Based off of my awesome friend Cara Liebowitz's equivalent written work for our shared disorder of cerebral palsy and inspired by "Slut Like You" by Pink.
Please understand that just because someone is "moody" does not give you the right to say that they are bipolar, especially as a demeaning remark, cruel joke, or insult. Not even everyone who is prone to frequent fluctuations in mood is bipolar. People with bipolar have to have two main types of mood swings that are very specific. These mood swings are called depression and mania or hypomania. For all mental disorders, the American Psychiatric Association based in Arlington, Virginia puts out revisions of a huge manual called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (or simply the DSM or the "psychiatric Bible") about every ten years. The current version is the DSM IV-TR, and the fifth edition of the DSM is schedule to be released in May of this year. My point being is this: the DSM has very concrete criteria so they make sure that psychiatrists don't go all willy nilly saying that everyone who gets a little bit moody from time to time is bipolar or everyone who talks out loud to themselves is schizophrenic and so on and so on.
Please understand that all of us know what it's like to have normal moods, just not continuously. Part of the criteria for all types of bipolar is that the mood episodes are markedly different from the person's normal mood and functioning.
Please understand that telling people to "snap out of it", "get a grip, pick themselves up by their bootstraps", or "stop feeling sorry for themselves" won't help anything and often times, it will make it much worse. Remember, mental illnesses are caused by deficiencies and/or surpluses of important brain chemicals such as serotonin, GABA, neuroepinephrine, dopamine, and many more. Brain structure also is thought to play a key role. And even in non-biochemical cases such as adjustment disorders, they cannot just simply get rid of it. Leave that to the psychotherapist, who, if good at their job, will help their patients develop better coping mechanisms instead of just leaving them with nothing to lean on.
Please understand that depression is not just about being excessively sad and that mania is not just about being excessively happy. Although these are the main features of the two mood states/episodes, depression and mania also are about how capable or incapable a person is with energy, ability to concentrate, ability to carry out day-to-day activities, sleep, appetite, and even sex drive. Therefore, criteriation E states that these fluctuations have to be severe enough to impact social, occupational, and/or academic functioning. Mania can also manifest itself in irritability.
Please understand the transition from mania to depression. You may feel frustrated with the fact that the things that were mentioned in the above paragraph went off the deep end. Guess what? We think it's sucky and confusing even more than you do.
Please understand that you do not have the right to call me an emo freak or a slutty bitch. Sure, depression may make me a [temporary] "emo freak" with my morbidity and self-harm, just like mania make me a [temporary] slutty bitch. But thoughts of death and morbidity and irritability and increase in sex drive are clinical and diagnostic features for depression and mania. That these are again, due to chemical imbalances in our brains. Also, just for the record, I am still a virgin, thank you very much.
Please understand more than anything else on this ENTIRE list that we are normal people who are just a little more "emotionally action-packed" than the general population. That we try so hard just to get through the day. That we are good people and most of us do not suffer from psychopathy and therefore, most of us will not murder people.
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