What do you think about all the public awareness on bipolar disorder?!
Question: Personally, I believe that anything that helps destigmatize mental illness is good. At the same time, we only make up 1-2% of the population, so I'm having a hard time understanding the epidemic. Manic depression is not puberty any more than it is having problems coping with life. Does one antipsychotic commercial really have that much influences?
Answers: Personally, I believe that anything that helps destigmatize mental illness is good. At the same time, we only make up 1-2% of the population, so I'm having a hard time understanding the epidemic. Manic depression is not puberty any more than it is having problems coping with life. Does one antipsychotic commercial really have that much influences?
It also can raise the number of misdiagnoses. Not always helpful. We need more education, not awareness.
i think its worthwhile
It is too easy for someone to create this disorder within themselves. psychologists are making it an epidemic cuz they get paid.
i think for the bipolar disorder awareness there should be more because there are a lot of people that dont know what it is or what the effects are there is a hole lot more to that dissorder
I have a feeling it get all the hypochondriacs going on one horse ride together.
There are all kinds and all levels of bi-polar disorder.
Many times, it does not occur alone but in conjunction with other disorders.
Awareness is a very crucial thing since it is often takes YEARS to diagnose.
By that time, there is so much less help available to help the person.
It is not an epidemic, only an awareness.
This is good.
By itself, it is highly treatable.
By the time other issues develop, the person gets a skewed view of the world and may be beyond meaningful help.
Awareness creates an environment for earlier diagnoses and better treatment.
1-2%? It's probabaly more.
I can see that many are jumping on the bandwagon (like ADHC not long ago) but if it helps someone get help before they do damage to themselves and the lives around them, it cannot be a bad thing.
It is a disability that causes so many other disabilities.
Sad.
True.
Public awareness on anything is good. However, with mental disorders, I question the validity.
I have a friend who was dx'd manic. She had been abused by her husband of 20 yrs. She was a professional, and realized she was yelling at those in her care and needed help. She also believes she was sexually abused by a close family member when she was young .
Several years after my friend was medicated, she was acting really strange. Turns out, she had experienced over 200 mini strokes. The psychiatrists kept switching her dx, and her meds, instead of trying to figure out what was happening with her body. She is now in a wheelchair.
I question the validity of her dx, because of the severity of the abuse by her now ex husband. She had to take a leave of absence from her job after he was in prison for a few years.
Her insurance only covered 6 visits to a counselor per year, and after a year and a half she was in no shape to go back to work. In my opinion, I think it may have to do with the meds, but how to know for certain. She was a professional, and speaking with her, one would never know it. I met her after she found out she couldn't go back to work and ended up having to get disability social security. Medicaid doesn't pay for good therapists, unfortunately. She never had the therapy, the cognitive work I feel she may have needed before she had the strokes.
Matter of fact, even after the strokes, she has had no cognitive brain therapy, and is quite on her own except for the physical therapy.
My problem with these diagnosis is this: there is no way to know for absolute certainty that her condition, and others like hers, is not caused by emotional trauma from abuse and not from a chemical imbalance. There is no way to be absolutely certain in regards to most mental illnesses. There are no tests to run, only questions to answer. The patient is given a string of tests, yes and no answers.
I have another friend who was dx'd with schizophrenia II, who also was horribly abused the whole time they were living at home, abuse extended to school as well. After this friend began recieving cognitive brain therapy (basically, restructuring their thought process and learning not to be so negative) this person was dx'd by another therapist with ADHD. They have also been dx'd with manic depression, and that is quite absurd.
Hormones can play a huge role in manic-like episodes, and tests for hormonal imbalances for the poor and under-insured are not always done. People are being treated for a disorder that does not exist in their bodies, instead of being treated for the real problem. Eating disorders also play a huge role in mood disorders. Americans eat terribly, and that does affect our moods. In fact, it has been discovered that types of schizoid disorders can be managed with protein and vitamin B's. So, the question is, can we validate the claim that they are schizoid, or is it merely a chemical imbalance caused by lack of particular nutrients? If full physical workups are not done, how can we know for certain. Diets need to be improved, exercise needs to be implemented and cognitive therapy needs to be done in order to know for certain if someone really suffers a valid disorder.
In our world, there is so much mental abuse, and that can very well affect someone who has already been abused in childhood to the extent they appear to have some type of mood disorder. In fact, it can affect adults who have had a pretty good childhood. If they are surrounded by encouragement and acceptance, can they change? If this is the case, then truly they do not have a disorder; rather, their thoughts have been altered by others, and their thoughts merely need to be more accepting of themselves and more encouraging of their accomplishments in order to be well.