Blog
Going Public Today: Why I’ve Decided To Stop Hiding
A few weeks ago was Mental Illness Awareness Week, which gave me a lot to think about. For the most part, I’ve considered my bipolar disorder to be something essentially private, much like if I had asthma or some other disease. As a result, it didn’t warrant any public revelation, not so much because I was ashamed of it (I’m not), but because I don’t normally discuss any of my other illnesses, so why would I discuss this one? Continue reading
Bipolar Disorder and Skepticism: My Philosophical Journey
I’ve spent the last several years completing a doctorate in philosophy, and bipolar disorder has been in some ways a hindrance and in some ways a benefit. One way in which bipolar disorder has been a bit of both has been its tendency to push me toward skepticism. Our moods and our thoughts are connected both ways, and instability of moods creates an instability of thoughts. However, instability leads to skepticism for a number of reasons. I’ve both had to fight against this tendency and embrace the aspects of it that are good. Continue reading
"Stigma": Reflections on Its Meaning and Use, Part I
This post is long, so I’ve decided to break it into two parts. This is the first part, while the second part is here.
I’ve only really become active in what one might call the mental health community within the last couple of years. Like any movement, the mental health community has its own vocabulary. Since I already had my own vocabulary that I was perfectly happy with, some of those uses struck me as strange, to the point where I don’t even want to use the terms. However, I’m well aware of my linguistic conservativism and that it’s probably a bad habit. Continue reading
"Stigma": Reflections on Its Meaning and Use, Part II
In the first part of this blog post, I discussed what the problems were with the term “stigma”. Although I have still some reservations about the limitations of the term and the way that the term is employed, there are still some very good reasons to use the term. In this second half, I will discuss those reasons. Continue reading
The FDA Versus the WMA: Why the Recent Cariprazine Trial Was Unethical
This week, Forest Laboratories and Gedeon Richter announced that they have had success in testing cariprazine, an antipsychotic, as a treatment for bipolar disorder. With a number of atypical antipsychotics becoming generic in the next decade, profits will be smaller in a generically flooded market, and less research is likely to be done. As a result, it is always good to see new options available for bipolar people. Moreover, by all accounts, cariprazine did very well, proving itself more effective than placebo and also proving itself well tolerated. Continue reading
What Does "Bipolar" Mean?: Five Surprising Uses From Across the Internet
In order to put together this site, I need to do a lot of online searches. Most of those searches involve searching for the term “bipolar”. Along with information that I find useful for my daily news or my weekly blog, I also find something of a flotsam of other uses of the term that can be a little surprising. Since I’ve had to spend so much of my time wading through these alternative uses of the term, I figured I was entitled to get some use out of them. So, I’ve collected together these uses that are sometimes interesting, sometimes bizarre and sometimes offensive. Continue reading
Being Normal: Lessons From My Local Bipolar Support Group
For the last two years, I’ve been a member of a bipolar group of people who meet once a month to share information and just generally chat. The group is very laid back. Basically, we just introduce ourselves at the beginning, and then break into informal discussion. My psychiatrist last week pointed out that she thought that the group was very good for me psychologically, and I think she’s right. As such, I thought I’d write my blog today about why it is that such a group has been helpful, and hope that these reflections might be useful for my readers. Continue reading
In Search of Bipolar Humor
My wife had an idea today for this website, one that I’m considering. Perhaps I should add a comic strip to it, that would be about bipolar disorder and would be enjoyable at the very least to people with bipolar disorder. I couldn’t draw to save my life, but my wife can, and she used to do a comic strip during her university days that was very good. I have yet to make up my mind about this project, but I figure that writing about a question is often the best way to resolve it. Continue reading
Excuses, Excuses: Hypomanic Symptoms and Moral Responsibility
One of the primary problems with having bipolar disorder is that many of the symptoms of bipolar disorder don’t look pathological. They simply look like bad behavior. Going over the list of bipolar symptoms, there are some that one would certainly not confuse with bad behavior, such as psychosis, pressured speech, psychomotor agitation and so forth (though some of these might be confused with intoxication or drug use). However, there are other symptoms that could easily be confused with bad behavior, such as irritability, overspending, interrupting and lack of functionality. Continue reading
Abandoning Ambition: Coming to Terms With Bipolar Disorder as a Disability
Catholicism has a somewhat archaic term that one sometimes hears bandied about: “worldly respect.” The idea is that, while earned reputation might be a good thing, it shouldn’t be our goal in life. While virtue and earthly respect often go together, they just as often come apart. Sometimes, in especially unjust situations, virtue is actually punished. Other times, virtue, especially Christian virtue, may simply not be recognized because it isn’t flashy enough. Continue reading
To find out more, please visit the website for his private practice, Bader Mediation & Counselling Services.