World Bipolar Day: “Awareness needs to be raised in society about our disorder”

Marked each year on March 30, World Bipolar Day (WBD) is a world-wide awareness initiative that aims to encourage global education, open discussion, as well as improving sensitivity surrounding bipolar disorder.

As many as 1% to 2% of the British population experience bipolar through their lives and recent research suggested as many as 5% are on the bipolar spectrum.

A severe mental health illness characterised by significant mood swings including manic highs and depressive lows, the majority of individuals with bipolar experience alternating episodes of mania and depression. more

How to tell if someone is having mental health issues

I recently noticed my colleague’s change in behaviour over the past year. For the last nine years that I have known her, she was a happy and well-adjusted person whom the other team members looked up to as ‘big sister’. People went to her for advice. But this year, she has been having bizarre and erratic behaviour swings. What is strange is that when she is unhappy, she will tell you that she is sad, but she will be wearing a happy smile. I find this very odd, especially when she has never been like this in the past.

There are many causes for a sudden or gradual change in behaviour in a person you know well. more

13 Facts Everyone Should Know About Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is an often profoundly misunderstood mental health condition commonly conflated with bipolar disorder. In reality, it’s an entirely different mental illness. Take a few minutes to read the facts below and better understand borderline personality disorder, along with the people who live with it.

1. Borderline personality disorder often causes symptoms like extreme mood shifts and uncertainty in how a person views themselves and others. more

Former teammates paint disturbing picture of Aaron Hernandez in Patriots locker room

Hernandez a headache for Brady

It didn’t even matter if Hernandez caused problems for Brady.

Lloyd told The Globe about an incident involving New England’s five-time Super Bowl winning quarterback.

“(Hernandez) was out at the walkthrough in flip-flops trying to run around,” Lloyd said. “He was laughing. He was loud. And Tom keeps it serious in the walkthrough. And Tom says, ‘Shut the f— up. Get the f— out of here.”

Hernandez did not respond well to Brady’s demands.

“It was like he went from this child-like, laughing, disruptive behavior and he storms off in a fit of rage,” Lloyd said.

Mood swings

Lloyd painted a picture of an erratic Hernandez who would shift gears from macho and angry to sensitive and insecure.

“There would be swings where he’d be the most hyper-masculine, aggressive individual in the room, where he’d be ready to fight somebody in fits of rage,” Lloyd said. “Or he’d be the most sensitive person in the room, talking about cuddling with his mother. Or he’d ask me, ‘Do you think I’m good enough to play?’”

The Globe noted that Hernandez suffered multiple brain injuries and went on to play the week after a concussion, his second documented brain injury. more

Sports and Mental Illness: How Bipolar Disorder Can Affect Athletic Performance

In the past, many of my rounds of golf concluded with a broken club.

Bipolar disorder is a physical disease of the brain affecting the thoughts, feelings, perception, and behavior of the afflicted.

The name “bipolar” stems from the nature of the illness. The moods of a person suffering from bipolar disorder typically range from euphoria to despondence, at times random, or at times triggered by an action or event.

This oscillation between extreme mood states, commonly called “mood swings,” is indeed abnormal and can be dangerous to the life of a person with bipolar disorder.

Bipolars are, at the least, annoying to those close to the them. The mood swings influence the person’s inability to live in the real world and make wise real world decisions. more