Please note: this is a preview of Bipolar rules —That means it’s just a draft. This is not the final version.
For a long time I thought I could overcome bipolar disorder. I thought that if bipolar disorder was on my mind, then my mind could beat it. I thought that if I read the right book, learned the right coping skill, or understood the right philosophy, I could overcome bipolar disorder. I assumed it was “smarter” than any simple illness.
This is not an uncommon idea. It makes sense that people think this. There’s so much pop psychology telling you that you can just “turn that frown around.” There are many lifestyle “cures” for mental illness (especially depression). There are so many loved ones who tell us that all we have to do is “pull our socks on” and everything will get better.
And it doesn’t help that some people claim to have done just that. It doesn’t help that there are people who claim to have “cured” their own mental illness simply by using a certain philosophy, religion, or thought process. It is extremely unfortunate that there are people who will take advantage of the very real desire to do it and tell you that they can teach you how to do it too, for a “very reasonable” price, of course.
Not to mention the fact that mental illnesses cause intense pain and people look for any way to relieve that pain. The idea that a New Age guru can do it with kale and positive thinking sounds very alluring compared to a life on psychotropic medications. Understandably, people are clinging to the idea that they can overcome bipolar disorder because they want it so badly, and the people around them say it is possible.
I also tend to think this is another example of how bipolar disorder lies to us. It tells us that all we need is our own mind on purpose. Bipolar disorder is like an organism that propagates itself: it wants to survive, thrive, and even multiply. If you only use your mind to fight bipolar disorder, it will actually spread.
This is all part of the reason why people reject medications or stop taking them, whether they express it in those words or not. People think (wrongly) that bipolar disorder is all in your head and therefore your head can fix it.
But there’s a big mistake in this idea that people, including my former self, don’t recognize: yes, bipolar disorder. is in your head, but the part of your head it’s in is your brain. It is living in the neurons that form an organ that keeps you alive. You can’t think your brain to have healthy thoughts, any more than you can think your pancreas to produce insulin in a healthy way. The psychology we can influence plays a role in bipolar disorder; In fact, it is critical, but I have found that the biological aspects of bipolar disorder must be addressed first before psychology even has a chance.
What everything from bad psychology to a New Age charlatan doesn’t tell you is that bipolar disorder is (partly and importantly) biological in nature. The brains of people with bipolar disorder are simply not the same as those of the average person.1.2 Asking a sick brain to solve its own disease is not logical. It’s like using a broken-down car to go to a mechanic or asking a surgeon with broken hands to operate on it (and on himself, too). Thinking more about bipolar disorder only makes sense when you don’t understand the neurological nature of the illness. Unfortunately, this idea can also take tenacious root in a sick brain. (Remember that anosognosia [a clinical lack of insight] (common in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia) prevents people from even recognizing that they are sick).
In the end, it’s pretty simple: until you start to address the biological issues behind bipolar disorder, you can’t hope to effectively address it psychologically. Yes, this almost always means taking medication. If you are in an episode of acute bipolar disorder, there are few other options and you must understand and internalize them.
But take heart: While you can’t overcome bipolar disorder, you can think against bipolar disorder, think around bipolar disorder, and thinking low bipolar disorder once its biology is addressed. That means that things like therapy are, in fact, very important. Learning about different coping skills that incorporate how you actually think and act is important.
If you’ve had the idea that you should be able to overcome bipolar disorder, know that you’re not alone. I know the pressure I put on myself to make that work and I know how much I punish myself for not being able to do it. If you’re in that state right now, I understand. But please stop beating yourself up for not being able to do the impossible. I am freeing you from that burden right now. I’m telling you, you need to work with your biology with the help of your psychology. Your brain needs help on a biological level, just like any other sick organ would.
So while you can’t overcome bipolar disorder, you can fight it and even, from time to time, win.
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Sources
- Technological Networks. (2017, May 2). MRI study of bipolar patients reveals structural differences. Neuroscience from technological networks. https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/mri-study-of-bipolar-sufferers-reveals-structural-differences-288248
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (2017, January 24). An area of the brain related to bipolar disorder is identified. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170124144000.htm
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