Tag: stigma

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Should We Be Concerned with the Label, Bipolar Disorder?

Labels, labels, labels. There is an unending narrative on how bad labels are. We shouldn’t label people, we shouldn’t be judgmental. We should just accept people how they are.

Contrary to that opinion, labels are pretty important, especially when it comes to identifying, treating, and recovering from mental illness.

The most common example I can cite is the misdiagnosis of Bipolar Disorder as Major Depression. The distinction between these labels is vitally important. Why? Because if a doctor treats a Bipolar person as though they had Major Depression, there is a strong chance that person’s brain is going to run screaming into instability and chaos. How can people know which is which? By looking at the label and analyzing the behaviors of the person in question.

Time and again, I hear people scream about how the DSM is awful because it tries to categorize mental illness. “I’m not my mental illness!” “I can’t be defined by a book!” This narrative misses the point. It’s so medical science is on the same page in how they are working towards treatment.

“But these labels are used for people to point the finger and look down on us!” So? If it wasn’t your mental health; it would be your sex, religion, race, economic background, or political background. I don’t know when the last time you cracked a history book was; but humanity has always found reasons to hate and look down on one another. The idea that we can all get along, all be accepted, is ridiculous. There are literally tens of thousands of years of precedence that demonstrate this.

The world can’t be changed because it does not want to be changed. This is why we celebrate great and kind thinkers. This is why we quote Gandhi, Dr. King, Mother Teresa, and other humanitarians. They stand out because they are a light in the bleak sea that is humanity.

What we can do is change the way we view others and relate to ourselves. It’s not the label that is trying to do harm to another person when used in anger. It’s the person using it. Forcing people to stop using a word we don’t like does nothing to address the actual problem of the person using it.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told by other Bipolar people that I shouldn’t say “I am Bipolar.” Even though “am” includes the definition of “having the quality of,” as in having the quality of Bipolar Disorder. These people are often struggling to find their own identity, to separate themselves from their mental illness. Quite often, they have life experiences where those words were used as weapons against them. They think they are helping to end stigma by trying to alter the words people use. And more than a couple of them expressed I would feel better about myself if I did.

The assumption is that because I use a phrase, I must not feel good about myself. That isn’t about me. I know they are transposing their own journey, suffering, and pain on to me. I think they normally have good, if not misguided intentions.

I’m at peace with myself because I understand myself. I don’t have the internal conflicts that racked up massive casualties in my mind like I used to. I understand Bipolar Disorder. I understand how my mental illness affects me. I know how to respond to the problems it gives me. And I use my pain for something positive, which makes it worthwhile in my eyes.

So, no. We are not our mental illness. Our mental illness is just one facet of who we are. Putting the responsibility of our own happiness and peace of mind on everyone else is a sure recipe for failure. That’s a lot of responsibility to put on someone else.

The final thing I would like to point is that the waters are typically gray and murky around these labels. Many of the loved ones of the mentally ill that reach out to me believe that they can look at the label for a mental illness and understand how that person functions.

Sort of, but not really. Essentially, it can serve as a rule of thumb for what the person could possibly experience; but the way it comes through is going to entirely depend on the mentally ill person. It’s a circumstance where things look one way on paper but function differently in practice.

As an example. The difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Bipolar Disorder is psychosis. I identify as a Type 2 Bipolar because 99% of my unwellness and unwell cycles have not included psychosis. However, the time immediately after the Disorder started emerging in me and the time that actually prompted me to get screened for mental illness would have fit Type 1 psychosis criteria.

Similarly, I had a full-blown anxiety attack while I was coming down with the stomach bug I recently got over. I’ve had about 3 full-blown anxiety attacks in the past 20 years. Would that qualify as an anxiety disorder? No. It’s not really affecting me enough to warrant the need for medication or therapy to cope with it. Anxiety attacks are an anomaly for me.

I regularly see people put more importance on Type than is warranted. It’s not really that important because the DSM is mostly a general guideline to get a medical professional in the ballpark. Medication and treatment addresses the symptoms of mental illness that are out of control in an individual.

Let me give you an example.

The first is myself. I’m a Type 2 Bipolar with a severe Depression component. I spend probably 80% of my time in some form of depression – mild to severe. A mood stabilizer to cap the top end and an antidepressant to bring up the bottom end is a typical treatment.

On the other hand, I have a friend who is also a Type 2. But the way that person’s Disorder manifests is that they spend 80%+ of their time either fine or mildly escalated. The only time that person really swings into a depression is after a post escalation crash, which happens about once or twice a year. For that person, a mood stabilizer makes sense but an antidepressant may not be necessary.

We both have the same diagnosis but the Disorder functions differently in practice. We both require different treatment regimens to address the problems Bipolar Disorder specifically causes.

This why it is so important that we understand how our diagnosis and mental illness affects us as individuals. We each need to find our own peace with the circumstances we were given and not require others to feel good about ourselves. A lot of fear can be dispelled with knowledge. Each of us should learn everything we can about the Disorder so we can identify how it manifests and meaningfully communicate that to our professionals and loved ones.

As for labels used as weapons – shrug and move on. They only have power if you let them bother you. Responding with anger just feeds the ego of the person using it and gives them control over your emotional state.

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The War Against Mental Health Stigma

There are many days where a circumstance causes me to question if I’m nuts or if it’s everyone else. The war against stigma is one of those subjects. I would say that at least 50% of the discussion I read or hear on it is completely unreasonable with impossible goals. And what’s worse is that unreasonable, impossible discussions make it harder for other people to come to reasonable conclusions about us. Walk with me as I rant about this further. And allow me to infuriate some readers almost immediately!

Is Stigma Ever Fair or Reasonable?

Yes. It is. Google defines stigma as “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.”

“But Dennis, how can that ever be fair or reasonable? I can’t help what I am!”

Since I launched my website and started engaging in regular advocacy work, I have found that many of the people that harbor the worst feelings about Bipolar people and Bipolar Disorder had good reason to feel that way. They had Bipolar parents who abused and tormented them. They married a Bipolar person who cleaned them out and destroyed their lives. Their adult Bipolar child was toxic and refused to do anything to help themselves, burning them out and draining them of emotional and financial resources.

To suggest that these people would not, should not be fearful of Bipolar people is stupid. If you’re walking down an alleyway, someone jumps out of a door way, robs you, and stabs you; you’re going to develop a wariness and discomfort of cutting down alleyways with easy places for people to hide. Right? And that’s a pretty quick exchange in general. Imagine someone who suffered for decades at the hands of a toxic Bipolar person. Are they going to be running around with open arms to other Bipolar people? Hell no. They’re going to be wary, angry, and fearful.

And they have every right to be.

Bipolar Disorder Should Be Addressed with Respectful Fear

Do you respect Bipolar Disorder? Do you fear it? If you don’t, you need to at least a little. Deaths. Abuse. Gaslighting. All it takes is a single severe unwell cycle to do some shit that you can never take back. Maybe you’ve never had a severe unwell cycle before. Many unwell cycles do not always reach such extremes that we are a threat to ourselves or other people. However, each and every one of us has the potential to land in such a cycle. It can be stress in your life. It can be a bad reaction to medication. It can be anything that, for whatever reason, sends a Bipolar mind into destructive unwell cycle.

I’ve been through a lot in my life. There isn’t a whole lot that makes me genuinely afraid. What does? What goes in my brain when I have a Mixed Cycle. I’ve had three in my life and I remember each of them distinctly because of how awful I felt and how hateful they made me. My last one was so bad it was the reason I sought psychiatric help after contemplating murdering a bunch of people and killing myself. That wasn’t that shocking. I had thoughts like that off and on through the years. What was terrifying is how good of an idea I thought it was and that I had the capability to carry it out. That was enough to get me in for a psychiatric evaluation once I was jarred out of those thoughts.

My respect and fear for what is in my brain is what helps me stay compliant when I really don’t want to. When I’m sick of dealing with meds and doctors and all other other crap that goes along with trying to stay mentally well. I cannot lose to that Monster in my mind because if I do, the end will not be pretty.

And what if you’ve never had that experience? Well hey, Bipolar Disorder gets worse with age, not better. Tomorrow or five years from now you could have an unwell cycle that an intensity that you’ve never experienced before. You have to be prepared for that. The people that we love and that love us do too.

Much Stigma is Rooted in Irrational Fear

Do you want to meaningfully combat stigma? Then you have to come to terms with Bipolar Disorder and what it means to others. You need to put yourself in the shoes of the people who have suffered at the hands of other Bipolar people. Even if you’re not toxic, if you’d never dream of hurting or wounding another person in such a severe way, the fact that you’re Bipolar is going to instill fear in those people. And no, it’s not rational and it’s not fair. But it’s also not fair that others are victimized by toxic people of all kinds. Having compassion for those people takes nothing away from your own position and place in the world. Compassion takes nothing away from your own struggles or difficulties in life.

And it is a way to meaningfully combat stigma. To be able to listen, hear what they have to say, and be able to show them that a Bipolar person can care about their suffering as opposed to inflicting it.

All of the sugar-coated, flowery poetic bullshit that so many people peddle about Bipolar Disorder just drives those people further away. They KNOW how awful we have the potential to be because they experienced it first hand. Of course they aren’t going to respond well to that. Of course they’re going to think we’re lying manipulators touting that garbage.

I view other mentally ill people as my brothers and sisters in this war for well-being and peace of mind. I want us all to be treated humanely. Note that I used the word humanely, not kindly. Some of us cannot be treated kindly because some of us are toxic, abusive, whirlwinds of destruction who would be completely terrible people even if they weren’t mentally ill. Like it or not, we have to do our part to combat the shit these people put into the world and treat their victims with the same compassion that we would want for ourselves. Their pain and struggles are no less important than ours.

That is, for those of us that are able to. I am well aware that not everyone has the desire or ability to engage in these struggles. That’s okay, too. Staying well, sane, and balanced should always be our priority.

To combat irrational fear, we must introduce rational knowledge. And in my mind, that means not glossing over the severe damage that we have the capability of inflicting on the people around us.

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Stigma, The Power Of Words, And You

Calling it now- this will probably be one of my least popular posts.

A recent conversation in my comments section is the inspiration behind this post. Thank you Jenny for jarring this particular thought process for me.

Stigma is a major concern for a lot of people with Bipolar Disorder. There’s been many pushes for enlightenment and education to help combat the negativity associated with the Disorder and other mental illnesses. I’m not saying that these pushes aren’t useful. However, the idea that they are undertaken with the goal to eliminate stigma is insane. That’s completely unrealistic and will never happen. Look at any other body of ignorance for confirmation. Anti-Semitism is alive and well even after thousands of years.

Religion is far easier for the average person to understand than mental illness. I don’t believe you can really “understand” mental illness unless you live with it. Book learning and being the victim of a mentally ill person’s insanity give an entirely different body of knowledge than living with it as a 24-7 component of your being. How does anyone reasonably expect to impart that kind of understanding? I don’t think it can be done.

I know I have readers in other countries; so please bear with me through the following. The question that was posed to me after I stated everyone is entitled to an opinion was “when does open expression become discrimination?” The First Amendment of our Bill of Rights covers Freedom of Speech- which is being drastically whittled away at on a nearly constant basis. I’m of the belief that everyone should be entitled to express their opinion no matter how shitty or stupid.

The problem is- who gets to decide what is acceptable speech? Court cases are used as precedence to prove points in future cases. What’s going to happen in 20 years if we legislate appropriate speech? Anyone with whatever questionable motives would be able to point at that case as proof of their point. Granted, it is a worst case scenario; but it’s one that should NEVER be permitted a starting point.

So “when does open expression become discrimination”? It doesn’t. Let people think whatever stupid bullshit they want and work to prevent establishment in policies that prevent you from enjoying the rights and opportunities you would be entitled to without mental illness. (Within reason- I think that we can agree that not having Bipolar police or people with access to military firepower is a good idea.)

I realize that public perception can have greater impacts. I have also seen a number of occasions where people get upset over someone having an ignorant or contrary opinion. My question is- who cares? The world doesn’t give a shit about my or your feelings. It’s on each of us to manage our own feelings like adults instead of holding our collective breath and making everyone act in a way that’s right to us.

This point was especially clear when a recent news anchor made some flippant, offensive comment about Wiccans. Social media briefly blew up to demand an apology. The anchor made a half-assed, utterly unheartfelt apology in response. And then social media blew up again because he “didn’t mean it”. Well, no shit he didn’t mean it. When was the last time you were actually sorry when you were forced to apologize for anything? Pissed off Wiccans were essentially forcing this guy to lie to them to placate their feelings. Which, to me, completely devalues an apology at all. And people wonder why our society is so fake and shallow.

They’re just fucking words. They don’t mean anything on their own. Two examples come to immediate mind. How many women that you know of would be infuriated if I said cunt casually? Because I don’t care about that woman’s feelings and use cunt- does that make me a misogynist? What if I told you that I’ve never used the word in anger at a woman? Or that I am on at least speaking/friendly terms with all of my exes because I always tried to treat them with respect even when I was coming apart?

What about the word nigger? Would you think I was racist? Even though I have a deep respect for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and identify much of what he said to the same plight of the mentally ill? Even though Tupac Shakur is not only my favorite artist of all the music I listen to; but is also the primary inspiration of why I conduct myself in such a blunt and open manner?

But both words can create severe emotional reactions in the people that hear them. But who’s the one with the problem here? Are you going to let your entire emotional and mental state be dictated by one asshole with a dumbass opinion? That’s a hell of a lot of power to give to someone you may not or barely know.

If you want to combat stigma- look within. Arm yourself with truth and don’t let the people that would talk down to you lump you into that category. You are you. You’re not your Disorder, race, sex, or religion. So, some examples of how I’ve handled these things when they came up.

A person lists off a huge list of wrongs done to them by someone who was Bipolar- “I am sorry that you went through such a difficult time. I’m not that person though, I do everything I can to manage it. If I ever act like that to you, you have my express permission to punch me straight in the face.”

A person spouts off about how mentally ill people should keep it to themselves- “Yeah we generally do. NAMI estimates that nearly 1 in 5 Americans meets the criteria for mental illness in that they have an illness of the mind that prevents gainful activity in the areas required for living and maintaining relationships. We’re an invisible minority and society doesn’t see us until some psychopath shoots up a school. We’re all around you buddy. Always have been.”

Now there is an actual important side to the stigma battle. That is ensuring that asshats aren’t able to legislate discriminatory practices into binding law and companies aren’t able to use our illness against us. (Again, within reason- see Bipolar cop statement above) I personally feel that the most effective way to accomplish this is for as many of us nutjobs as possible to get behind and be supportive of the people in positions of power who identify with or understand our plight.

You will never see an openly Bipolar politician because the other side will use that as a focus of a smear campaign to destroy their credibility. However, there are plenty of (mostly) sane individuals who may have had loved ones or witnessed what mental illness does who are sympathetic. Those people are the key to protecting our rights and interests.

There’s a number of ways to be involved. Voting is the most obvious one. I would also suggest joining and supporting a consumer-ran non-profit organization. In English, they are non-profits that are primarily headed and managed by people with mental illness who have recovered. You may not have the mental fortitude or stability to go toe-to-toe with the world; but if you’re able to provide support and funding to the people that do you’re helping your own position and that of your children. These kind of NPOs are all over. Do some digging on Google.

America is a depressing place in that our society values feelings more than facts. I do not. Facts are facts. They don’t care how you feel. Trying to change the opinion of everyone else in the world is futile and a waste of energy. What you can change is the way you feel about the opinions of others. At the end of the day, they’re just words.

Or as we were taught as kids- “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

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Personal Empowerment Creates A Better Future For All

I do not have a very typical approach to how I view the world, mental illness, and making my way through it. A significant departure is the quest for reducing stigma and encouraging a better social understanding. I don’t think it really matters nearly as much as is stated. There are so many people struggling for equality and understanding for several different reasons. Yet, when I look back through history, I have yet to find a single time period when that was actually a reality. I don’t think it is a reasonable, feasible goal. That is why a lot of my content, words, and ideas are focused around the individual. Elevating individuals who live with mental illness seems like it will be a more effective tactic.

For the past couple of years, I have been working as an internet marketer. I write content for business’s that are trying to get found on the internet. I have used many of those skills that I developed and learned from those marketers to bring you this website and blog. In the course of my work, I came to work for a man in the United Kingdom who was involved in marketing “forex” websites. Forex is short for foreign exchange, as in the foreign exchange currency market. It is the worldwide market where businesses, banks, individuals, and governments all go to change money to purchase what they need from international markets.

There is an entire industry of traders that make profit off of the differential in prices of currency. For example, if you look at the EURUSD (Euro/United States Dollar) pair, each Euro may be worth 1.2 dollars. I buy one Euro at $1.20 and the value of the Euro rises to $1.34. I then close my position. I have just made .14 cents of profit.

As I came to learn more about forex I realized what a huge opportunity it was for the mentally ill, the poor, and senior citizens trying to live off of nothing. A particular discipline within forex is known as technical trading. In technical trading, you analyze charts to look for patterns to spot high probability opportunities for a profitable trade. The pair might be in a clear uptrend or downtrend. The predictability is what technical forex traders use to make money.

Looking at the above example, 14 cents is nothing to write home about really. That is where the forex market differs from traditional investing. Currency is the most liquid asset in the world. Because of that, forex brokers (the people you make trades through) offer a high degree of leverage. At present I trade at a 50:1 leverage. For every 1 of my dollars, I am allowed to use up to 50 of theirs to trade with. So I can take 200 dollars and trade up to 10,000 dollars with it; with all the risks and rewards that come with that higher amount.

The forex market is open 5 days a week, 24 hours a day; which makes it perfect for people like me who can’t function well in a 9 to 5 traditional role. A trading plan with clear directions, how to profit and minimize losses, and the system a person uses for analysis provides a concrete reminder of the method we adhere to for profitability.

A large number of people do not look at investing or gambling in a way that is profitable. If you are playing blackjack and your goal is to get 21; you’re not going to ask for another card if you are sitting on 20. Why? The chances of you pulling an Ace from the deck are much, much lower than the dealer getting anything other than a 20 or a 21 to beat you. Will you always win? No. However, the cards totaling 20 have a much higher probability of being a winning hand for you than say a total of 7. If you get a 3 and a 4, you’re going to have to get at least two other appropriately numbered cards to be competitive. So you play on the 20 and withdraw on the 7 – maximizing potential gain while minimizing losses.

All of that comes back to my original point. You don’t need a college degree, to be good at math, or have a lot of money to make a reasonable profit on the forex market. A person simply needs to develop the understanding of what they are looking at and why they are doing what they are doing. I have spent the last several months teaching myself how with a minor amount of success.

My end-game goal is to take that which I have learned and turn it into a very easy to understand system that anyone can use. Through it, I want to enable individual elevation so that those people can create a better place for themselves and others in the world.

Why? Regardless of whether an adversary understands mental illness or not; that person will understand money. Money is power. If we are a bunch of paupers, how are we supposed to make any meaningful gains against political entities and insurance companies?

Striving for social understanding is all well and good, but what good is it if the policy makers can still just give us a pat on the head and send us on our way with empty promises? You know, exactly the same thing they do with women, minorities, the poor, disabled veterans, and everyone else whose rights are trampled on a constant basis.

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Stigma: Usually A Worthwhile Fight

I was recently sent an article arguing the “offensiveness” in linking certain patterns and beliefs to mental health. The subject was a paranoid schizophrenic painter by name of Martin Ramirez. A curator suggested certain symbolism in his art denoted a “more sane and less mentally ill part of Ramirez”. Apparently, this was some indicator of a greater problem in perception of the man.

This raises a significant question to me. Who actually cares about this kind of thing? The article does suggest the sentence could have been taken out of context- which it was. It was some curator trying to comment on the unique work of Ramirez while acknowledging what drove his thought processes. He wasn’t a psychologist. The curator didn’t struggle with his own mental health. That is apparent by his comment.

The article goes on to state that it is a perfect example of the kind of attitudes we experience on a daily basis in our private and professional lives. Demanding that degree of understanding from normals is as futile as bailing out the Pacific with a thimble. Even the people we are closest to in our lives often do not fully understand why we do what we do or what we think what we do. How are we to expect society to do that on a whole? They cannot. It’s impossible.

Normals can play an ancillary role in the struggle for understanding and social acceptance but it is ultimately up to we, the mentally ill. Our path is no different than that of the Civil Rights movements that have occurred throughout this country’s history. The only difference is our bond crosses race, sex, orientation, and faith.

We as a whole should focus on picking ourselves and others that are mentally ill up. Why? The more of us that are well and able to show through action that we are deserving to not be treated like a sideshow the greater impact there will be. Would it not be better to see Senators or Representatives that have fought with and learned to manage their mental illness? Would those kind of people not be more inclined to push for more effective protection against the jackals in the insurance industry? Would that not offer more hope to people that they could get well?

Fighting stigma is important- if it matters. I understand that people lose careers, families, and their sense of self every day because of mental illness. I feel for you. I really do. But the battle for Political Correctness will only provide the illusion of progress.

Don’t believe me? Then why are so many women still paid far less in the same position with the same education and experience as a man? Why did it take Congress 30 years to repeal sentencing parameters being five times longer for the same amount of crack-cocaine than regular cocaine? A crack rock is to cocaine powder what ice is to liquid water; they‘re the same thing. The only difference was crack was the drug of the poor and minorities while cocaine continues to be the drug of the middle to upper class.

There is no perfect equality and there never will be. Someone will always be under foot, oppressed, and fighting. Does that mean we should not stand up for ourselves against the tide? Absolutely not!

It does mean we should pay more attention to which battles are worth fighting. Focus on the battles that will allow us to conduct our lives in a way that is gainful and meaningful to us. I’m not interested in the illusion of equality and opportunity that so many people have in this country. I’m interested in real opportunity for the mentally ill, women, minorities, and anyone else deserving.

Opening our own avenues of opportunity will bring equality and understanding.

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