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Hi,
How’s it going? I have something rather
interesting to tell you today about
bipolar disorder.
It all started yesterday when I went to
the movies to see Halloween.
You might not be familiar with Halloween
the movie but basically to make a long,
story short.
It’s about a killer named Michael Myers
who goes around killing people during Halloween.
He does it during Halloween because of something
bad that happen in his childhood.
Anyway, the movie first came out in 1978 or so.
There have been like 8 sequels or so since that
maybe 7 or maybe 9. Not sure.
Anyway they came out with a new movie that
was a “do over” of the first Halloween.
So my friend Rob bought the first Halloween
and we watched that and then went to see
the new one.
The new one was suppose to explain why
the main character Michael Myers is a
killer.
I don’t want to ruin it for you if
you are going but basically his
psychiatrist says that Michael has
internal mental functioning that has
a predisposition towards being a psychopath
or having anti social personality disorder,
combined with external events and
triggers that combine to make into a
cold blooded killer.
I think that means that he basically had
the genes of anti social personality disorder
and external events caused his disorder
to manifest itself.
During the movie they show Michael as a
young kid who is sent to a “sanitarium”
the old school name of a mental hospital.
In there, there is a psychiatrist assigned
to his case that simply performs what looks
like “talk therapy” on him for 15 years.
When he has to leave they give him tons
and tons of medication that make him unable
to function.
During the 15 years, Michael is deemed “treatment
resistant”–meaning there is no treatment
that appears to work on him.
Eventually he escapes the hospital and then
goes out on a killing spree.
Anyway, if you like horror movies it’s a good
one.
I am bringing this up today for a few reasons.
First, I had some friends ask if people with
bipolar disorder are like Michael Myers?
Again I am no doctor and can’t diagnose anyone
but based on my knowledge of mental illness,
Michael Myers, if he were a real person would
have anti social personality disorder which is
DIFFERENT from bipolar disorder.
Those with antisocial personality disorder have
characteristics like:
·failure to conform to social norms with
respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by
repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
·deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying,
use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit
or pleasure
·impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
·irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated
by repeated physical fights or assaults
·reckless disregard for safety of self or others
·consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated
failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor
financial obligations
·lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent
to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or
stolen from another
When you hear of serial killers or mass murders these
individuals generally based on what I read have
anti social personality disorder.
With bipolar disorder, this is a disorder that can
be managed, there are treatments for and people
can go out an lead productive lives.
So I told my friend “no.”
If you are struggling with bipolar disorder or
have a loved one with bipolar disorder, always remember
there are lots of people who were NOT doing well
and eventually found their way and developed a system
to manage the disorder.
In my courses/systems:
SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11
SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com
HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net
You hear countless stories of people who
have been at the bottom and eventually made their
way back up to become productive and successful.
The other thing interesting in the movie is how
there was only one treatment–talk therapy. They
didn’t seem to try a combination of things. But
based on my understanding of antisocial personality
disorder, there aren’t too many things that can work.
Well I am off to go to the gym. Catch you tomorrow.
Your Friend,
Dave
P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp
P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/
P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com
halloween happens to be my most holy sabbet of the year,so you see that movie has no impact or intrest to me what so ever. I call it Samhain.I celebrate it with a feast and prayer meditation.That movie is nothing more than a mockery of my beliefs and emotions.
There are a lot of anti-social folks these days. In fact, most of us encounter them on a daily basis, we just may not know it until they come after us.
Yesterday, while working in Movie Gallery, I had an experience that I’d be glad to share, but what I’d really like to drive home is this: God loves each and everyone of us, even the “nasties”. We have to remember that!
Our son, who is 36 years old, has come to live with us after a psychiatrist in the court system of Washington gave a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. Through his teens and 20’s we had difficulties with him completing school work and deep feelings of self hate he always verbalized when he could not succeed at school and friends. Anyway, through the years, drug and alcohol abuse was a horrible problem. He could go 2 years or so with productivity in life with AA, work, the military and then he would be in trouble. He was on lithium for over a year with horrible side effects and he quit. I realized it when I noted his severe tremors were gone and the upset stomach and excessive thirst. He went into a horrible mania that lasted weeks, 2 visits to ER, and finally Depakote. Anyway, he behaved horribly, and the MWSW in the crisis center kept referring to his “antisocial” personality. I could not disagree with her, he scared me, but not my husband. My husband (his father) has vowed to help our son with whatever it takes. We have the son we know back, thank god. But letting go of that horribly verbal abusive person he was for a month is hard to forget. I guess what I am saying is though he does not apologize for what he said and did, I hold hope he will, some day. I do know he has said over and over in the past “something is wrong with me!” I love him, and I am trying to trust him but it is very hard. We are isolated from society, at this time. People don’t understand it is a chemical imbalance of the brain, not a weakness of personality or “poor parenting”. I get very angry with family and friends who always make statements of “well he never liked to do his work”. I now know why my mother and aunt acted so bizarre in life, I know they have bipolar. They were horribly narcissistic in their behavior and verbally abusive to the family, but they always worked and kept their jobs. I now know why I felt like I was Alice in
Wonderland at the madhatter tea party! I am trying. It is hard.s
Well, if horror movies like “Halloween” can get “normal” people to understand the difference between antisocial personality disorder and bipolar disorder, then I guess it’s served its purpose.
The stigma surrounding mental illness has plagued those suffering with it since the dawn of time. APD IS scary, especially when presented as a cold-blooded, remorseless, horrible serial killer. It makes it that much more difficult to explain that bipolars are NOT, as a norm, potential murderers.
I don’t know that the public can make this distinction, especially in light of the presentation of “talk therapy” in a sanitarium being the ONLY treatment given to the protagonist of a horror movie. Essentially, because this is a pre-quel, and may have happened some 20 years ago, talk therapy COMBINED with medications may NOT have been considered in his case. Personally, I would have recommended electro-shock therapy for someone in as bad a case as he.
Hopefully, this movie will have people talking about the difference, and realizing that bipolars, like myself, are basically benign, and when they have a treatment plan, as set forth by Dave’s emails, we can live a basically “normal” life.
Other than what I’ve mentioned above, mental illness will REMAIN a stigma in our society, until, and unless scary movies DON’T picture killers as being “mentally ill.”