It’s World Bipolar Day! - The DV Walking Wounded

SOURCE: https://www.worldbipolarday.org/

I honor this day, because I honor ALL with mental illness, but mainly because I have a family member with Bipolar Affective Disorder and a few friends too. We should not fear what we don’t understand at all…we need to find out more and arm ourselves with information so we can support our friends and family. 💜

So, basically, World Bipolar Day is like this global awareness day for bipolar disorder, right? It all started in 2014 when some folks from the International Bipolar Foundation, the Asian Network of Bipolar Disorder, and the International Society for Bipolar Disorders teamed up to shine a light on bipolar and reduce stigma. They chose March 30 because it’s Vincent Van Gogh’s birthday, and he’s believed to have had bipolar disorder. So, every year since then, folks around the world come together on March 30 to talk about bipolar, spread awareness, and support those living with it. Cool, huh?

What’s even cooler is that one of my favorite paintings, Starry Night, was supposedly painted during a mixed episode. According to the Museum of Modern Art, Van Gogh painted “The Starry Night” in June 1889 while he was staying at the Saint-Paul asylum in Saint-Rémy, southern France, as a means of finding relief from his persistent depression. The painting captures both his immediate surroundings, as seen from his window overlooking the countryside, and the deep-seated memories and emotions that these scenes stirred within him. Who says that good things cannot come from a person with bipolar affective disorder?

Well, society seems to think of bipolar disorder as a negative affliction. It is a means that can be tempered with the right mix of treatments. Never assume the worst! NEVER! Think of where Van Gogh would have been, had he had the right support? Well, I do believe that he would have still have both of his ears intact. It’s not completely clear, but experts believe that he was either battling with bipolar affective disorder or borderline personality disorder, with some throwing in schizoaffective disorder. Due to everything I’ve read, and I’m not a psychiatrist or therapist, but I feel he leaned more toward bipolar affective disorder (although not sure on if Type 1 or Type 2). I do applaud him, though. Even though those three particular disorders were not well understood (or differentiated) in his time, as they were both characterized as “circular insanity” during this time period, I do think Van Gogh did the best he could in seeking treatment — despite his loner status.

Want to read more about this? Read the book, Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum by Martin Bailey. Available at Amazon or your local library.