Bipolar disorder (Rob Bennett, Nathaniel Brooks, Steven Kagan, Jeffrey Sauger, Brendan Smialowski, Lori Waselchuk for The New York Times)
I have long admired the bravery and selflessness of patients who are willing to tell their personal health stories. Today, “Patient Voices,” created by my colleague Karen Barrow, gives a voice to bipolar disorder, featuring nine courageous people who share their own stories of diagnosis, treatment, struggle and acceptance.
You’ll meet 42-year-old Carter Goodwin of Beacon, N.Y., whose honesty about his disease will move you. “I miss the mania,” said Mr. Goodwin, an artist. “I love the mania. It feels so good to feel like I can do anything and like there is something really special about me. But it’s all chemical. It’s not true.”
And there’s Jacqueline Castine of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., who talks of “coming to the very end of myself” before she was diagnosed at the age of 57 with bipolar disorder. Sadly, Ms. Castine’s son also suffered from mental illness, and killed himself.
“I could not save him,” she said. “I could not fix him. He leaves a beautiful daughter and a very sad mother.”
And there’s Victoria Maxwell, 41, from Vancouver, British Columbia, who talks about the challenges she faced while dating and deciding whether to disclose her illness.
“I really wrestled with when do you tell somebody,” said Ms. Maxwell, who is now married. “Generally speaking I would let them get to know who I am, and if they didn’t like me for me, I couldn’t chalk it up to having bipolar disorder.”
Whether your life has been touched by mental illness or not, you will find the stories shocking, heartbreaking and hopeful. To hear the voices of bipolar disorder, click here.
And please, share your comments below.