"The weather is so bipolar today," people often say. Yesterday, it was pouring rain and every other person predicted there would be a flash flood. Hours later, the ground was dry and the sky was perfectly blue with not a cloud in sight. Those are considered opposite ends of the weather spectrum, so it makes sense that people would use it as an analogy to bipolar disorder. However, that is not an accurate depiction.
Being happy one minute and upset the next is fairly common because there are a lot of factors that can worsen somebody's mood, such as missing their bus or getting in an argument. Bipolar disorder works over longer stretches of time.
When talking about bipolar disorder, it is important to distinguish between mood and states of mind. Changes in mood happen all the time for people everywhere. States of mind, however, usually stay constant. Whereas people are mostly content over their lifetime, people living with bipolar disorder can spend a while being extremely happy or content, and the other while they are experiencing depression.
There are two kinds of bipolar disorder: type one includes mental changes that repeatedly go from euphoria to depression. When these people are in their euphoric state, they feel on top of the world. They are super happy, have racing thoughts, feel that they can do anything, and are super energetic. When they are in their depressive state, people with Bipolar Disorder I experience symptoms of depression including feelings of hopelessness, loss in sex drive, lethargy, and more.
Bipolar Disorder II is very similar to Bipolar I, but the range moves between content/neutral to depressive. As an individual who lives with Bipolar Disorder II, I can say from personal experience that this illness can be very frustrating and difficult to control without any help. For two weeks I am "normal," meaning my reactions to stimuli are what is expected and normal for the average person. For the next two weeks, I go into my depressive stage in which I can be very irritable, exhausted, lose motivation, and am much more sensitive.
If you know someone with or are yourself living with Bipolar Disorder, please know that there is help available. Medications and psychotherapy have proven to be beneficial to numerous individuals across the country. This disorder can be scary because it makes lasting happiness difficult to imagine, but recovery and management is worth the effort. As my therapist says, every laugh is worth fighting for.
