“Everybody’s Bipolar”
This remark was made by a friend and colleague one Monday after a meeting. I am sure she was trying to make light of an earlier comment that she realized had offended me. How could she have known that this nonchalant remark was almost as offensive? I tried to laugh it off with her, but inside, the old frustration was churning.
Everyone is not bipolar. Mania is not cleaning the baseboards or the oven or managing to multitask. Depression is not feeling down. Having bipolar disorder does not just mean you are “moody” or “sensitive” or even unpredictable. These things are called being human…unless of course you are cleaning the baseboards with a toothbrush at 2:00 am after not sleeping for two days straight, or you are so “down” that you have already figured out the best pill combination that will kill you without making you sick. The idea that “everyone is bipolar” is just, well, ludicrous.
Then there is the other extreme. “You can’t be bipolar because…” First of all, no one really knows what goes on inside my brain and body except for me and the people or person I choose to tell. I was not diagnosed because I was tired or because I had just made the worst choice of my life or because I am more moody than my husband. I was tired because I never slept. I made the worst choice of my life in part because I was manic. My moods fluctuate infinitely more than my husband’s because I have bipolar disorder.
So what does all of my ranting really mean? It is simple. Not everyone who has energy has bipolar disorder. Just because someone manages to hold down a job and put on a brave face does not mean they do not have bipolar disorder. And, finally, my name is Laurie, and I do have bipolar disorder.
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