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Sat, January 19, 2008

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A couple of weeks ago I made a post called Stories In The News. The last part of that post was about Percy Paul, a brilliant mathematician from Canada who suffers from bipolar disorder. He's the subject of a documentary that originally aired on CBC called "Flight From Darkness". Percy found this post, and in the comments left us a link where we can see a video of this documentary:

Flight From Darkness.

This is an excellent documentary. They portray the disorder in an accurate way, and they portray Percy Paul in fair and non-judgemental way. I HIGHLY recommend this video. It's about 40 minutes long, and worth every minute. I'd be interested in other's perceptions of the video also.

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madnessmanifesto.wordpress.com

1/20/08 1:08am

I agree, this is an excellent documentary. I think it really effectively portrays how deeply bipolar disorder/manic depression can change a person, including their physical appearance, before and after the onset of major symptoms, and then during each recurring episode. It also shows how the most brilliant people with this illness can have great difficulty just accomplishing everyday tasks and communicating simple ideas. Amazingly courageous and generous on the part of Percy to let us into his life like that...and into very personal and painful areas. I was personally touched by the divorce from his wife which was due to the bipolar illness, as I have lost relationships because of this illness too.

24hbipolar2

1/20/08 11:33am

I am so disappointed. For some reason i could not view the video or download it to view. Anyone with some computer secrets to help me out? It said i needed a plugin but when i downloaded the plugin, it still wouldn't work.

G.J. Gregory

1/20/08 12:04pm

If you install the divx plugin you should be able to go back to the page and it should load. If it just downloaded, it might not have installed. You might look to see if the file is on your system, each computer usually has a directory the accepts downloaded files. If it's there, double-click it and it should install. If it's not, you might try again.

Let us know if you're able to access it.

24hbipolar2

1/20/08 12:37pm

I watched it! It was very good. I found myself wanting to grab him and shake him and yell, "stay on your meds!". I would like to read his journal..should he wish to share it, of course, because some of his thoughts echoed mine so very closely it was scary. I would recommend this video to anyone with bipolar disoder and their significant others.

G.J. Gregory

1/20/08 4:51pm

Percy's a very nice guy, we've traded email. He's created a profile here at BipolarConnect. If you look at the comments from the original post:

http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/41/17141/stories-news/

You'll find comments he made, and a link to his profile.

Percy Paul

1/31/08 9:27pm

hey,

thanks for the comment...i got noone in my life to tell me to stay on meds....i don't think i have ever been told that. In fact the opposite, as my kidneys began hurting to the point i could not sleep.

as for the journal...its mostly drawings and delusional writings. and lots of physics/math.

G.J. Gregory

2/ 1/08 2:36am

Percy,

I'm interested in your kidney pain, I just wrote about this. Was it med related? How much water were you drinking a day? Any other information on that?

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

24hbipolar2

2/ 1/08 9:33am

Percy,

You have support here on this website and we will help you get through if you feel like you are slipping away again. All of us have been there and will be happy to help you in any way we can. If you are unable to stay on lithium, there are other drugs that may help you. It was very hard for me to give up my hypomanic states because i LIKED them, but the crash that follows is not worth the brief pleasure. Please e-mail me anytime you are troubled and i'll do my best to help you out.

Percy Paul

2/ 1/08 11:59am

24hbipolar2,

internet can't help me but with emails of support, that all. This I could find in some books, if I ever read those types of books.

thanks anyhow.

email is"brownaleguru at gmail.com "

Percy Paul

2/ 1/08 3:47pm

I get montly blood test for kidney functions. Sometimes the pain feels like back pain and sleeping is tough. Then the doctor lowers the lithium again. Then i get into trouble with mania and sleep. I take in as much water as I can. But I feel nausea with the lithium. So i share the stuff with the toilet bowl. I get other stuff for acute mania, usually it is ativan or seroquel.

I recently had trouble with lamogritine....both from rash and voices are here longer....

hope that was good.

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