Beyond the Scope of Illness
Living with a mental illness is like walking through a fun house of crazy mirrors with every view holding a different opinion and experience.
More stories from Charlotte Bongratz
There are many different manifestations of mental illnesses. Some people may live with an anxiety disorder that affects them in social situations while others, like those with bipolar disorder, go into their day completely blind as to what they may encounter. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is a brain disorder that can change a person’s energy, emotions and activity levels.
With this condition, simple things can become more impactful than they actually are. Jennifer Robinson, an Antioch community member, has struggled with bipolar disorder for her entire life. However, she was diagnosed in the summer of 2013. After her diagnosis, it was as if her entire life finally made sense, but it did not magically solve all her problems.
“Just regular day to day things are challenging,” Robinson said. “Laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning [and] cooking. [These are] things that come easy to other people, but it all seems like an uphill battle [to me].”
With multiple changes in medications and lifestyles, Robinson is trying to maintain her version of normal. She visits a therapist on a weekly basis in order to deal with the punches of each week.
Bipolar disorder has been stigmatized in a way that isn’t fair or accurate to the reality of the condition. Those with this disorder aren’t just moody or become agitated at the drop of a hat. On top of that, it’s more than an imbalance of chemicals; various factors contribute to the development of bipolar.
The National Health Service of England has deduced that the condition can be brought into focus by genetics and a number of stressful circumstances, on top of a potential imbalance in certain neurotransmitters.
Bipolar disorder is not just black and white, or happy and sad. It’s caused by various circumstances and it is not limited to random mood swings. The term can at times be made fun of and thrown around lightly. Bipolar affects many people and it can be useful to be educated on something that could potentially change the life of someone close to home.