I can’t tell you how often the term, “bipolar” is used derogatorily and used incorrectly in casual conversation. I was in just such a conversation recently. Bipolar was used to describe a women whose behavior was consistently inconsiderate and borderline anti-social. I couldn’t help but wince as the people around me related their respective encounters with this person and their consensus that this person must be suffering from bipolar disorder.
I’ve had negative encounters with this said person and yes, she does exhibit a breathtakingly small amount of social etiquette. But is she suffering from bipolar disorder? Not sure. Nor can anyone be without a clinical diagnosis. But yet it doesn’t stop my colleagues, who are all well-educated and well-informed, from making their judgment. I am not certain if any of them can list the symptoms associated with bipolar disorder. So what makes them so certain about this woman?
I think that mental illness is not at all well understood by the general public. Unlike diabetes or cancer, mental illness often lacks physiological symptoms. The patient’s suffering is all in his/her mind. While it sometimes has physical manifestations such as irrational anger, or the inability to breathe, for the most part the suffering is confined to the walls that are our mind.
I don’t think Hollywood’s portrayal of mental illness does us any favors either. From Analyze This to the Sopranos to Monk. Mental illness is trivialized and stereotyped. The character Monk owes his super detective powers to his obsessive-compulsive disorder. Don Tony Soprano’s black-outs prevent him from carrying out the more violent aspects of his “job.”
So if you ever want to help educate the people around about mental illness or want to learn more about it for yourself here are a few sources that I have found useful:
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Institute of Mental Health
If you’ve found ways to counter ignorant and stereotyped discussions of mental illness in your circle, feel free to share them here.
