Are bipolar people mentally ill?

Question

I know this sounds a silly question and I know in my mind the answer is yes. But I used to have a really good female friend at work who said she had bipolar, not sure if she did or some other medical condition and I never ever once thought of her as mentally ill. However I later found out that everyone else thought of her as mentally ill but I couldn't see it, admittedly they are older than me and I am the youngest person in my organisation but even now I don't like to think of her as mentally ill.

She was quite normal, some of the things she did were a bit risky and she had a loud personality. But forgive me if I sound naive but I always thought of mentally ill people as people with associated learning difficulties and not this lovely lady I used to know.

Answer 1

I saw a leaflet at the counselling center where I take my children, and it put forth the idea that calling these illnesses "mental illness" carried a negative stereotype and stigma that implied that anyone who was mentally ill was crazy, and unable to function at all in society.
It suggested that you call it a brain illness, and asked the reader to consider that when you had a physical illness, you didn't have any trouble understanding that having kidney disease didn't make your heart ill, and having heart trouble didn't make your gall bladder sick, etc.
So, if you consider that your friend's bipolar diagnosis is a brain illness, it might just affect one part of her brain, or one part of her mental health, leaving the rest intact and still healthy.
Looking at it this way made a lot more sense to me!

Answer 2

hey, bi-polar is classified as a mental illness. i know i have it. But we aren't crazy we suffer from extreme highs and extreme lows hardly ever a middle ground. There are some great medication out there. More of society has to accept that bi-polar people aren't going to run off and kill someone normally unless they have other related mental issue that arent being treated. Learning disabilities are totaling different not saying that bi-polar people can't have them it just not the same place in the brain.
Dont think you are naive because the most naive person is the one who doesn't ask question and goes around thinking they have all the answers

Answer 3

To be clear, bipolar disorder is a mental illness caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

I don't care for the term "mentally ill" but we do still use it.

Consider that this particular mental illness is caused by a neurological abnormality, much in the way a seizure disorder is caused by a neurological abnormality. It's just that the part of the brain that's misfiring is causing behavioral and mood changes as opposed to abnormal motor activity.

Learning difficulties are another matter entirely. They are completely unrelated to bipolar disorder and/or any other mental illness.

My ex-husband was bipolar and his class valedictorian... but my son is bipolar as well as autistic and developmentally delayed.

Answer 4

well if you are in the middle of a bipolar mood are episode i would think it might interfere with you learning. you are a good person and have a good sole you are able to look past what the world has labeled. and see the person. allot of people become mentally ill because of there learning disabilities. i have no people with bipolar that all so have learning disabilities so what do you blame when you cant learn the bi-polar are the learning difficulties

Answer 5

People with mental illness do not have learning disabilties. Yes, people with bipolar disorder are mentally ill, but not all the time. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterised by episodes of extreme highs and lows. Between episodes people who have bipolar disorder are 'normal'. Medication can be used to treat bipolar disorder and prevent further mood episodes, but sometimes episodes happen anyways.

Answer 6

hi there it is a form of mental illness (i work in this field) however with the correct treatment it can be controlled.
mentally ill does not mean learning diffs - most of us have some form of mental health problem

Answer 7

there are a lot of misconceptions about bi polar people.. i'm kinda surrounded by them.. my grandmother is bi polar.. (although she has a pile of other mental issues as well)

my bf i think has it a bit.. (it runs in his family) and also my co worker had it as well..

and i think it justs a big sway of emotions.. you go from being happy, hyper and excited.. somedays and incredibly angry.. and frustrated.. or extremly sad..

theres not much middle ground .. just so much of one or the other yah know

i don't see anything wrong with people are bi polar they just handle their emotions differently