Today, 30 March 2015, is “World BiPolar Day”, held
on Vincent Van Gogh’s birthday because he is perhaps one of the most famous
BiPolar people in contemporary history. Van Gogh was known for his madness yet
exceptional artistic genius which is not uncommon among BiPolar people, his
“Starry Night” is among one of the most famous (and favorite) of all artistic
works. Van Gogh, sadly remembered for cutting his own ear off to give it to the
woman he loved (supposedly she said he wasn’t listening, so he gave her an ear)
but poor Vincent succumbed to his madness at a young age by his own hand. His
paintings will inspire people for generations, his crazy antics may be
remembered too, but he deserves to be honored with this very important day of
awareness, “World BiPolar Day” because if it were not for this unique mental
illness, the world would be a far less peaceful and beautiful world. How’s that,
because of crazy people the world is safer and more beautiful? Yes, that’s what
I said, think I’m crazy? You’re right, I’m pure 5150, but I’m also right.
There have been a lot of people throughout history
who were known for being a bit “mad” or “eccentric”, but before the early 20th
century, psychology was barely a science, let alone diagnosing any specific
type of mental illness. Were people less crazy? No, of course not, people have
always been crazy and some more than others, but it’s only in the last 100
years or so that we’ve documented and identified various components of the
mental illness puzzle. BiPolar disorder, for example, was one of the first
mental illness identified and it was simply called “manic/depression”. They
didn’t know of different types of manic/depression, just the observation of the
cycle of behavior. The patient would have periods of great energy, enthusiasm
and very focused, precise thoughts; this was mania. Then, at some point, the
patient would have an opposite disposition and be rather melancholy, morose and
even suicidal; this was depression. The early attempts of treatment were
barbaric by today’s standards but they included huge volts of electrical shocks
to the brain and complete frontal lobotomies. Some people tried religion to
have the demons exorcised and others just lived with it in silent suffering.
Over the years, as science grew more knowledgeable
and better at identifying the symptoms of what was “manic/depression”, they
came to realize that it isn’t always the combination of pure “mania” and pure
“depression” but very distinctive feelings attached to these polar opposite
feelings. For example, mania could easily become anger or rage; depression
could easily become self harm or even homicidal. The diagnosis was re-classified
as “BiPolar Disorder” with three distinctive types of this disorder; long term
cycles (last over weeks/months, even years); short term cycling (happens in a
day, an hour, a moment); and a third, mixed cycling process where the
individual has both kinds of episodes at the same time. They have determined
that there are some people who are more prone than others, typically if there’s
a family history of mental illness but no definitive genetic link yet. They
have determined that each person will experience this disorder in a different
way, although some similarities exists, each person feels the illness different
and so we react to it in our own unique ways. Likewise, with the advancement of
pharmaceutical products, there has been some limited success in treating the
mood swings directly and even more progress with medications to deal with the
symptoms of the illness; however, like this disease itself, each person has a
unique reaction or tolerance for various medications. What helps one person
with BiPolar can make another person with the very same illness feel awful, so
awful they commit suicide (because of the medication, not the disorder). The
current mantra is that BiPolar cannot be cured, it’s a lifetime affliction
which can only be managed. But that’s only science, they change their mind when
there is enough evidence to suggest otherwise (as I think is the case with this
disorder). Presently there is a lot of non-western techniques (meditation,
yoga, exercise, diet, herbal remedies) which seem to be effective for many
people and as a person who has been dealing with BiPolar since my teenage
years, I still have high hope for finding a solid balance inside my mind,
because, truth be known, I like being BiPolar, it’s like having a superpower!
But back to our most famous BiPolar Hero, Vincent
Van Gogh, do you know why I admire him so much? Aside from the brilliant body
of work he achieved, aside from the way he changed the world’s conception of
art, what I admire the most about Van Gogh is the fact that during his
lifetime, he only sold one painting (to a friend of his brother’s wife). That’s
what I admire, he died penniless, friendless, despised and shunned by his
community, but he kept on painting anyway. He painted quite madly, in fact, it
was what he did, it was who he was…an artist, above all, he was an artist. I
have always said to those who know me, those who ask me about my “Plan B” (I
don’t believe in Plan B), when people throughout my life have said, “But
d’Philip…what if this doesn’t work out? What if you don’t make it big? Then
what are you going to do?”
“Then,
like Van Gogh, I’ll die penniless and alone.” I always say, “I am a writer,
it’s who I am, it’s what I do!”
Vincent Van Gogh, however, is not the only very
famous person with BiPolar, for example, did you know both Abraham Lincoln and
Winston Churchill were also BiPolar? One of my favorite writers, Edgar Allen
Poe was BiPolar as was Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Charles Dickens, Ernest
Hemmingway, Sylvia Plath and Jack Kerouac. It’s true, as also was many of the
legendary great musicians like Wolfgang Mozart, George Gershwin, Jimi Hendrix
and John Lennon? But the most recognizable BiPolar Heroes are the many actors
you know…for example Robert Downey Jr. (my personal favorite), Jim Carrey, Ben
Stiller, Owen Wilson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Carrie Fischer, Patty Duke,
Jonathan Winters, Mel Gibson, Andy Kaufman and the late Robin Williams (who
lost his life to BiPolar symptoms). There are two positive conclusions from
this paragraph; the first is that BiPolar people can and do live normal,
productive lives that can lead to great success and the second conclusion is
that BiPolar people are EVRYWHERE around you. Yeah, it’s true…1 in 4 Americans
suffers a form of chronic mental illness, so which one of your friends,
co-workers, family members…or is it you…are BiPolar?
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| www.dphilipchalmers.net |
Lastly, I want to share two other items on World
BiPolar Day, both of them are blatant self-promotion, but I have an excuse; I’m
BiPolar and I sometimes never shut up about something I’m proud of having done.
Besides, I have contractual obligations to my publisher to promote this book so
because it’s “World BiPolar Day” my publisher, The Intrepid Editor Press, is
offering my latest book, “My BiPolar Reality; How Life Goes On…” for 50% OFF between
now and midnight April Fool’s Day (that somehow makes sense). This LIMITED
OFFER is available EXCLUSIVELY at my website, www.dphilipchalmers.net
and I’ll be happy to autograph each copy personally addressed to you! The
second offering, a new video presentation called “A Dialogue with d’Philip” is
available for viewing on my YouTube channel, The BiPolar Reality Channel, or,
if it’s easier, here’s a link:
As always, I am very Grateful your visit and comments,
I humbly ask that you share this blog article today, it can be like doing your
part to support “World BiPolar Day”, just keep re-sharing this article
everywhere you can…G+, Twitter, LinkedIn, even Facebook (be careful, Zuckerberg
hates me)! I do indeed hope all is well in your lives, please continue to take
good care of yourself, be healthy and well, stay safe and smile, be kind and
share Love when you can…until next week, my friends, Happy World BiPolar Day!
Peace,
d’Philip
30 March 2015
The San Joaquin Valley
Republic of California
Earth
