I've often been asked what it's like for a patient to suffer from Bipolar Affective Disorder (Manic Depression) and until today, I've never had an analogy suitably comprehensible to the layman.
In my mind, being bipolar is similar to having your PMS just before your period. Both have a biochemical aetiology. Both sufferers "can't help" what's happening to them. Both aren't suffering from a "weakness of character."
There are some major differences, though. The bipolar mood swings are more extreme (higher amplitude) and can occur every damn day of a patient's life, not just once a month. Periods of mania are often followed by periods of depression. This is why bipolar patients have to keep taking their medication regularly; to keep them "normal" and not "high," "flying off tangent," "having a werewolf day," or "suicidal," "anti-social" or the dozens of similar terms used to describe them.
Copyright 2003-2004 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
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