sense that it’s more of a result of not having the medication in your system long enough to really see a huge difference.

What I really liked about this documentary is that some of the points brought up are things that most people never talk about. For example, it mentioned that the most prescribed medication in the world is Lipitor, which is a diabetes medication. However, since the introduction of Lipitor to the public, the incidence of diabetes has not decreased, in fact the amount of people who suffer from diabetes has actually increased. This just shows that the way we are trying to solve the problem is not working. It seemed so strange to me that we spend so much money on the development of medications, yet the most used form of treatment doesn’t really help those who need it. Treating the symptoms is not a cure it is only a short term fix for a long term problem. Not are the people being cured, they are now going to be spending the rest of their lives dependent on medication, and we are yet to understand the long term effects of long term medication use. This also raises the question, if the medication is not helping what can? The documentary proposed that a complete change in diet was the answer. The documentary used a study that was done with people who had diabetes their whole lives and switched them to a whole foods plant based diet, and their health improved drastically. It was mind blowing