MHM Magazine

Issue 2 | 2023 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 9 MHM Introduction As the world transforms itself into a more technological era, mental health evolves, and myths around bipolar disorder are maintained. Compared with other mental health disorders, posts about bipolar disorder were found to be more stigmatising in social media spaces where people can express themselves. People living with bipolar can find this complex online narrative difficult to navigate. It may trigger feelings of shame, disgust, denial, and difficulty processing their diagnoses, impacting not only their compliance with treatment, but also their ability to accept themselves. We hope to debunk some of the most common myths and misconceptions about bipolar disorder in this article. Myth #1: Bipolar disorder is just mood swings, nothing more. The mood fluctuations experienced by people living with bipolar disorder are much more severe and prolonged than those experienced by people with typical mood swings. Those suffering from bipolar disorder experience episodes of manic mood, energy, and activity, followed by periods of depression. When these episodes last for weeks or months, a person's daily functioning may be severely impacted. Bipolar disorder causes extreme mood swings, but most people present as depressed rather than manic. It’s normal to have good and bad days. With bipolar disorder, mood swings are often more intense and continue for a longer period of time than with regular mood swings. Those living with bipolar disorder may feel high for days, weeks or months, racing around, talking a lot, fasting and not sleeping much, leading to destructive behaviours such as running through money. In some cases, psychotic features may also occur during manic or hypomanic episodes. People living with bipolar disorder may stay in bed for prolonged periods of time, days or weeks, which may negatively impact their job security. They might feel unmotivated, sad or even suicidal. This usually occurs during the depressive cycle. Myth #2: It's rare to have bipolar disorder. Worldwide millions of people suffer from bipolar disorder, which can develop at any age. affecting both men and women, with no single cause. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children can be quite tricky because of their temperament. It’s common to see mood fluctuations during adolescence misinterpreted as pathological. Over time, many people have learned to manage it. Understanding how it presents in each individual enables one to track when periods of mania and hypomania, as well as depression, begin to oscillate. While using alcohol or illicit drugs can trigger bipolar disorder, the exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown. MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BIPOLAR DISORDER Kryska Marquard Curwyn Mapaling Clinical Psychologist Clinical Psychologist KM Therapy, Paarl Mahikeng info@kmtherapy.co.za curwyn.mapaling@gmail.com