Are People with Bipolar Disorder More Intelligent? Knowing that is part of becoming educated about our illness. It’s not a huge thing, it doesn’t make you dumb, and more than likely you’re already compensating for it anyway! Don’t worry about it; that *will* just make it worse. The other thing I’ve learned is to keep very close track of when medication changes are made and anything that I feel may be different that is also negative. And then to watch for crossover. I had plenty of negative/bad things happening over the course of the last year, but my psychiatrist and I kept close watch, and none of those things correlated at all with any particular medications, or combinations of meds. As much as I would have liked that to be the case . This romanticization of bipolar (adhd is another one that this happens to) can be identified so very easily. We see comments such as: *I’m (or I have; whichever) bipolar and people who are/have bipolar are smarter; it’s because we have bipolar,*Everyone knows that with the crappy parts of adhd or bipolar, we’re also more creative than other people*I’m thankful for all the gifts that bipolar (or adhd) has given me. Honestly, all of that, is a bunch of garbage. Yes, I get that it’s born out of a desire to view things more positively. But don’t attribute it to your illness! It has almost *nothing* to do with your illness. If you’re super smart, it’s not because of your bipolar. If you’re very creative (however it’s manifest, because there are at least a million ways it can be), it’s not because of your adhd. Nor is it because of your manic phases. You will probably feel more creative in your manic phases, but that’s not the same thing as saying your bipolar causes the creativity. It just amplifies or diminishes how you perceive it. Because creativity, intelligence, desire for learning, self- expression are all skills that we can choose to hone in whatever way we want. And just as any individual, certain ways will become our own as our talents are developed. But that’s true for everybody, illness or not. More than 2 million American adults, or about 1 percent of the population age 18 and older in any given year, have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. I’m not sure that I was born with bipolar disorder. I might have been born with such genetic predisposition that no matter what happened I would have bipolar disorder. There are many known famous people, that have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorder like any other disease, or sickness, can strike anyone, and at any time. Here are just a few examples of famous. So please don’t romanticize mental (or developmental, as adhd is) illness! There’s nothing positive about it, but there are plenty of positive things about me. I just have to figure out how to manipulate my illnesses so that I can magnify my positive traits to the largest extent possible. Bipolar disorder is the name used to describe a set of 'mood swing' conditions, the most severe form of which used to be called 'manic depression'. Bipolar disorder, formerly manic depression, is a mental disorder with periods of depression and periods of elevated mood. The elevated mood is significant and is known as mania or hypomania, depending on its severity, or. Bipolar disorder, once commonly known as manic depression, is a serious mental disorder that is characterized by sudden and intense shifts in mood, behavior and energy levels. Like substance abuse, bipolar disorder poses a. Bipolar disorder is in a class of mood disorders that is marked by dramatic changes in mood, energy and behaviour. The key characteristic of people with bipolar disorder is alternating between episodes of mania (extreme. And then I also want to use those positive traits to improve, supplement the negative effects of my illnesses on my life. Medication is a hard issue. Bad side effects, huge individual differences, no guarantees. Crap; I did not sign up for this. But I guess I did, because I needed better. Even after everything I’d already done and was doing, I still needed better than that better. I was so set against it; I don’t know how I actually ever went to see this Psych. Nurse Practictioner, but I did. And gee, go figure, she diagnosed me with adhd. Thus began my med journey just three short years ago.*There are some meds that do make you cloudier/hazy. That shouldn’t last for more than about a week. If it does, the dose is probably too high, you’re not taking it at the right time, or some other random factor.*THere are a very few that mess with your memory, but usually that’s because of the above side effect, not one in itself. Of the meds that do this, Zyprexa is by far the worst. It is the only one that has a direct link to type 2 diabetes.*Some people feel that their creativity is dampened by a med or some meds. This can be true especially if the person was just previously manic and is now taking a stabilizer to lower the danger of the manic phase. However, this effect can be the case even if the person was not manic. If a drug makes you feel cloudier, it’s also going to affect how you feel and perceive your creativity. Same goes for intelligence. Being cloudy means you’re not as sharp. So my final words on this med issue, good luck. Find a good *psychiatrist* as that is crucial, though not easy to do necessarily. It does count–it’s your life. Medication should not change your personality. That will not change by medication. If it does, then the medication is not the right one for you. Medication should only *help* you to be you more easily. It should facilitate the process of your living in a positive way. The benefits of a medication need to outweigh its cons–whatever they are for *you*, an individual. Juliap. s. Unfortunately sometimes. But I’ve learned to use it to my advantage at least. I’d rather have it than not in certain situations I’ve experienced of late. But I hate it when people comment on it; I think because I feel like it’s all they can see. Just as my bipolar disorder does not define me, neither does my intelligence.*I* get to define me, on my terms and on what I find important.
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December 2016
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