Blog Name:	J. C Larkin's Blog
Url:	http://jclarkin.wordpress.com/
Language:	English
Topics:	Bipolar, depression, mental health
Description:	REMOVING THE STIGMA - J. C. Larkin’s Blog - Chronicles of Bipolar- Schizoaffective Man - This is an ongoing account of the messy goings-on of a bipolar/schizoaffective exurban man; his struggles with career, mental health and his manifold relationships, divorces, and adventures in child-parent dynamics. In the hope of giving those who read a better understanding of the illness that is bipolar/schizoaffective disorder, I hope to shed some light into the dark areas of ignorance concerning this disorder and in so doing, help to remove some of the stigma surrounding it. Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adults in the United States, the median age of onset is 25 years of age, or, as in my case, onset can occur as late as the 30s to 50s. It affects men and women equally and is found in all races, ethnic groups and social classes. It should be noted that of all psychiatric illnesses, bipolar disorder has the highest death rate, with 25% of sufferers either succeeding in taking their own lives, or losing their lives to substance abuse. The point of this blog is really to help me to deal with the illness as therapy and to hopefully remove some of the stigma surrounding this disease and other mental illnesses. That is why I have chosen not to do this blog using a pseudonym and hide behind the convenient (and somewhat cowardly) veil of internet anonymity. I’m choosing to do this largely to illustrate that people who are well-schooled, well read, intelligent- I’m a published author who speaks and reads two languages- can be afflicted with this disease can hope to more or less successfully manage it. Like diabetes or high blood pressure, bipolar disorder is a disease which requires lifelong care and supervision. Bipolar disorder is not just for the homeless and the”crazy” or an “affectation” of attention-hungry celebrities; it is a real physiological illness which affects the life of the sufferer in all too tangible ways. I am under constant psychiatric care and am on a sometimes frighteningly large number and amount of medications. My life is the messy patchwork of fractured relationships and irregular employment that is characteristic of mental illness. It is extraordinarily difficult to lead a “normal” and conventional life when it is all predicated and contingent upon one’s unpredictable day-to-day mental stability. The misunderstanding of my disorder can be felt in a myriad of ways. Socially, I feel forced in some ways to be withdrawn from friends and former friends who lack a thorough understanding of what the disease is and isn’t. In terms of employment- it interferes with every aspect of work- concentration, stamina and thought processing. I sincerely hope that in reading my posts you may gain some useful insights that may help to change your attitudes about the disease . Please leave me a message; I can use the connectivity.
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