The myth that we can’t is the worst of all. The diagnosis of mental illness is the most dangerous time for many of us. Overwhelmed by fear, confusion and the numbing effect of over-medication, we are vulnerable to messages that can have long-term negative consequences. It was during my first months after diagnosis that I fell
Expanding the depression and bipolar comfort zone. Understanding the role of comfort is critical for getting Bipolar IN Order. To do so, we must measure comfort at each level of intensity for both mania and depression. When we compare comfort levels to awareness, understanding, functionality, value, and the time before escalation, we find the optimal intensities where bipolar is an advantage
Many bipolar people say they are “high-functioning,” but most of them mean they function OK when in remission and cannot function when things get too intense. How well one functions during depression or mania defines the difference between Bipolar Disorder and Bipolar IN Order. At every intensity, functionality influences the comfort of everyone involved and whether they see value in the experience. Functionality
Understanding Depression and Bipolar Disorder can take many forms. Functionality-based understanding is central to getting Bipolar IN Order. When I first started putting together the protocol for assessing depression and bipolar disorder, I was working with a professor of Psychiatry to make sure the ideas were sound. His advice was to combine both awareness and understanding in the graph to keep it simpler.
Awareness of depression and mania is key to getting Bipolar IN Order. You can live in the same neighborhood for thirty years and still have little idea of what is going on there. You can shop in the stores, eat in the restaurants, talk with the neighbors, and feel that you know the community very well.
Exploring the relationship between value and functionality in bipolar disorder. Assuming you are not deeply depressed right now, try to remember the time when you were in the deepest depression of your life. Can you see any way it might have changed your life for the better? Did it make you more sensitive to the feelings of others?
Depression in self-mastery is often seen as a rich spiritual experience. A recent question on our Depression and Bipolar Advantage LinkedIN Group brings up a point that needs to be addressed if we are to fully understand depression: What are some of the positives about having experienced bouts of depression? Since most people assume there are none, it is
The “dis-abled”argument is central to bipolar disorder. Stigma, medication, treatment options, recovery, patient rights, and physiological basis are some of the most discussed topics regarding bipolar. There are, of course, many other interesting aspects to debate, but it is hard to find any discussions about bipolar that do not include one or more of these central topics.
What problems has bipolar or depression caused for you? What did you try for solutions? Did they work? Can you imagine what you would learn if you asked those three questions to 4,500 people? We don’t have to imagine; we already did. But we didn’t stop with just three questions. We asked them what they thought