Contributing Columnist: +Maria Y
“I’m so up and down, I must be bipolar!” “Being manic sounds fun, you’re happy all the time!” “Oh yeah, doesn’t (random celebrity) supposedly have Bipolar?” “Doesn’t he/she take a lot of drugs because of Bipolar?” “Aren’t most creative people Bipolar?” “Isn’t Bipolar in vogue now?” “I wouldn’t give up being Bipolar for anything as I’ve felt like I’ve walked with angels when I’m up." Only that last quote was said by a bipolar person, in the documentary The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive. The other quotes make you wonder, do these people have any idea what they’re saying? Is this the version of Bipolar Disorder most people think of? Is it being portrayed as “glamorous and creative” in the media? It’s not at all glamorous, nor is the “Hollywood version” of it we often hear about realisticly.
One example is the movie Silver Linings Playbook. Overall, the film made some great strides towards portraying mental illness in a positive way and portraying people who deal with it as rich, well-rounded characters with lives outside of their illnesses. Yet, unfortunately its ending was not very realistic. The two main characters, who are both Bipolar, fall in love, and the film seems to give the message that all you need to live with Bipolar Disorder is love, not meds, not much therapy, not anything else--which considering most Bipolar people either use some combination of one or both, is not the best message to send.
There’s an emphasis on how much “fun” manias and hypomanias can be popular culture. Unfortunately this isn’t only restricted to those who don’t deal with mental illness. “Hypomania sounds fun, you’re happy all the time” was what I frequently heard from someone who suffered from Depression. This person thought that even after seeing my “black hypomanias” and/or “mixed states. There is the “life of the party” stereotype of mania/hypomania, but not the angry, racing, sometimes even psychotic side. While it can inspire creativity (a good example being Leonardo DiVinci), full mania, which often starts out feeling good, can quickly escalate out of control. Hypomania is harder to catch; it often comes off as someone just being hyper productive, and usually doesn’t involve loosing touch with reality. But it can still get one in trouble (spending sprees, promiscuity, fights, little sleep, talking fast, substance abuse, and more).
The popular version of Bipolar also encompasses only part of the symptoms of one type of the disorder on the Bipolar spectrum, completely ignoring the other types. It’s also become the “diagnosis” for any bad behavior from celebrities. Got drunk and made a bigoted remark? Maybe you are Bipolar. Suffer from substance abuse problems? You must be Bipolar (Robert Downey Jr. has repeatedly said his past substance abuse had nothing to do with Bipolar, which he doesn’t have, but still rumors persist). Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan behaving badly? They must be Bipolar. While of course there is a correlation between creative actors and Bipolar Disorder (Stephen Fry, Catherine Zeta Jones, Robin Williams, and many others), every celebrity who misbehaves is not Bipolar; not only does this trivialize the disorder, it associates it with bad behavior and violence; giving rise to more stereotypes.
While some progress has been made, we have a long way to go challenging the “mainstream” definition of Bipolar Disorder, and mental illness in general. It’s good that society is talking about it; but the conversation needs to be realistic. One way to contribute is to counter statements like the ones in the first paragraph when we hear them. It may only make a small difference at the time, but a long journey always begins with a single step.
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| Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence - Image: The Weinstein Company |
One example is the movie Silver Linings Playbook. Overall, the film made some great strides towards portraying mental illness in a positive way and portraying people who deal with it as rich, well-rounded characters with lives outside of their illnesses. Yet, unfortunately its ending was not very realistic. The two main characters, who are both Bipolar, fall in love, and the film seems to give the message that all you need to live with Bipolar Disorder is love, not meds, not much therapy, not anything else--which considering most Bipolar people either use some combination of one or both, is not the best message to send.
There’s an emphasis on how much “fun” manias and hypomanias can be popular culture. Unfortunately this isn’t only restricted to those who don’t deal with mental illness. “Hypomania sounds fun, you’re happy all the time” was what I frequently heard from someone who suffered from Depression. This person thought that even after seeing my “black hypomanias” and/or “mixed states. There is the “life of the party” stereotype of mania/hypomania, but not the angry, racing, sometimes even psychotic side. While it can inspire creativity (a good example being Leonardo DiVinci), full mania, which often starts out feeling good, can quickly escalate out of control. Hypomania is harder to catch; it often comes off as someone just being hyper productive, and usually doesn’t involve loosing touch with reality. But it can still get one in trouble (spending sprees, promiscuity, fights, little sleep, talking fast, substance abuse, and more).
The popular version of Bipolar also encompasses only part of the symptoms of one type of the disorder on the Bipolar spectrum, completely ignoring the other types. It’s also become the “diagnosis” for any bad behavior from celebrities. Got drunk and made a bigoted remark? Maybe you are Bipolar. Suffer from substance abuse problems? You must be Bipolar (Robert Downey Jr. has repeatedly said his past substance abuse had nothing to do with Bipolar, which he doesn’t have, but still rumors persist). Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan behaving badly? They must be Bipolar. While of course there is a correlation between creative actors and Bipolar Disorder (Stephen Fry, Catherine Zeta Jones, Robin Williams, and many others), every celebrity who misbehaves is not Bipolar; not only does this trivialize the disorder, it associates it with bad behavior and violence; giving rise to more stereotypes.
While some progress has been made, we have a long way to go challenging the “mainstream” definition of Bipolar Disorder, and mental illness in general. It’s good that society is talking about it; but the conversation needs to be realistic. One way to contribute is to counter statements like the ones in the first paragraph when we hear them. It may only make a small difference at the time, but a long journey always begins with a single step.
