[paddym22]

This is the definitive TV series about BI Polar Disorder presented by the actor Stephen Fry who is himself Bi Polar. It is a great resource and something you can show your family and friends to educate them more what it is like to live with this illness. I hope you find it useful

Paddy

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...pressive&uni=1

[amaviena]

Thank you for posting this more clearly than I did. I've shared this with my family and I'm waiting to see if they actually watch it. It's VERY triggering, but well worth the watch. I'm so glad you saw it, paddy.

[thinker22]

I just finished watching the entire thing in one sitting. I'm kind of nauseous from staring at the screen for so long, but it was well worth it. Very enlightening. I even saw things in my childhood that may have been indicators of the illness that I'd never considered before. The dangerous things that he did, how he'd go and disappear or take off on trips because of the suffocating depression. A lot to digest. Nice Philip Glass soundtrack too...from the Hours I noticed.

[amaviena]

Because Virginia Woolf was bipolar

[thinker22]

Yups, but Woolf's nose wasn't really that bad (as Nicole Kidman's false proboscis) in photos. Pretty classy...stones in her pockets. Oops, not supposed to admire techniques. I'm getting more and more morbid these days, if that were possible.

[theama]

It might be a good documentar in regards to type 1, but his stories of mania don't apply to type 2 and it paints an ugly picture fo us type 2s.

BBC Horizon: how mad are you? is a good documentary in regards to mental health and how difficult it is to tell that someone has a mental illness.

[amaviena]

He's type 1, but he does interview many type 2's. It's a three hour series. Paints a bad picture? I'm confused about that statement.

[thinker22]

I found the docu both scary and hopeful. It showed extreme cases and highly functional people who went through some terrible times, but managed to find a regime that helped them get through the worst. There were warnings about what could happen if the disease was ignored or dismissed as artistic eccentricity. It's serious, no matter what type... cyclothymics often become type II or I and type IIs can become type I after a manic episode is identified...and these changes can come as the disease progresses in one's 20s and 30s and beyond.

Totally changed my perspective on the disease. Less chastising to myself for some of the things that happened in my past, although I still have taken full responsibility for my actions. Why I was such an emotional kid, why I had to hold it all inside for fear of the dam bursting forth as it does now and again. How none of my teachers, the authorities or my parents could possibly understand me. I didn't understand it either! None of us knew what we were dealing with. I can forgive them and myself much better now.

[spiritual_emergency]

I'm still making my way through the documentary. I'm up to the fifth in the series at this point. I can't speak to the issue that was earlier raised in regard to Type I vs Type II but in a general vein, I'm appreciating that this exploration is told through his eyes and in the process, he's making peace with his past while widening the perspective of the viewer.

I've also appreciated what seems to me to be balanced reporting. For example, his focus on the discrepancies in diagnosing young children in the UK and US. Or his clarification that there is no diagnostic test that can be used, only a studied assessment or ongoing observation of behaviors (past and present).

amaviena: I've shared this with my family and I'm waiting to see if they actually watch it.

In my own experience, individuals who have experienced forms of "mental illness" -- I use the quotes in recognition of the fact that the term is a label not everyone appreciates -- might want the support and understanding of our families. That can come to a certain extent, but the best sources of understanding and support seems to come from peers. Naturally, individual mileage may vary.

~ Namaste

.

[amaviena]

I think the great thing about this series is that it shows we ARE human. Not freaks and NOT crazy. The stigma associated with mental illness is a heavy rock, but the more people who stand up for us prove that together, the burden won't be too much to stand.

[Sinabee]

awh... my computer is too slow to watch it ...i need help!

[Sinabee]

thanks! that makes me smile.. because my family doesnt even understand me they just get mad!... i dont understand myself sometimes...

[theama]

Originally Posted by amaviena

He's type 1, but he does interview many type 2's. It's a three hour series. Paints a bad picture? I'm confused about that statement.

I saw the whole thing last year. It's an extremely negative documentary. Either you're so depressed you don't leave the house or brush your teeth, or you indulge yourself in sex, drugs and rock'n roll, or you're jumping on cars and working on getting yourself kneedeep in debt.
He interviews just a couple bipolars if I remember correctly, how does that become "many type 2s"? I recall him talking to just one, and she(?) was a complete basketcase.

I never link that documentary to anyone, it just enhances the myths and stigmas around BP. "How mad are you" is much better.

[amaviena]

That's funny. It was really worthwhile to me. To each his own.

[amaviena]

Oh, and this comment?: "might be a good documentar in regards to type 1, but his stories of mania don't apply to type 2 and it paints an ugly picture fo us type 2s."
My life isn't an ugly picture.
Hagop Akiskal who created the idea of bipolar spectrum disorder indicates that there might not be individual, based on specific check lists, bipolar disorders, but, rather, an umbrella of unipolar to bipolar I-type symptoms. In which case, I think the documentary was concise and HUMAN. I don't make ANYONE look bad.

[amaviena]

My SO advised I'm misunderstanding your intention so I'm going to watch the video and react based on that

[Rmdctc]

I thought this was very interesting and cool.