30 days of...day 5
Dec. 15th, 2010 06:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
askygoneonfireWrite about a common misconception people have
"Cyclothymia is a mild mood disorder."
At least that's a common misconception amongst the few people who have ever heard of the condition. Pretty much every site google takes you to when you search 'cyclothymia' starts with "cyclothymia is a mild form of..." which, all in all, implies cyclothymia just isn't a big deal. It is.
Cyclothymia turns your life upside down and is more than capable of ruining every relationship you've ever had. You meet people whilst you're manic and the most engaging person they've ever met then, a day or a week later, you meet again and you can't raise your eyes from the ground long enough to talk to them and IT FUCKING BLOWS. And living with someone who wakes up one morning and can't stop crying, with no warning whatsoever? Who would want to be around that? Cyclothymia pushes potential partners, and established partners, away.
I found a great article which really sums up this shit state of affairs with more information on what the condition actually entails;
Cyclothymia: This so-called mild form of bipolar is no laughing matter.
The reason I think this is such a problematic misconception is that when people hear the word 'cyclothymia' they do what I did; they google it and the misconception spreads. Suddenly dis-empowered people - mental health patients - get another kick in the metaphorical nads when their friends, family and in some cases, mental health workers, see that they are suffering a 'mild' mood disorder. Suddenly all your talk of 'sorry, I know I'm unpredictable/I know I messed you around/my mood disorder is making my depressed because I see myself ruining my life' looks like empty posturing and attention seeking gubbins when in fact, you're trying to be honest.
I find it frustrating too that this misconception is left unchallenged by so many. Few would argue, after The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive, that Stephen Fry has a real and genuine mental health condition that dramatically impacted his life. Fewer still know that his actual diagnosis is cyclothymia, not bipolar disorder. If they did, I sense the understanding of the word 'mild' in all those articles would alter.
Cyclothymia is milder than other conditions; such as schizophrenia and bipolar; the altered mental state it induces is a less significant change than in those conditions, sufferers are not as immediately recognisable as being somehow 'wrong' when in the grip of an attack, but they are no less worn down by it and negatively impacted by the unpredictability and instability of their mental state.
In short, it is a common and damaging misconception.
"Cyclothymia is a mild mood disorder."
At least that's a common misconception amongst the few people who have ever heard of the condition. Pretty much every site google takes you to when you search 'cyclothymia' starts with "cyclothymia is a mild form of..." which, all in all, implies cyclothymia just isn't a big deal. It is.
Cyclothymia turns your life upside down and is more than capable of ruining every relationship you've ever had. You meet people whilst you're manic and the most engaging person they've ever met then, a day or a week later, you meet again and you can't raise your eyes from the ground long enough to talk to them and IT FUCKING BLOWS. And living with someone who wakes up one morning and can't stop crying, with no warning whatsoever? Who would want to be around that? Cyclothymia pushes potential partners, and established partners, away.
I found a great article which really sums up this shit state of affairs with more information on what the condition actually entails;
Cyclothymia: This so-called mild form of bipolar is no laughing matter.
The reason I think this is such a problematic misconception is that when people hear the word 'cyclothymia' they do what I did; they google it and the misconception spreads. Suddenly dis-empowered people - mental health patients - get another kick in the metaphorical nads when their friends, family and in some cases, mental health workers, see that they are suffering a 'mild' mood disorder. Suddenly all your talk of 'sorry, I know I'm unpredictable/I know I messed you around/my mood disorder is making my depressed because I see myself ruining my life' looks like empty posturing and attention seeking gubbins when in fact, you're trying to be honest.
I find it frustrating too that this misconception is left unchallenged by so many. Few would argue, after The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive, that Stephen Fry has a real and genuine mental health condition that dramatically impacted his life. Fewer still know that his actual diagnosis is cyclothymia, not bipolar disorder. If they did, I sense the understanding of the word 'mild' in all those articles would alter.
Cyclothymia is milder than other conditions; such as schizophrenia and bipolar; the altered mental state it induces is a less significant change than in those conditions, sufferers are not as immediately recognisable as being somehow 'wrong' when in the grip of an attack, but they are no less worn down by it and negatively impacted by the unpredictability and instability of their mental state.
In short, it is a common and damaging misconception.
cyclothymia
Date: 2011-01-08 10:25 pm (UTC)It ain't a big deal
Date: 2011-02-04 04:52 am (UTC)I'm honestly finding the common (defensive?) take on this disorder galling. I mean, in response to the first idea ('hey, now you know!')-- what I now 'know' is that having children is an enormous gamble, for me and for them, and that some psychologists just ask you not to breed (isn't 'genetic counselling' a delightful euphemism?). I now 'know' that this is likely to be a 'lifelong friend', when I'd previously just thought I had an anxiety disorder that I could overcome if I applied myself. I now 'know' that it could transition into full-blown bipolar disorder if I don't learn to contain it. Gee, how comforting!
I'm also struggling with the second idea ('well that's okay, so long as you manage it')-- I mean you get diagnosed when you AREN'T managing it, right? I've metaphorically been on my knees for over a month (this is the worst episode in a while) and I now have to learn how to function. I don't think it's at all apparent to people what it means for you life to be so heavy that lifting yourself up (and learning to 'manage') gives you the distinct impression that you're going to throw your back out in the process.
Anyway, thank you for your post. I share your frustration and I'm really grateful to have found your blog today.
Thank you for this entry
Date: 2012-09-30 10:28 pm (UTC)Re: Thank you for this entry
Date: 2012-10-01 02:26 pm (UTC)Your reply has also prompted me to write again on the 'generalities' of cyclothymia which I had been meaning to do for some time. It's here, I don't know but perhaps there might be something useful for you in there too. http://askygoneonfire.dreamwidth.org/76152.html