Four years after my diagnosis, I learned to embrace the superpowers my diagnosis gave me.
We’re all too familiar with the life-trashing side of bipolar that the media paints: punks overindulging in alcohol and drugs, bouncing from deep depressions to extreme manias, with symptoms like delusions, paranoia, incoherent speeches, and agitation. But there’s another side of the coin, too: drive, ambition, energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and self-confidence. And when you’re well, those things come across positively. With medication to smooth out my mood swings and talk therapy to defuse the distorted thinking of depression, I can see some pluses to having bipolar. #1 Ambition & Creative Drive Research links creativity and bipolar disorder. I think it is unclear exactly if or how, but I’ve always been a creative spirit in my own life. That combination of creativity and drive helped me make my mark as a communications consultant. I’ve now made a career shift to program management in NGOs, but facing off against bipolar has also given me a new passion: helping others with mental illness. It’s a limiting belief that bipolar diagnosis can make or break our ability to live well. When people get the message, ‘Oh, this is a chronic illness, and you better just hunker down and try to get through life, and you’re going to be very limited in what you can do’—people internalize that message. It’s still a day-to-day struggle, for everyone who has bipolar, because of the moods, so it takes vigilance, and it does take resilience. And I guess part of that is acknowledging the positive things it brings to you. #2 Helpful Traits While it may sound surprising to put “bipolar” and “positive” in the same sentence, an analysis published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that having bipolar disorder may enhance some positive traits. The authors reviewed 81 studies that noted positive characteristics in patients with bipolar and found a strong association with five qualities: spirituality, empathy, creativity, realism, and resilience. These qualities make us better equipped for times of crisis. #3 Better with Bipolar? By accepting and wisely managing the illness, an individual with bipolar can harness elements of hypomania, such as enhanced creativity and productivity. Depressive introspection can yield deeper awareness and insights. And emotional pain can be a catalyst for personal growth. Many reasons we can do what we do is not necessarily despite having bipolar. It’s because of it. There are times when the racing thoughts, the divergent thinking, and the pressured speech can get you into a lot of trouble, but also it can help you sell things and problem-solve. If you leverage it properly and don’t go overboard, it’s incredible what you can do. #4 The Tipping Point Celebrating the “hypomanic edge” sets off alarm bells for many professionals who treat people with bipolar. There is a dangerous tendency among people with bipolar to romanticize mania. As a result, in the early stages or “lower levels” of hypomania, they find themselves more productive than usual. Then they’ll avoid treatment to protect their energized mood. I think we get into trouble when we say that bipolar people are more creative than others, and then the logical leap that people make is, ‘Well, if I go off my medications, then I’ll be creative.’ And that’s when disasters tend to occur. Elevated mood facilitates creativity only to a certain point, after which increasing mood elevation harms achievement. The tipping point marks a gateway to the scattered thinking, grandiose delusions, and destructive behaviors of mania. #5 Resilience & Bipolar Good outcomes in the face of life’s blows define resilience. Research suggests having a hyperthymic temperament provides insulation against post-traumatic stress disorder. More broadly, exposure to adversity can provide a “mental vaccine” against future hardship. Experience and education have fed the resilience that helps us weather mood shifts. I’ve been in the bottomless pits I have ever been in, some of them dug by myself, and I can climb out of them. I also know that the next thought is just a feeling. If I am suffering from depression, it’s just depression. It’s not based on anything other than maybe some chemistry. So is resilience an attribute of the hyperthymic temperament or developed through dealing with bipolar’s swings? Are traits like creativity and leadership inherently linked to the disorder or merely enhanced by elevated mood? The jury is still out on those questions. #6 A Better Outcome Positive psychological traits can contribute to a better outcome with bipolar. Spirituality, creativity, and resilience are worth cultivating as protective buffers. Having a supportive faith community or a satisfying outlet like painting or playing an instrument provides a life-affirming counterweight to mood extremes. People with bipolar disorder need to think about their personal goals for recovery—not just taking medication and only taking medication. Are there other things that could be helpful to their long-term quality of life? A particular exercise helped change my outlook recently: I wrote down all my anxieties, dreams, worries, and hopes, past, future, and present. Then I sorted the list by those I could influence that day. Finally, everything else is placed in a symbolic “universe box” and left in the hands of a higher power for the time being. I could not change people. I couldn’t change their reactions. It helped me realize how much I didn’t have control over it, which pointed me toward developing spirituality. There are so many things that we must let go of and put into the hands of a higher power, whatever that may be, and try to hang on to that sense of faith. Things will get better with time. How about you? What positive traits does bipolar disorder bring to you? Join the discussion in the community.
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AuthorI was born in 1986 in Lebanon. I'm still trying to find my passion in life and in the meantime I'm learning to navigate my bipolarity and redefining stability. Archives
February 2024
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