Issue #3 - The one about Bipolar Mood Disorder
Now, this month’s newsletter comes in a different dimension, one that I am quite excited about. I say new dimension because although the newsletter author tag says ‘Salim from The Bell’, this particulaer issue was written by Yosola Fijabi.
Yosola is an avid volunteer and her passion to help and serve humanity has led her to volunteer for many causes - mental health inclusive. When she is not advocating for a cause, you can find her writing, buried in books or watching her favourite shows.
“A kì í júbà afìmọ̀sínúkú”
Knowledge, they say, is power, and I couldn’t agree more. The Yoruba proverb above loosely translates to “There is no honor for anyone who died with his or her knowledge”. After my extensive research on Bipolar Mood Disorder, I have compiled a few of my learnings in the newsletter below. After all, as the adage implies, what honor is there for me if I never get to enlighten others?
When I got this topic, the first thing I did was to do extensive research. Now, this is an important step to take when it comes to mental health, or really, anything at all. While I have heard the term Bipolar Disorder a couple of times, I had a vague understanding of what it meant, but I knew my vague understanding wouldn’t cut it if I wanted to raise awareness and de-stigmatize the illness. I also didn’t think it would be fair to repeat definitions that could be easily found on the internet. I felt I had to go deeper.
In my quest to understand the illness, I put up a tweet to conduct interviews with people with Bipolar Mood Disorder. To me, listening to people tell their stories of how they live, and ultimately, survive, with Bipolar Mental Disorder seemed like the most natural way to truly understand and advocate for the illness. And as you may have already predicted, I got no response. This is understandable given the sensitivity of the subject and the stigma associated with mental health disorders.
Since I couldn’t get anyone to tell their story, I went even further in my quest for knowledge. After reading a number of articles and watching a ton of videos, here is the takeaway from my immersive learning experience.
Bipolar Disorder is more than Mood Swings
Some people tend to label mood swings as bipolar disorder, but bipolar disorder is much more than that. In fact, I would say throwing the word around loosely tends to mitigate the severity of the illness. Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive disorder, is a mood disorder that can cause emotional and energetic lows (depressive episodes) and highs (manic or hypomanic episodes). It can also cause mood episodes with mixed features, meaning both emotional highs and lows. The mood changes are more extreme and long-lasting, usually spanning for days or weeks and impairs the person’s energy levels, sleep patterns, and other daily activities.
How can you tell it is Bipolar Disorder?
While there are different types of bipolar disorder, common symptoms among people with bipolar disorder include anxiety, euphoria, loss of interest, hopelessness, mood swings, impulsivity, restlessness, hyperactivity, lack of concentration, racing thoughts, depression, weight gain/weight loss, difficulty falling asleep or excess sleep, fatigue.
Bipolar Disorder is difficult to diagnose
Bipolar consists of both depression and manic episodes. Because manic episodes make the person feel happy and elated, they often overlook it and only report the depression episodes. As a result, a number of people have been misdiagnosed with depression. Manic episodes could range from feeling very happy, talking unusually fast, fidgeting, being easily irritated or agitated, getting little or no sleep to making reckless decisions.
How to show up for people with Bipolar
Educate yourself. You really can not help, or advocate for a cause you do not know about. You’ll be able to contribute more if you learn. That way, you can recognise their mood shifts during different episodes and how to respond accordingly.
Listen. It’s fine if you don’t have the answers to their questions. Listening does not always have to entail giving advice or responses. Being present for them and listening to what they have to say will help them feel safe.
Suggest a treatment plan and support them through it. Let’s face it, life can be really challenging, and living life with Bipolar Disorder feels like adding an extra layer of difficulty. Subtly suggesting a treatment plan like therapy sessions and/or medications, and supporting them through the process would help them navigate their emotions in a better way.
Create awareness. In my dictionary, creating awareness = removing stigmatization. People with mental illnesses are less likely to speak up due to the stigma surrounding these issues. By creating awareness, like sharing this newsletter for example, you would help one person out there with mental illness become more confident and comfortable.
Lastly, we understand the stigma related to these mental health illnesses, especially in Nigeria, so we have carefully hand-picked a list of Mental Health Organizations you can reach out to, should you notice the symptoms listed above.
Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative
That’s it for today. See you next month!
PS: Whoa! Third issue already? Almost feels like we sent our first issue only yesterday. Firstly, I would like to thank you all for the support we have gotten thus far. Although we have not hit our goal in terms of number of subscribers yet, we got a lot of mentions and direct messages on social media telling us how much you love the newsletter. However, it’s not translating unless you share. Please take some time to share the newsletter today if you enjoyed it and be sure to leave a comment.