The Stigma Of Bipolar Disorder Essay

Bipolar disorder, also commonly referred to as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual and heightened swings in a person’s mood, energy level, and ability to function. The symptoms of bipolar disorder can be severe and therefore, they are quite different from the normal shifts in mood that everyone goes through on a daily basis. The effects of bipolar disorder can result in broken relationships, poor performance at work or school, self-mutilation, and even suicide. However, in most instances, bipolar disorder can be treated and people with this illness can lead normal and productive lives with the help of medication and therapy.

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that is characterized by changes in mood. It can lead to risky behavior, damage relationships and careers, and even suicidal outcomes if it’s not treated. Bipolar disorder is more common in older teenagers and young adults, it can affect children as young as 6. Women experience more periods of depression than men. More remains to be learned about this condition that affects millions of people.

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

Bipolar is a disorder that has a severe impact on everyone that is around the person diagnosed. While the individual may suffer from the disorder the most, others are right there with them. As of yet most scientists tend to agree that there’s no single cause for the bipolar disorder to form in an individual. There are many different types of bipolar and each type has different symptoms.

Bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive lifelong illness in the brain that causes shifts in mood, energy, activity, and the ability to carry out normal tasks, but efficient treatment helps people to manage these complications and normalize their daily lives. This illness is a very serious mental disease affecting about 2.6 percent of adults in the United States that has the power to cause risky behavior and even suicidal tendencies if not treated (www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml). It is more common in older teens and young adults, but it affects children as young as six years old. It affects men and women, all races, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic classes equally but women experience more periods of depression than

The stigma associated with bipolar disorder is unacceptable. The purpose of this paper is to improve the readers ability to understand what bipolar disorder is and how being diagnosed with this disorder affects all facets of daily living. Family, friends and associates of individuals with bipolar disorder are often affected as well. As a result of the stigma associated with the disorder, the effects remain: often multiplied by individuals that have a limited understanding of the disorder. There are numerous myths related to individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Hopefully a few of these myths will be put to rest after learning more about the disorder.

The terms ‘manic–depressive illness’ and ‘bipolar disorder’ are comparatively recent, and date back from the 1950s and 1980s respectively. The term ‘bipolar disorder’ (or ‘bipolar affective disorder’) is thought to be less stigmatizing than the older term ‘manic–depressive illness’, and so the former has largely superseded the latter. However, some psychiatrists and some people with bipolar disorder still prefer the term ‘manic–depressive illness’ because they feel that it reflects thenature of the disorder more accurately.

Bipolar disorder has been gaining more and more attention over the last few years. With shootings on the rise, or at least the publicity of them, people are often pointing their fingers at mental diseases including bipolar disorder. An ongoing issue regarding mental illnesses, however, is the population has failed to fully understand what they truly are, the symptoms, and how to treat them.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by drastic mood swings ranging from immense euphoria to extreme depression. People with bipolar disorder are likely to experience a lack of energy, participation in normal social activities, and the ability to complete daily routines. This can cause interpersonal relationships and work-life to suffer. They may also have strong thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide as a result of bipolar disorder. The cause of bipolar disorder is still undetermined, but its tendency to run in families shows that it is likely due to an inherited genetic malfunction.

Bipolar disorder was previously known as manic depression, many people believe bipolar disorder is a controversial diagnosis, some labelling it madness rather than a medical condition. Bipolar disorder is a major mood disorder and has significant impact on the person, families and loved ones. Furthermore, persons living with this mental illness often experience stigma, alienation and discrimination, and once labelled by their illness they are seen as part of a stereotyped group. Erving Goffman once said “Stigma is a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart”.

Bipolar disorder affects 2.5% of the adult population in the United States. It is characterized by extreme mood changes from manic episodes of high energy to extreme depression. The disorder is hard to diagnose even for some experts, however, there have been quite a number of celebrities who have been linked to this disorder which made people more aware of their increasing prevalence.

Bipolar disorder is a challenge facing many people around the world. Bipolar disorder is a brain illness that causes unusual wavering changes in a person’s mood. However, the mood wavering changes that bipolar sufferers experience are sometimes so severe that it can affect their work performance, school activities or day to day living. But the good news is that while the illness is chronic, bipolar disorder can be treated so that persons with the disorder can lead healthy, happy lives and be the best that they can be.

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

There is a dark stigma surrounding mental illness in general, and bipolar disorder is no exception. According to the Mental Health Commission of Western Australia, a stigma is “a mark of disgrace that sets someone apart.” Bipolar disorder is incredibly misunderstood by society at large, which leads to this stigma, prejudice, and discrimination. In everyday conversation, the word “bipolar” is frequently used to describe how someone is feeling at that moment. If a person is sad one moment and

Before I truly understood Bipolar disorder, it was still a fairly common word in my vocabulary. Anytime I thought someone was being moody or fluctuating between emotions, I joked by claiming that person to be bipolar. Several incidents of this involved one of my roommates who seemed to be happy one day, and quite the polar opposite the next. However, it was not until my clinical experience on the psychiatric unit that I realized what true bipolar disorder was, and that she did not fit the criteria. Even though I always thought my roommate was bipolar, I quickly found after being exposed to a diagnosed bipolar patient that my roommate was instead just moody. I decided to write this paper on bipolar disorder, not because I have struggle with it or know a friend or family member with this disease, but because I had several misconceptions about what it entailed.