Postcards from the Funny Farm

Before discussing the abstract art that we call bipolar, we have to look at diagnosis and what is required.  It seems like more and more news stories about rapists, murderers, garden variety psychopaths, and the like contain a tag at the end of something like:

“This story is truly a tragedy, such and such was being treated for bipolar before they went bad.”

You must have a heart for the bipolars out there who are living productive, often high-level professional albeit silent lives.  They are still dealing with the unbearable highs and lows (which we will discuss in a later post) and they also have to maintain in such a way as to never let anyone expect they have the specter.  After all, the evening news is no friend to bipolars.  They extend the stigma along with ill-informed people, the media, and Hollywood.  It puts an albatross around the neck of anyone who finds out they might have it. Many bipolars say it makes them want to search for the best flight deals out of town.

Even bloggers can spread false stigma about bipolar.  I remember reading one guy’s blog (I won’t link or mention it).  He would write everyday how the walls were breathing and making him angry and other outlandish truly psychotic things.  He would justify it by saying he was bipolar.  I wrote him a note saying his symptoms seemed more schizophrenic than and he said he had read a book and diagnosed himself as bipolar without ever seeing a psychiatrist.  Ah, the downside of the internet.

The number one enemy of people with bipolar is people who self-diagnose themselves as bipolar.

To be clinically diagnosed bipolar, according to the DSM, several quite explicit and profound symptoms must be present over time.  I read one doctor that said true diagnosis can take about 10 years.

The reason this is important is because we all have moods.  Just because someone has mood swings does NOT make her/him bipolar.  Often irresponsible people tell everyone they are bipolar before getting a medical diagnosis.  They do this for mixed reasons.  Bipolar unfortunately has become a “catch all” for people with issues.

Even if a responsible person feels moments of extreme highs and lows and goes to the doctor to get diagnosed, the doctor may be wrong.  Bipolars have to sort through feelings, facts, and the data day to day.  They have to become experts on their disorder because even the doctors can’t know for sure until time has passed and behavior observed.

Do you know someone who claims to be bipolar?  Have you seen a movie or news show that equated moodiness with bipolar?  Remember diagnosis is the key. If they aren’t seeing a psychiatrist regularly (either in real life or on the show) it is likely they are not truly the texbook bipolar.  Rather, they are part of a stereotype.  There is a lot more than mood to bipolar as you will learn in this series. Take this list linked below for example. It is famous people who have been clinically diagnosed as having bipolar.  Recognize any of them?

Remember seeing any of them frothing at the mouth or filmed in a straight-jacket?  Hardly.  Most of them are/were world changers and that’s one thing science can associate with bipolars.  I’ll bet you never heard that in the media!  Consider the silent bipolars when you hear and see the loud ones on your television screen.  Based on what I have researched and experienced regarding bipolar, I think society needs a real paradigm shift toward the truth about it.

Wiki partial list of Famous people with Bipolar

Music is a powerful medium on our psyche.  Specifically, pop music is It is a space of 3 minutes (average). It is amazing and I don’t know why scientifically. It might be due to the fact that people allow their minds to open to ideas in a song while they might not through normal conversation. It can be like a whole movie message in the space of three minutes. Just like walking around on a lazy Saturdy in your Dansko shoes, so the right music can utterly relax and inspire you. I have had many favorites through the years, most of which you can find on my last.fm account. My name there is rileycentral. I have been changed in the space of three minutes. Music has been and will continue to be my primary source of inspiration. Make sure you turn on your radio if you are not regularly. You might be absolutely amazed at what can happen in your head and heart in the space of 3 minutes.

When service is bad, where do you draw the line and ask for a refund? I’ve usually been one to suck it up and just not use the service again but recently I found myself turning over a new leaf. Sarah and I went out on a date Friday night for one of those fancy pizzas that costs more than lobster. That was great, I enjoyed the service and the food. After dinner we wanted to go see a movie. I told her I wanted to see “Iron Man” because I like Robert Downey Jr. and because I read several reviews saying it was a great flick. Though it wasn’t her top choice (Sex and the City of course was her request) she acquiesced since it is my birthday Monday and we went to see Iron Man. It might be safe to say it looks like a guy’s movie.

Okay, I lied. We never got to see it. We were quickly told it was cash only since the credit card machines were down. I went across the street to the atm at a liquor store and it cost me $3.50 in fees. The theater was packed and gang thug types were all over the place. A few of them were actually starting to rap out loud. That was annoying and rude, but when we got to our seats and realized there was no air conditioning (it was about 100 degrees) I had my fill at that point. I approached the 20-something manager and he started giving me a hard time because I wanted my cash back. Not that I have anything against 20-somethings, I have some respected friends and colleagues in ther twenties. This guy, I do not respect. He kept offering me credits. I’m telling you, I will never go back to that theater again. The manager had a pin on that said “Philly Rocks.” Well, maybe he should go check out some Philadelphia jobs. Anyway we are lucky there are two theaters up here in the high desert so we have a choice. We listened to some great music on the HiFi on the way home and the night ended up okay. Have you had a time when you drew the line and asked for a refund?

When Sarah and I went to the movies this week we were struck by how many cars were in the parking lot. “Ahhh it’s Spring Break.” I said to her. Kids are out in full force this week. Although I was the teacher of some of them, I wasn’t. I chose to teach “Spring School” for a week, which always has its agonies with ecstasies. I get paid 27 dollars an hour to teach hand-picked students whatever I and the Principal decide is worth the time. My class did test prep in English Language Arts and also a bit of mathematics. Traditionally the kids at my school do better on the Standardized math test than they do on the Language arts, so my minutes followed suit. I saw great growth even in just the four days. I had 13 students who came every day (I didn’t have even one absence which is a record for me!). It was very helpful I thought and I know the test scores will show the results of this agony, its not easy getting up for this when you know you could be on break.

Now for the ecstasy:

Since tomorrow is Good Friday and there are no classes then, Spring School has ended for the week! I am thrilled for the chance to play with my kids on the carpet and have a nice family Easter. We were supposed to drive down to my folks’ house but I am thinking that is going to be a little tough for us. Both the girls (9 mo. and 3 yrs) are coughing with runny noses and quite frankly: my wife and I are spent! Hopefully they will understand. We are looking forward then to a nice Easter at home, maybe an egg hunt in the backyard … sky’s the limit! I remember when I was a kid my parents used to put the Snack Pack puddings that came in little aluminum cans in my easter basket. Vanilla, chocolate, tapioca, butterscotch … those things were so good, and for breakfast nonetheless LOL.

What kind of work are you done with? Did you get pudding as a kid like I did?

When it comes to most things, I am really not a stickler for anything. This is especially true when it comes to staying in hotels. I would rather spend the extra money, for example, that one of the ritzy Las Vegas hotels would cost me on gambling and fun money and stay in a cheaper place. Some people are different. They prefer the nicest they can afford. I prefer the cheapest that exists. Let’s face it, for the most part they all have their new soap, fresh towels, and the usual amenities. Is it worth 50 bucks more just for the prestige of a name?

Another way I’m not picky is with movie theaters. There are so many fancy schmancy ones popping up over here lately you would think they were government subsidized. We went to see 10,000 BC the other night at one and it was a ghetto theatre (to put it bluntly). I didn’t care. The movie was good and I was glad to be with my wife, what more could I ask for? Do I need the state-of-the-art stuff to be entertained? Not hardly. Some of the greatest memories I have of going to the movie involve a humble theater.

What are you just not picky about?

Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) one of the blackest, most sadistic characters to hit the screen since Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. In fact he carries around a canister of compressed air that resembles Hopper’s gas-filled canister from that film. Chigurh’s canister is for another purpose, though; it powers a device used to kill horses which he uses for his own deadly means. He comes after Llewelyn with a vengeance, stopping for no one, and unafraid to brutally kill anyone who tries.

-Movie Review: No Country For Old Men