In my presentation I plan on using pictures of celebrities that are open about their bipolar diagnosis, such as actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. I will also include pictures of deceased celebrities that showed multiple signs and symptoms of the disorder, such as late musician Kurt Cobain and actress Marilyn Monroe. 

“Bipolar Celebrities: Does it Make Them More Creative.” Health. Health Media   Ventures. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.

Post 10

Having not finished the full seven pages of the proposal in my draft version, the first step in improving my paper will be to add several more paragraphs that expand on how we might further remove the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder. I have yet to mention the idea that high schools might have a required class or seminar talking about the realities of mental disorder. 

In regards to editing and revising what is already written, there are several things I would like to improve upon/ change.

1. I will add more sources and include more citations

2. I plan on going into more detail regarding what questions should be asked when speaking with a person diagnosed with bipolar disorder. 

3. I will expand upon how people might help to rid themselves of preconceived notions regarding mental disorders.

4. I will give more specific examples of how people shame those with mental disorders so that we might avoid them. 

5. I will go more in depth about the biology of mental disorders. 

Lastly, I will improve upon grammar trying as a whole to improve the entire structure and flow of the paper. 

blog 7

The problem I wrote about in my argument of fact is in relation to the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder. In this blog post I will present three possible solutions to the problem and talk about the pros and cons of each. 

Solution 1.

I think one solution for getting rid of the stigma that is associated with bipolar disorder could be for prominent public figures with bipolar disorder to express to the public the realities of their disorder. If we remove the fear associated with the disorder we can start to remove the stigma. The public needs to be more informed about the ins and outs of the disorder, and in our society the public usually listens to people like actors or musicians. The pros of this solution are that many different outlets could talk about a public figures stance on the disorder. A con might be that an actor may not be as well informed about the medical aspects of the disorder. The appeal of this solution is widespread coverage since famous faces are typically listened to by the general public although people might object to what is being said if they are not particularly fond of the person sharing the information.

Solution 2. 

Another solution for removing the stigma associated with bipolar disorder is for the country to provide medication to the mentally ill at a great cost reduction or even for free. Many of the problems that arise from mental disorders such as bipolar disorder are because the patient does not have the funds or opportunities to pay for medication. Medication is a large part of maintaining mood and sanity for those diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A pro for this solution is that many people that can not afford medication will be provided for and may become a more functioning member of society. A con would be a large loss of money from pharmaceutical companies for giving out medication for free. Maybe a system could be developed for low cost production of mental disorder medication. The appeal of this solution is far more people could have access to the medication needed to live a functioning life. I think pharmaceutical companies would object to this solution due to a lack of profit. 

Solution 3. 

The final solution for removing stigma surrounding bipolar disorder could be to have a required class in high school addressing and teaching students about mental disorders they may encounter later in life. Disorders like depression, mania and bipolar disorder can be covered to teach students about the facts of the disorders so they know the realities of the patients and what they experience. If students are made aware of what life is like for patients they may be more understanding and accepting of the symptoms that come with the disorder. A pro of this solution is that everyone would be more aware of the facts behind the disorders but a con is that students may not see the benefit of having the class as a requirement. If it's not a requirement, I doubt many students would volunteer for the class because it may not be particularly exciting to them. The appeal of the solution is more knowledge to more people at an age where most disorders begin to affect people. People might object to this idea because it might lack solid educational benefits other than fact relaying. 

Argument of Fact

In my argument of fact I hope to clear the misconceptions of Bipolar Disorder. We live in a society today that generally seems to perceive Bipolar Disorder as "craziness". I feel like when someone mentions Bipolar Disorder, or any emotional disorder for that matter, people automatically assume that the person in question is in control of how they act and feel but choose to display symptoms out of laziness. The idea that people should "just stop being sad" when they are experiencing depression is a common thought for the general public. In my experience living with Bipolar Disorder I've found that people don't necessarily think this way out of spite, but are instead misinformed about the severity of the condition. I hope to clear away as much stigma as I can to help better inform the public about the basic ins and outs of Bipolar Disorder and that we are capable of living a life without falling into the label of "psycho".

I'm not sure that I'm providing any "new" information per se, but information that isn't known to the general public. The only people that seem to be educated on mental or emotional disorders, like Bipolar Disorder, are the ones that have either been diagnosed or the ones caring for them. It's a stretch to assume that every person should know everything about every disorder, but it's not impossible to think that everyone could obtain at least enough knowledge to respect and understand that disorders of the brain are real issues and not to be thrown out as "they just aren't trying hard enough".

The issues surrounding Bipolar Disorder seem to be unknown in the sense that people don't know they are doing anything when they make assumptions or judge someone based on a diagnosis alone. It's also fairly apparent, at least to me, that throwing the word "bipolar" around has in a sense almost become like using the word "retarded" out of context. People don't think they are in the wrong because it doesn't feel wrong. Our society is so misinformed that most people go uncorrected when they use the word "bipolar" in a negative or derogatory sense.

My hypothesis is that, with the right amount of straightforward information, I can educate my audience in the realities of Bipolar Disorder. I hope to remove stigma while simultaneously giving them a glimpse into the life of someone with Bipolar Disorder. I will use facts such as percentages of how many people are actually dealing with Bipolar Disorder and how many go untreated because they are afraid of the stigma surrounding it. The fact that one in 22 people will be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder tends to surprise most people, and I hope to change that. I will also address the issue of how imperative it is that we remove this stigma by revealing the facts of how many people with this disorder fail to ever live a "normal" productive life. By showing the numbers and results of experiments done specifically to observe stigma and life after and before diagnosis, I hope to make the situation more real and tangible to the audience. Lastly, after I bring the hidden but easily teachable realities of Bipolar Disorder into the light, I hope to educate my audience on the treatment of the disorder and how they may be able to help.

The facts I still need are less apparent to me currently, because I've had no difficulty finding the facts I have in the present. I'm at a point where I have all the facts that I've sought to find so I'm not looking for anything specific. I understand that there are a significant amount of facts that I still lack that may be appropriate for my argument but I'm not quite sure what they are or how they'll be presented. One fact I may seek out is rise the or fall of how many people have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder over the last ten to fifteen years. Is it more common now, and if so, why?

Number Four. Summaries for days.

In my research and journey in finding sources to use in my annotated bibliography, and eventually my research paper, I've found three different articles in scientific journals that greatly help in the quest of learning more about my topic.

The first article is titled "Perceptions of Supportive Behavior By Young Adults With Bipolar Disorder". In the article the authors mention that one in every 22 people are effected by Bipolar Disorder and of those 22 people, roughly one fifth of them will commit suicide. I learned more statistic facts like the suicide rate of people with Bipolar Disorder is 28 times higher than the rest of the population. But more importantly, I learned that there are huge changes in quality of life when those who have been diagnosed perceive themselves to have a solid support system. The authors intentions were to examine support methods and track what the sufferers found to be beneficial. I was surprised to learn that a huge part of coping is simply how one perceives themselves and their relative support groups.

In the second article titled, "Effects, Experiences, And Impact of Stigma on Patients with Bipolar Disorder", the authors give surveys to those effected with Bipolar Disorder in an attempt to find out what they thought about how social stigma effects their lives and how they assume society perceives them. I learned that over 50% of those with Bipolar Disorder think that society looks upon them in a negative light. The authors found that sufferers assumed the stigma to be so apparent that it affected their self esteem and figured it made it harder for them to live in a normal world. The only thing I wish I had in regards to this article is a higher amount of people in the test. But in retrospect, I was happy to see that tests were done in two separate countries, Argentina and Canada, and then compared to one another. This shows that Bipolar Disorder has stigma that reaches beyond the shores of our own country.

The third article came from the Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and is titled "Family Care Giving in Bipolar Disorder: Experiences of Stigma". In this article, the authors delved into the lives of those who care for people with Bipolar Disorder. I was surprised to find that most care givers, which mainly consisted of family members, were effected by stigma just as much, if not more, than the people they were caring for. Many care givers spoke about the fear they had in speaking about Bipolar Disorder and assumed people would think they were crazy or unfit for society. It was interesting to learn about how families are effected by their loved one's disorder and how it can actually have a negative effect on their lives as well.

I believe there are a few holes in my research up to this point in the areas specific to how these negative stigmas are effecting diagnosis and whether or not people are willing to seek a diagnosis, and therefore a treatment to their illness. I believe the stigma is apparent enough to effect peoples decisions and thoughts of Bipolar Disorder but I've yet to find an article about the exact correlation. I expect to find more information in articles of scientific journals provided by our library. I just have to narrow my search terms and dig deeper into the database.

Blog #3

I've looked into some sources regarding my topic of Bipolar Disorder in reference to what society's perception of it is and how it effects diagnosis. In my search for sources some of the key words I used were "Bipolar Disorder", of course, but I also narrowed the search down by including the words "perception" and "diagnosis". Using these modifiers helped to narrow the search quite a bit and made the number of sources a little less daunting. But still there are several thousand articles regarding Bipolar Disorder. I'm not necessarily overwhelmed by the amount of sources, in fact, I'm sort of glad there are so many different places to learn about the disorder because I feel like I'll probably have an easy time finding different studies with a wide variety of opinions and information. 

Most of the approaches I've found in regards to Bipolar Disorder are those addressing the facts of the situation. By facts I mean statistic type studies like for example the number of Bipolar people in America. But I also found quite a few sources that focus on the symptoms of Bipolar Disorder and how it's being treated. 

I sorted through the sources without much discipline or guideline. I avoided articles with titles similar to the ones I had previously opened and kept an open mind throughout, doing my best to pay attention to anything I had yet to read. Everything can be useful, it's just matter of finding out how to use it. 

I did not actually learn much new information in regards to my topic, but that's only because I myself am Bipolar so I already know quite a bit about it.

The fun begins

Well I'm back. Back with a topic that I hope keeps me interested for the rest of the semester. It's a big commitment having to choose one thing to write and research about until the end of school. Let's hope I don't get cold feet..

My topic has to do with Bipolar Disorder. More specifically, I'm interested in society's perception of Bipolar Disorder and how it effects diagnosis and those who have already been diagnosed. In my search for an answer, there are several questions I have to ask myself:

What is society's perception of mental health in general?

• How do people view diagnosis and getting diagnosed?
• What do they think about treatment?
• Are their opinions negative or positive?
• Why?

How do people perceive Bipolar Disorder specifically?

• What do they know?
• What do they assume?
• How do they react to finding out someone they know has been diagnosed as Bipolar?
• How do they react when they themselves have been diagnosed Bipolar?
• Why do they react this way? What makes them react this way? Are they scared? Why?

Can one still lead a successful life as a Bipolar individual?

• Why is it important to be diagnosed?
• Should they take medication?
• Why or why not?
• What's life like on/off medication?
• Can you ever get off the medication?
• Who has made a name for themselves on/off medication?
• Why did they decide to get on or stay off medication?

Facts

• How many Americans are Bipolar?
• Are they Bipolar 1 or 2?
• How many take medication?
• What medication? What does it do? 
• Are there alternate forms of therapy?
• What are they? How effective are they?

I feel like my topic is important because, in my opinion, there is still a significantly large portion of the country that still views mental health disorders as taboo. We can take medication or receive therapy for any part of our body without worrying about social stigma but as soon as one mentions that they need medication for their brain, doors close and fear of the unknown comes creeping in. Many diagnosed patients keep their disorders secret. I've never been one to hide and I don't think other people should have to hide either. It's time for us to quit with the assumptions and face the facts. Mental and emotional disorders are treatable and nothing to fear. 

I am researching Bipolar Disorder because I want to find out how society views it and how those views effect diagnosis and those who have already been diagnosed in order to help readers understand that Bipolar Americans aren't "crazy". We're just a little different.