10 Reasons Why I Think People Who Have Bipolar Disorder Are Awesome

I was watching a Netflix series the other day and a character who has bipolar disorder showed up on the screen. I just held my breath. The portrayal of people who have bipolar disorder in movies and TV is usually awful. In the beginning of this portion of the show, the character is psychotic and the other characters are compassionate, understanding and patient with her. They seem to understand that she is not well. I was pleasantly surprised at first.

Then, as the story progressed her mood becomes aggressive, and she ends up doing extensive property damage that creates another calamity for the other characters in the story to overcome. As I watched her smashing electronics with the butt end of a fire extinguisher I just felt overcome with frustration. Whenever I see an actor portray someone who has bipolar disorder there is always an element of the scene where the person is violent.

People who have mental illnesses are no more likely to be violent than the general population. We are more likely to be victims of violence. I understand that violence in shows is entertaining but the consequences of all these depictions of people who have bipolar disorder as being violent is that it perpetuates a stigma that can be hard on us.

Rather than sharing statistics or making logical arguments about why this is wrong I have decided to counteract the negativity with my personal experience of why most people who have bipolar disorder are great.

1 Compassionate

There is something about having life knock you around that creates a deeper understanding of what suffering feels like. The symptoms of bipolar disorder can take away your capacity for joy, rob you of any energy to do any task, tear away all your relationships, money, self esteem and make you believe that dying by suicide is a good idea. I had never experienced true hopelessness until after my first manic episode decimated my life. The gift of all this suffering is it increases our capacity to relate to other people’s suffering and respond with tremendous compassion.

2 Non-judgemental

When people who have bipolar disorder are not well some of our symptoms include behaviour most of us are quite ashamed of. Even though we understand that it is not our fault, the reaction of people who do not have bipolar disorder to our behaviour after the episode is over can be humiliating. For example, during an episode you may believe you have become a benevolent god or that you have a number that will save the world. The resulting behaviour scares some people and they will treat you differently once your psychosis is over. The resulting shame and humiliation teaches us that judging others can be extremely hurtful and unfair and as result we are less likely to quickly judge people without understanding their circumstances.

3 Intelligent

A lot of people who have bipolar disorder are super smart. Some of the most intelligent people I know have bipolar disorder. However, I feel like I have to mention that sometimes when we are psychotic, we think we are super intelligent and have amazing ideas when we are not.

4 Creative

Not everyone who has bipolar disorder is creative but there are many of us who are. My theory is that this is because people who have bipolar disorder seem to have an endless stream of thoughts that take up a lot of our energy in the day. When we are well, expressing these thoughts through artistic pursuit can result in some impressive creations. I feel like I have to mention that there are times when we are not well and we think we are producing beautiful artistic creations when we are just creating terrible messes.

5 Interesting

I don’t think I have ever met someone who has bipolar disorder who is boring. When we are experiencing depressive episodes, conversation is impossible so people who do not have bipolar disorder may conclude we are boring. My experience has been that most people who have bipolar disorder are fascinating to talk to.

6 Resilient

Take a moment and look around you and appreciate what you have. Now, imagine that something takes all of it away from you. I assume when you looked around you saw evidence of positive relationships, shelter, financial security, dignity and respect from the community. For some people who have bipolar disorder, this can all be taken away multiple times because of our symptoms yet we find a way to rebuild and keep going. I am extremely proud to be connected to other people who have bipolar disorder because of this trait.

7 Determination

Even though life keeps knocking us back we continue to strive to be better and have a better life.

8 Patience

You cannot flip the switch when you are not well and suddenly snap out of it. A positive life requires us to patiently and methodically put pieces in our life that promote long term stability and joy.

9 Great sense of humor

This one might be because the biggest laughs I get in my life is during the time I spend with people who have bipolar disorder. Let me know in the comments section below if you have an opinion on this.

10 General awesomeness

I couldn’t think of a tenth thing but I’m sure there are some things I forgot and they would belong in this category.

As always, this blog is based on my experience. If your experience is different or you think something should be added or removed from the list let me know in the comments below.