Thoughts on Treatment and Recovery from Bipolar Disorder

Many of you know I maintain a personal blog. Actually I maintain a couple of blogs and websites, and have for many years. Blogging about bipolar disorder is how I became acquainted with the fine folks here at BipolarConnect. I used to be a daily blogger, sometimes several times a day. But my blogging was usually short, sometimes only a few sentences, rarely the longer posts I try to put together here. Over the last year or so I’ve been neglecting my personal blog, preferring to focus my attentions here at BipolarConnect. But I still maintain my blog and post from time-to-time, generally shorter, more personal, and perhaps more controversial material than I’ll post here.

The other day I made a post asking people’s opinion on whether bipolar disorder, or any mood or mental disorder, could be cured. I did not post my personal opinion at that time, and I got some interesting responses. These responses made me want to create a self-indulgent post with my own personal opinions on bipolar disorder. I don’t usually do this, I am NOT a medical expert, my only degrees are in business and technology. Understand these viewpoints are processed through a set of lenses that are uniquely mine, based on a lifetime of unique experiences. Not a day goes by that I don’t question my beliefs, and modify my views.

OK, enough disclosure. Many of you won't agree with me, and that’s really the purpose of this sharepost – to draw out other points of view. Jump in and leave a comment.

Bipolar disorder, and any mood or mental disorder is unique to the individual. Any attempt to force a person into a small category will eventually cause problems. I learned early in life that whenever I claimed an absolute truth, I was proven wrong. I think with bipolar disorder, and any mental or physical condition, people are guilty of assuming their particular recovery method is right for others, which is probably wrong more than it's right.

I believe that for many of us, and perhaps most of us, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other mood or mental disorders are lifetime conditions. There are a lot of people out there who scoff at this. I can speak from personal experience: we have a large family and it is absolutely possible to know from birth that a child is different than their siblings. It is absolutely possibly to know at a very young age that something is not “normal” in the mind of a child that will eventually be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. For myself, I know what it's like to grow up with the behavioral abnormalities that only come from a mood disorder.

I believe that a person does not have to be born with bipolar disorder to have bipolar disorder. I believe that bipolar symptoms can develop from PTSD, abuse, or other situational factors. Further, I do NOT believe, as many do, that all bipolar disorder is situational. Many refuse to believe that you can be born with this condition, and cling to the notion that abuse of some sort must be present. While abuse or other extreme factors can bring on bipolar symptoms, not all suffer from situational bipolar disorder.