The Bipolar Mind

For the character of  Sophie, I wanted to learn more about people who have bipolar disorder. Through support from Sheila Purves, who works at W.H.O. (World Health Organization) , we managed to get in touch with Eva, who is in charge of the Phoenix Clubhouse, a care center for people with mental illnesses.

One wonderful thing about the facility was that the bridge will never dissapear once a person becomes a member. Their membership is for a life time. The members can visit any time and join various activities. So it is not a program or a place where patients felt obligated to join. People there were so friendly and had so much positive energy.

After the tour by the members of the club house, we were able to speak to a member with bipolar disorder. From his mannerisms and his physical apperance, it was impossible to tell that he had the disorder. As he himself said, it is not the type of disorder that you can easily characterize. He said he felt very ordinary and that he felt strange to talk about his disorder as if he was very different from other people.  He said, "I'm a very sensitive person and when my mood is very unstable, the emotions amplify a lot." He was once sent to the hospital after one big incident, an incident he avoided to explain further. All he could tell me was that  he had an emotional explosion as a defense mechanism.

For the most part, he as aware of what was happening, but he couldn't control himself to stop shouting. This contrasts to the state of mind he has when he is depressed. When he is in the depression mood, he feels such low energy and sadness, to a point where he cannot move or do anything at all.  Well, maybe we all feel that way sometimes. However, the difference is, some can control the depression and motivate themselves again. This is definitely not the case for people who have bipolar disorder. 

The thing that hit me the most about this disorder, or any disorder, is that for many cases, it is a life time condition the person has to deal with. They might get better at some point, and might stay stable for two years or more, but the situation might come back again and usually does. Eva told me that this is the most difficult part of her job.  It is not the same as the doctor who deals with physical injuries, once they heal a patient they can move on to others.  Mental disorders can come back anytime, and its all very different in each specific case. The human mind is totally unpredictable and one's environment and upbringing can effect this a lot. However everyone there at the Phoenix Clubhouse were dealing with it positively and with hope.

I have much on my mind now after this visit.

The learning continues... 

-Haruka Ostley  (Sophie)