This is about bipolar disorder, and my (John Wick) personal experience with it.

1. My Life: Bipolar Disorder
By: John Wick

2. Disclaimer
This a project for a high school AP Psychology course. This is a fictionalized
account of having a psychological ailment. For questions about this blog project
or its content please email the teacher, Laura Astorian: laura.
astorian@cobbk12.org

3. What is Bipolar Disorder?
● Brain Illness
● Sometimes referenced as manic-depressive illness.
● It causes shifts in mood and the ability to carry out tasks.
● Characterized by manic and depressive states.

4. General Info
● It is very common. There is about three million cases of it in the US every
year.
● There is no cure for it.
● Sometimes it is hard to know if someone has it in public.
● There are many different levels of bipolar disorder.

5. Causes
● Like in most mental disorders there is no one cause to the disorder.
● Bipolar does have a connection to genes because children with parents
with the disease have a much higher chance of getting it.
● There must also be environmental influences because both identical twins
don’t always get the disease if the other has it.

6. Causes Continued
● The brain structure may also be different with people with bipolar disorder.
● Children with bipolar disorder seem to develop slower mentally.
● New brain imaging shows that bipolar may be linked with an
underdeveloped prefrontal cortex which helps solve problems and
connects to other parts of the brain.

7. General Symptoms
● Patients experience dramatic mood swings called “mood episodes”.
● Mood episodes include:
○ Manic State: which is being overjoyed and excited.
○ Depressive State: which is being sad and very hopeless like one doesn’t feel like living
anymore.
○ Mixed State: which is where symptoms of both are present.

8. Symptoms for Manic Episode
● Very irritable
● Lots of energy
● Outgoing
● Talking a lot
● Being distracted
● Impulsive
● Unrealistic beliefs

9. Symptoms for Depressive Episode
● Feeling unbelievably sad
● No interest in activities or leaving the house
● Being tired
● Irritable
● Can’t concentrate
● Thinking of death
● Attempted suicide

10. Classifications
● Bipolar 1 Disorder: Manic states that last longer than a week and two
week depressive episodes.
● Bipolar 2 Disorder: Depressive and hypomanic episodes.
● Bipolar Disorder Not Otherwise Specified: Has symptoms but does not
reach the diagnosis.
● Cyclothymia: Mild form of bipolar disorder.

11. Treatments (Medicine)
● Luckily many symptoms of bipolar disorder can be controlled with
medicine.
● Mood Stabilizers: Lithium helps stabilize a person's mood.
● Atypical Antipsychotics: Help treat manic states of bipolar disorder.
● Antidepressants: Help treat depressive states of bipolar disorder.

12. Treatments (Psychotherapy)
● There are many different types of psychotherapy that attempt to complete
the same task.
● Psychotherapy helps everyone around a patient help the patient cope with
their symptoms. Many therapists help patients understand the way they
think and try to help change their behavior.
● Psychotherapy is very useful in combination with medicine.

13. My Diagnosis
● When I was eight, now I am 16, I was diagnosed with bipolar disease.
● As a kid I always had mood issues, one week I was extremely happy and
the next I would cry for days in my room.
● My parents told me to, “Buck Up!!!”.
● Finally they took me to a doctor after trying to commit suicide one night.

14. My Daily Life
● Wake up at 6:40.
● Take my lithium pill that will stabilize my mood for the majority of the day.
● Take a shower.
● Go to school.
● Come home and take another pill.
● Do homework
● Go to bed

15. My Symptoms
● In a depressive episode, I tend to be very tired and think very suicidal. I also
stay to myself and tend not to leave my room.
● In a manic episode, I love life and tend to go to church. I am really social
and sometimes behave impulsively.

16. My Experiences
● In the past eight years, I have had a few hardcore experiences with my
disorder.
● At 13, I went into a extreme manic state and jump off a bridge because I
thought it would be fun, but I broke both of my legs.
● Last year, I had a very unusually long depressive state where I had to get
antidepressants to get me out of it. During this time I tried suicide twice.

17. My Experiences Continued

18. My Feelings towards Bipolar
● Bipolar does alter my everyday life.
● Although it alters my life, it does not change how I live or interact on a day
to day basis.
● I thank God everyday for the doctors who help my my disorder.
● I also pray everyday for those who are less fortunate and suffer from
serious mental illnesses.
● I realize I’ve could of had it much worse and most of the time I don’t even
think about having the disorder.

19. My Feelings about What Others Think
● I don’t like how people think that mental illnesses are different than others
disease. Although, it affects your brain it is like any other disease.
● At the same time, I wish that my friends and family would be more aware
of my illness and try harder not to say things that could send me into a
depressive state.
● I also wish that people wouldn’t see it as something that holds me back
either.
● And making fun of it makes me really angry.

20. My Feelings Continued

21. Work Cited
Bipolar Disorder in Adults. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.
gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder-in-adults/index.shtml