This blog is all about my journey through life as a person with bipolar disorder. This disorder affects 5.7 million American adults, or about 2.6 percent of the U.S. population. A subset of mood disorders, bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness can exhibit symptoms that include intense and unusual shifts in mood, energy and activity levels. These shifts can affect the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks and are generally severe. The symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But it is a disease that can be treated and people diagnosed with bipolar disorder can lead productive lives.
While this blog is not meant to be an exhaustive education on the condition, I hope that you will gain a better understanding of the challenges those of us tasked with managing our condition face daily. And through that understanding, I hope you will develop an appreciation for the disease and hence help to lessen the stigma surrounding it and most other mental illnesses.
