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Mental Health
Does Society Benefit From Bipolar
Out of all the mental health disorder, Bipolar has the widest range of outcomes. I suspect it has the highest rates of exploitation. Does society take advantage of folks with Bipolar?
Contrary to popular belief, Bipolar Disorder doesn’t mean bi-emotions, or two emotions. It is a mood dysregulation disorder. It can have slow and rapid cycling. It can have extreme mood shifts, or subtle. It’s as if the thermostat in the brain that regulates moods is broken and one has to poke it with a stick to make it work. Drugs can be a stick, cutting, gambling, social situations, sex… There are lots of external ways people will use to try to self-regulate. There are just many ways that society might influence folks with Bipolar. What if the paranoia that sometimes comes with paranoia is exasperated by others trying to control, or ‘influence’ folks that have the condition that just don’t want to be influenced?
As a counselor, I am familiar with the most common disorders. I am also interested because more than one of my family has been diagnosed with mental illness. Bipolar is my family. Out of all the disorders, the range of outcomes with Bipolar amazes me, especially when folks who clearly have it don’t…