My name is Morgan Braniff and I am a freshman attending New England College and I am a Psychology major. This multi genre paper is required for my college writing 1020 class. The topic I chose is bipolar disorder because I have this illness. I have suffered with this disease for several years now and I wanted to spread the word.
My personal story of my fight against bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a disease that not many people are too comfortable talking about. Knowing that, I wanted to make it really well known what it’s all about. The reason why I chose this topic is because my brothers and I were diagnosed with this disorder at very young ages. Not only does it affect me but the people surrounding me as well. I believe this topic is something people are embarrassed about and don’t embrace it. Bipolar disorder is something that you have, but it is not who you are. Knowing that can keep you from rejecting the diagnosis or, at the other extreme, giving your life over to the illness. Bipolar disorder comes with many stigmas and stereotypes. We are called hot heads, loose canons, and moody by our peers that don’t know much about the diseases. Yes, we can have mood swings but they aren’t as frequent as people preserve them to be. I have learned to cope with bipolar disorder and I want to enlighten people about my struggles and how I’ve over come them. Although I have a very mild case I will never be defined by my disorder. I want to educate others about what bipolar disorder really is. Some of the things I deal with are manic highs and very low depressions because not many people know the in’s and out of this disorder. All people really know is the stereotypical side of it and its not entirely true.
Bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance in the brain and people believe pills are their only solution. Pills can only fix so much in this situation and I want to educate other on the many options they have. I decided to deal with my disorder in a different ways than most people. I didn’t want to spend my tween years having to constantly take medicine. So, I decided to learn how to cope with my disorder using other methods. I may have taken a not so traditional route but it honestly has helped me the most. My way isn’t going to work for everyone but it’s defiantly worth looking into. I want to share my stories of triumph because for some people with this diagnosis think their lives revolve around large amounts of pills and therapy sessions. If you can think positively about the bipolar disorder you can truly be successful. I know that there are people out in the world that have this disorder and are so lost and think their the only ones with this disorder. By writing this paper I hope to spread the word and make just one person feel as if they are just like everyone else. In fact we are just like everyone else we just have more extreme feelings. We either get a little too excited or a little too upset. Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal mood shifts, as well as fluctuations in energy, activity levels and the ability to complete everyday tasks. That is an exact definition of bipolar disorder but like I said earlier there are many different severities and forms of the disorder. For instance, bipolar disorder is more commonly diagnosed in teenagers and young adults but it can affect children as young as 6. The symptoms of bipolar disorder can effect more than just the persons quality of life but their relationship with their entire family. Families often find themselves suffering heavily by the situation even when they aren’t directly affected by it. The family members can feel as if they have no life of their own because bipolar disorder can take over. It takes a toll on the entire family. Individuals with bipolar disorder are at high risk for relationship dysfunction.
There is evidence that living with a person with BD (bipolar disorder) has severe, negative, long-term consequences, both for the family members’ own lives and health, involving experiences of distress and burden, as well as for social relations within the family and with other.
We must work together as a unit to ensure that this disease isn’t taking over the lives of such young people. I know that I have worked my ass off to be where I am today and not for one second will I ever resort to how I used to be. We must fight back; we cannot let bipolar disorder beat us. We can’t let ourselves go unnoticed. Earlier, the situation for families of those with a mental illness was largely ignored in health care but research has highlighted that support for the families plays an important role in the treatment and care process. I want every to understand bipolar disorder can happen to anyone. This disorder doesn’t discriminate, knowing that we should never judge a book by its cover because deep down that person can be facing something very complex. All in all, bipolar disorder is not something to be taken lightly by any means necessary but there’s something to be done about it. It’s time to get the word educated on this disease.