The Psychology of Bipolar

Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. Socrates

What is it?

Bipolar is a mental disorder, usually inherited and present from birth. It causes the mind to swing back and forth like a pendulum between two different states. It can be likened to a coin with two sides. One side is Mania, and the other side is Depression, both of which can last for weeks or months, there being no rhyme or reason as to how long each one lasts. Many impressive people throughout history have suffered with Bipolar; Winston Churchill is a noted example.

What is Mania?

The upside. Experiencing mania is when we say someone is manic. That means they are in an elevated, positive, and excited state. They usually speak very quickly, rush around, are extremely energetic even agitated, and they experience a dramatic increase in their intellectual, creative, and innovative capacities and productivity.

Stephen Fry – the well-known UK TV celebrity, is Bipolar. He presented a TV show some years back where he interviewed various celebrities and other high-profile, successful people who were also Bipolar, and he asked them, “If you could switch your Bipolar off, would you?”. Everyone, including himself, answered “no”, most saying that their reason was that their Mania is just too addictive and that it underpinned their careers and their successes. Mania is truly wonderful; it is better than any legal or illegal drug.

What is Depression?

The downside. The other side of the Bipolar coin is depression. Experiencing depression is when we say that someone is depressed. That means they are in a negative, deflated state. They may not get out of bed, not speak, not eat, not shower, or care for themselves, not see people, not work, not do anything productive. Depression can be minor and short-lived, or it can be like Bipolar depression, which is clinical, often long lasting and like mania, is lifelong.

I call depression a cancer of the mind as you can feel it slowly eating away at your sanity. I cannot think of anything else in the human experience that is more cruel, more relentless, or more persistent or downright evil, than depression.

 There are only three ways to resolve depression:

1.     Psychological. Hit and miss but works for some who tend to have minor, short lived depressive episodes.

2.     Pharmaceutical. Usually flaky but works for some just with varying degrees of alleviation.

3.     Death. It has one major problem; it is final, it cannot be recovered from, it cheats a person of the Psychological and Pharmaceutical solutions as options. It is definitely not recommended; it is not a real solution, and it destroys the most precious thing in our human existence – a life that is always worth fighting for.

 Your thoughts are your worst Enemy

The main symptom of depression is constant negative feedback from your own mind. It is an endless conveyor belt of harsh, self-destroying thoughts which are bad enough, but to really make matters worse – these thoughts never stop. Even when you fall prey to them (and everybody does if they suffer long enough) and accept what these thoughts are telling you – they still do not stop, and will not stop until you do one of three things:

1.     Fall asleep (Oh blessed sleep).

2.     Become unconscious.

3.     Fall into a coma. (It is not known if depression stops in a coma, we can only hope.)

Let’s make matters worse and add Anxiety

Many people who suffer from depression also suffer from Anxiety which unfortunately is the sister of depression. People with depression and anxiety are in a living hell. They better than anyone else can justify that life is just too difficult.

You cannot discuss depression without mention of suicide. Here I make an important distinction; in my view, people do not commit suicide because they are depressed; they do it to end their depression. If you are suffering, I repeat – suffering and cannot find a remedy that works – then suicide is, unfortunately, an option, as seen by the number of people who choose it. But the fact remains that suicide is a battle and a precious life lost. In nearly all cases, suicide is absolutely preventable, especially when there is an intervention by another.

What to do if you suspect that someone is depressed or, god forbid, suicidal?

1.     Tell them, “I believe you are depressed and are suffering.”

2.     Tell them, “You do not need to say anything back to me if you don’t want.”

3.     Tell them, “Depression is only TEMPORARY and does not have to last very long.”

4.     Tell them, “I will make an appointment for you to see a doctor so that you can start taking a remedy and get rid of the depression.”

5.     Tell them, “I will be there for you, by your side all the way.”

6.     Finally, tell them again, “Remember that this depression is only TEMPORARY.” 

As Stephen Fry found out, no one wanted to turn off their Bipolar because the Mania was just too good. And whilst that is true, people with Bipolar mostly still suffer from a very serious, clinical form of depression. One day they are fantastic, feeling much better than you, but the next day they are thinking about ending their life, surviving only by reminding themselves that their depression will pass, it is only temporary, and that they just have to hold on and wait it out.

“Bipolar is awesome; I hate it.”

If this article has raised concerns for you – do yourself a big favour – tell someone; it’s the right thing to do.

Otherwise, reach out to experienced people who actually care and can actually help – make a call to:

Lifeline:          13-11-14

Beyond Blue:  1300-224-636

                        Take their online Depression Test.