BP thoughts from Margaret C. Rigsby
Mark
Margaret C. Rigsby
You may call this an essay. You may call this a rant or even an
article. Whatever you call it, all that I ask is that you try to keep
an open mind.
I would like to give you a few facts that you may or may not know:
Manic depressive disorder, more recently known as bipolar disorder is
according to the American Psychiatric Association, known as the most
distinct and dramatic of the depressive or affective disorders.
This disorder usually strikes both men and women equally before the
age of thirty-five.
One in one-hundred people will suffer from manic depressive disorder
at sometime in their life. Scary thought, isnt it? Perhaps not if you
dont know the symptoms. Briefly, it is a condition caused by a
chemical imbalance in the brain which produces severe mood swings with
cycles of normal to mania to depression.
(To review in greater detail more symptoms of this disorder, please
visit this site: Joy Ikelman's Info on Bipolar Disorder.)
Theories and facts about causes:
Genetic backgrounds much like heart disease
Close relatives are 10 to 20 times more likely to develop depression
or manic depression than the general population.
80 to 90 % have relatives who suffer from some form of depression.
If one parent has manic depression their child has a 12 to 15% risk of
having a depressive disorder.
If both parents have the disorder this increases their childs risk to
25%!.
There are other studies which indicate that environmental factors
probably contribute to or at least aggravate the disorder.
Still other studies suggests the imbalance in biochemistry often
responding to certain hormones or steroids which indicate
irregularities in hormone production and release.
Neurotransmitters, which are chemicals transmitting communication
between brain cells, become imbalanced.
More studies suggest dream patterns in which the dream phase begins
earlier than what is deemed normal.
Mental Illnesses are probably the most misdiagnosed of all illnesses
because so little is known about the brain. If you think you or
someone you care about suffers from bipolar disorder the first thing
that should be done is that your general physician should give you a
thorough physical examination to rule-out any other illnesses which
could mimic bipolar disorder. These illnesses may include reactions to
amphetamines or steroids, or may be liver disease, kidney disease,
thyroid disease or even Multiple Sclerosis.
Among the Affective Disorders it is believed that bipolar disorder is
one of the most treatable. Lithium is the drug of choice for
treatment. There are now, however, many new drugs with less side
effects on the market. The 90s was proclaimed "The Decade of the
Brain" by the National Institute of Mental Health and many other
mental health organizations. Only through anatomical donations and new
breakthroughs with organ imaging procedures such as MRIs and PET scans
has the brain been able to be studied.
Although bipolar disorder is said to be very treatable, often this
disorder is combined with other illnesses such as Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder, Attention Deficient Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder and
Borderline Personality Disorder, jsut to name a few. In these cases
treatment is often a long process of trial and error. Just ask me, for
twenty some-odd years I have been battling the demons in my head,
which gets me to the crust of the title of this essay. Did you think
it a ploy to draw you in?
I just got sicker and sicker until I could no longer think or
concentrate even after I had just been given a promotion.
A few years ago there was a coworker who came to work one day and did
not come back the next. Instead, he went home and put a bullet through
his heart. I was not particularly close to him though I had known him
for about thirteen years. I would hear people in the halls saying
cruel and inexcusable things about him which angered me. Had he had a
heart attack he would have been pitied.
I had always written articles for the company or the union paper and
so I decided to write one about Mental Illness, the stigma, where you
could get help, what to do if you suspected someone was going to
commit suicide and most importantly, I came out of the closet with my
own Mental Illnesses.
I was surprised in two ways; One: that I received calls from people I
did not even know from all over the plant expressing their
gratefulness at what I had done and even that it had helped some
people. Two: I became the target for ridicule and backbiting and was
even shunned by my own coworkers.
I weakened daily from the stress of the job, the people and a marriage
gone very bad. I just got sicker and sicker until I could no longer
think or concentrate even after I had just been given a promotion. It
became inevitable that I would be taken off of my job by my
psychiatrist. But that is just a little bit of my own personal
history, I also raised two sons alone without help. I can attest to
the part of the theory that "stress" has an effect on Mental Illness.
It doesnt have to happen to you! With proper diagnosis in the early
stages, the newer medications, there is more hope now than ever
before. That is why I am writing this, for you. At the end of this
article I will leave you addresses, URLs and any other information I
think will be useful to you.
Last statement, the reason I get mad as hell, is because people do not
understand that this is a real medical illness, not an emotional one.
When I hear pull yourself together, and other terms like that, I see
red. I know how strong I am. If I were not strong, you would not be
reading this now. Until my last breath I will fight for parity with
the insurance companies, I will fight stigma against we who suffer.
"Do will not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light." - Dylan Thomas
Rigsby, M.C. (1999). A few thoughts on manic depression. [Online].
Perspectives. [1999, January 1].
*******
Mark LLC
Mark
> Perspectives - Vol. 4, No. 1 - A Few Thoughts on Manic Depression
> Margaret C. Rigsby
Article found at:
mmmousemaid
I enjoyed reading this well-written article. The depressive side of
manic-depression
requires a film director to truly portray the pain and despair that
people fall into.
I am very sorry for the co-worker who committed suicide. The thing
that some
people don't understand is that suicide is the only way out of an
internal hell
caused by a sudden change in the brain. One may as well fall into an
abyss.
Lithium is indeed a great stabilizer for this yet mysterious disorder.
Thanks to Margaret C. Rigsby
mmmousemaid
Mark
> Just a bunch of drug company lies.
>
> --
> DSM IV is the fabrication upon which
> psychiatry seeks acceptance by medicine
> in general. Insiders know it is more
> a political than scientific document.
> To its credit it says so
>
> --Loren R. Mosher, M.D.
>
> - Show quoted text -
Any category of consideration is first
examined by numerous analytical individuals,
then upon emperical extrapolation a verifiable
criterion is outlined. This is how rationality works.
This process is used in all walks of life.
---
Markk LLC