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By Yael Geffen, CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty and passionate mental health advocate
Every year on March 30, World Bipolar Day provides a moment for us all to join together in solidarity around the goals of increasing awareness, acceptance and funding for this illness.
It also commemorates the birthday of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, whose mental condition mirrored his brilliance, and for me that perfectly encapsulates the condition we now call bipolar disorder.
For many, it probably comes as a surprise to learn that Van Gogh was bipolar as this condition is still very misunderstood (and maligned) today, but it’s by no means a new issue and was, in fact, first identified in ancient Greece with the first reference thought to be found in Hippocrates’ medical work.
Although lack of education is certainly a key factor for the misunderstanding and misperceptions surrounding bipolar disorder, I believe that this is also due to the two reasons that make the condition difficult to diagnose and to live with:
- Bipolar disorder comes with other ailments
Because it doesn’t just cause mental issues but also causes physical symptoms such as spasms, migraines, and metabolic abnormalities, it can take a while to correctly diagnose as patients often consult their doctors about the physical manifestations – or they may even choose to ignore the physical symptoms.
- It is different for everyone
Much like fingerprints, no two bipolar illnesses are exactly the same and not only can diagnoses vary significantly, it makes prescribing therapy even more challenging.
According to Bipolar UK, bipolar is one of the UK’s most common long-term conditions with almost as many people living with bipolar as cancer yet it takes an average of nine years to get a correct diagnosis of bipolar and there is a misdiagnosis an average of 3.5 times.
These are concerning statistics and, when you add to that people’s reluctance to seek treatment for mental health issues or to even accept them, one begins to understand the problem.
Personally, I never ever believed in depression – or any mental illness really – as I was convinced that it’s all in the mind and that your mind has the ability to conquer almost anything, so when I first experienced the darkness of the disease, I was terrified.
It was 2002 and I had just moved to New York City where at first I made my way doing odd jobs but I didn’t care because I was living my dream in the greatest city in the world.
So, when I landed a full-time job as a receptionist at an animation studio a year later, I should have been overjoyed but, instead, I suddenly fell into a dark hole; a slump so deep that I didn’t want to get out of bed.
I felt so hopeless that at one point while I was waiting for the A train on the subway, I heard a voice inside my head saying “jump in front of the train Yael”.
I was really scared as I had never felt this way before (both physically and emotionally)and rather than give in to my instinct to wait and see, I sought help and that probably saved my life.
That said, it also opened my eyes to general public perceptions of this illness and I can strongly identify with one particular statistic from Bipolar UK: that 90% of people with bipolar had told their employer about their condition but 24% of them regretted making that decision
A couple of years after my diagnosis, I was let go at an advertising agency in Los Angeles because I confided in them when I’d had a relapse and that the new medication had slowed me down to a blur where I couldn’t think properly.
I swiftly went from being their “best asset” to a liability and within a month I was jobless. It was cruel and heartless and if that happened today, I would have taken them to court. Mental illness should be in the same category as any other medical condition like diabetes or an autoimmune disease. Yet it’s not.
I came out about my condition publicly last year because I had become so sick and tired of the stigma and the lack of knowledge and support for those suffering with this condition. Because bipolar disorder doesn’t only affect the person who has it, their families and friends are also in crisis and receive very little (if any) support.
We have to talk about it more, we have to help amazing people feel safe and able to open up and choose to stay in this world. Because there is significant research that points out that people who experience these conditions are not only brilliant minds but also the best leaders because they have compassion and empathy.
Guess what Einstein, Churchill, Heath Ledger, Hemingway and Selena Gomez all have in common – mental illness!
My message to those out there who are silently suffering and to the families with loved ones trying to cope with the condition is that it’s definitely not as bleak as you imagine it to be and once you start to talk about it, it becomes much clearer and easier to handle.
Find the resources, establish an SOS help group you can reach out to and – most importantly – learn to accept yourself because this is your brilliant burden and the reason why you are unique, awesome, real and empathetic to others.
Remember that the condition doesn’t define you, it’s what’s happening to you and even the darkest times shall pass.
Yes, living with bipolar disease can certainly be challenging at times but, as Van Gogh said, “The beginning is perhaps more difficult than anything else, but keep heart; it will turn out all right.”