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i dont rly like discussing my b!polar shit on here anymore bc ppl be judging but since kanye seems to bring out the mental health expert in everyone, are y'all ready to talk about bipolar as a degenerative condition? bc i have the time
something i didn't learn until years after i was diagnosed: extreme shifts in mood physically damage the bipolar brain, resulting in the deterioration of the corpus callosum & frontal lobe (this mainly applies to bipolar 1 aka the Scary one)
there is tons of research on this & is pretty widely known in the scientific/medical community, but no one ever really seems to bother communicating this info to patients. you can google etc but this one is particularly solid https://www.dovepress.com/late-life-bipolar-disorder-evolving-into-frontotemporal-dementia-mimic-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-NDT
now. the no. 1 advice of any medical professional, & more importantly bipolar elders, is "take your fucking meds." i could go on a whole rant about how uniquely shitty med-focused treatment practices for bipolar are - but separate thing lol
but point being ya gotta take your meds. however. most patients don't realize that the REAL reason meds are so imperative isn't *just* to stabilize you day-to-day. it's to protect your brain from physical damage over time
when you're young & bipolar, nothing can get in the way of your belief in your own invincibility, & it's really easy to convince yourself you don't need meds bc they're too limiting. (and for a while you can even kind of get away w it)
but that comes at a cost, & over time the damage starts to show. there is a clear difference between a medicated vs unmedicated bipolar patient. the longer you go w/o meds, the more your brain function deteriorates & this becomes apparent to the ppl around you
it's especially difficult for the creatively inclined bc the majority of bipolar meds are literally chemical lobotomies - antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, basically v old school drugs that were not created w the wellbeing of the patient in mind; they're more abt subduing u
kanye is 43 years old, and at that point.... it's not *just* a manic episode. it's decades of compounded brain damage, which exacerbates everything else bipolar comes with, including psychosis, delusions, etc. it all just gets worse the longer u wait
it's really not as simple as "the kardashians can afford it" - y'all gotta understand there's no "fixing" it. bipolar is categorically untreatable, & it becomes more of a challenge the longer u leave it unchecked. most was of "managing it" leave the patient miserable
it's also not as simple as "seeing a psychiatrist & taking meds." i tried at least 15 different meds over several years & only got my life back when i was approved for an experimental form of treatment not yet approved by the FDA. most aren't that lucky
there are a myriad of depression & anxiety meds on the market bc developing those drugs is a profitable enterprise. not so much for bipolar, bc there's less financial incentive to research & develop drugs only marketable to < 3% of the population
so most bipolar ppl get stuck w off label solutions that aren't even designed to treat them specifically. understand that for the majority, "meds" are high risk & low/zero reward - & common SSRIs are actually a danger
and most insurances won't cover the ridiculous costs of drugs like vraylar (the ONLY drug to ever be marketed to bipolar patients, which was introduced only 2 years ago) - a 30 day supply can easily exceed $1000
this is also why y'all gotta stop drawing parallels between AnXiEtY & DePrEsSiOn, and bipolar. no one is afraid of y'all, your diagnosis won't be a reason you lose a job or get ostracized by your community. we are not the same.
stigma vs depression & anxiety is not inscribed into the writ of law on the basis of "rational fear." if you're bipolar & want to buy a gun or get a pilots license, too fucking bad - you're a designated liability
speaking out in defense of kanye during these times does not constitute activism. justifying his politics with "well he's manic lol" does not mean you have not done meaningful anti-stigma work. are you genuinely advocating for bipolar people, or are you simply pro-kanye?
bc that's the thing. you're all down for Talking About Mental Health until it makes you uncomfortable, until it's no longer fun and relatable. conditioning your advocacy on performed stability misses the point
bipolar people do not owe you mania-fueled works of genius in order to earn your respect. yes, bipolar people are highly capable of creating amazing things - but lauding that while villainizing the less flattering parts is simply not it
and for the record... the state of the TL rn is precisely why most bipolar people keep a VERY tight lid on that information lol
if you aren't ready to support the parts of madness that make you uncomfortable, you're not ready to be a part of this conversation. when it gets ugly, sometimes the wisest thing you can do is mind your business.
lastly - bc for some reason this still needs to be said - a mental disorder is absolutely never a reason *anybody* gets to avoid accountability. period, full stop, the end. crazy people are still responsible for themselves & their actions
