what is your perception of bipolar disorder?

Question

how do you believe it affects those who suffer from it?

i know exactly what it does.

you tell me how you think that feels.

Answer 1

high highs
low lows
Son couldn't concentrate at school.. work until he got 1:1 counseling and put on meds that changed his life for the best

now.. going to college to finish Masters in Psychology/Sociology

Answer 2

Bipolar disorder is a genetic chemical imbalance in your brain. It affects your moods and emotions with extreame highs and lows. The severity of it varies with each individual. It is usually detected between the ages of 15 and 25 and is most often misdiagnosed as depression because, #1 that is usually what draws a person to seek help, and #2 usually a bipolar person spends more time in depression than the manic, or "high" stages. It is a very real and serious illness, especially if left untreated. Studies show that apx. 1 in 5 people will commit suicide when untreated for this disease.

If you are really serious in learning more about bipolar, there is an excellent book called Taming Bipolar Disorder. The author is Lori Oliwenstein. I was very curious about this disease, and did quite a bit of reseach. That book gave me more insight and facts than anything else did. It is available on Amazon.

Answer 3

I suppose I can't be objective about this one. I can only speak about my perception(s) with bipolar disorder. I have it. When you're manic, you are literally on top of the world and have it all figured out, in whatever realm of life you're interested. I like politics and do believe I have it figured out. And right now, I can't claim to be manic. Perception is excellent when manic - for a while anyway. At the time, you perceive everything - the filter is broken and you hear and see things you wish you hadn't. The excellent perception is now a burden that you want turned off. No pillow over your head will do because you will actually hallucinate when your eyes are closed. Auditory hallucinations are also common for me. Noone can grasp the speed at which the hyper-manic mind races and the realms into which it roams. It does become a curse in the end.
But then there is the depression. I suspect that depression is easy to imagine for anyone. Everyone has been at least a little sad and had their perceptions affected by it. But when the depression goes on for 6 years (as once occured in my case), it can cause terrible distortions of thought and self-perception. God help anyone caught in that hell.

Answer 4

Bipolar Affective Disorder (Manic Depressive Illness) is a biochemical imbalance that causes gross mood changes from the high reaches of mania to the lows of severe depression. For the one percent or twenty million Americans who have this condition it can mean hospitalizations, a life time of medication, disability at an early age and the reduced income associated with it. Bipolar Affective Disorder can be life threatening

Answer 5

I have a son, brother, father, grandfather who have bipolar disorder. I also was diagnosed with it in my 30's. I think I had it earlier but they did not seem to know too much about it at that time. It is where your brain chemistry is very unbalanced. My personal experience is that when I have racing thoughts, and start talking fast, will not sleep for three days at a time, take on huge projects that would be very hard for just one person to tackle, tend to be delusional sometimes, feel like someone shot me up with a narcotic, like I am very high, I know this is my manic phase. This is usually followed by a total crash. This can be so debilitating I can't even get out of bed. I must take meds to keep me "balanced". This is usually a combination of drugs.

Bipolar people tend to be very bright . The disorder has often been referred to as "a brilliant madness". They tend to be very accomplished and gifted. My grandfather had a gift for learning languages. He was fluent in 13 languages! This kind of thing is not uncommon for people with manic depression, I am told. Manic depression is a difficult thing to get under control. It has taken me years. Sometimes, my meds don't always work and they have to keep trying combinations of new ones. But I would not trade my life for anything. I don't buy into the stigma that has followed the mentally ill. We have nothing to be ashamed of anymore than if we had diabetes. So, I say to all of those who suffer from this.....take your meds and enjoy your life!

Answer 6

Bi - Polar disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings from very energetic and very up beat and positive to the opposite lacking energy motovation very down depressed and it has a devestating effect on life if not properly supervised and managed in some cases it is attributed to lacking certain neurochemicals in other cases a chemical imbalance and in others a hormonal problem has been associated with it the person should have a stress free peacefull enviroment get lots of rest and understanding and patience on the part of the care giver a sense of humor wont hurt either hope this helps Gorbalizer

Answer 7

I have been diagnoised with Bipolar Disorder. It was not detected at 1st due to hospitalizations during severe depression episodes. My daughter also suffers from bipolar disorder(manic depressive disorder with psychotic features). We both have experienced high highs and low lows..I take chances, she is self-destructive. My point is there are different degrees of this disorder and should be treated accordingly.

Answer 8

It affects the ones that suffer from it by...

We are moody and we dont know why.

We have depression and we dont know why.

We have anger and dont know why.

We have an imbalance in the brain that causes all of these things, and to correct it, they have medication, thank god. It not only hurts us, it hurts others as well.

Its not easy, its not curable, but definately controllable.

Some ppl have it worse than others, and yea, its hard to hold a job when youre tortured in the mind someway. It physically hurts.

Answer 9

people who have bi polar disorder can become angry without even knowing why. It's like 2 personalities. They cannot control this. Medication can help. I have a grandson with it and when he gets over his anger, he is so very sorry. And he cries and apologizes. He says he doesn't understand why he does that. It devastates him. He is a very loving child (11 )

Answer 10

people who have bipolar disorder suffer from manic highs and depressive lows. well at least that's what I learned.