Growing up Bipolar - A Newsweek Exclusive

Growing up Bipolar: A Newsweek Magazine Exclusive

By: Dawn Johnson The Self Esteem Queen™

According to the Newsweek article dated May 26, 2008 the following is true about bipolar disorder (lowercase intended):

• It is an elusive disease that no parent fully understands, that some doctors do not believe exists in children, and that almost everyone stigmatizes,
  
  
• bipolar disorder STILL CANNOT be identified based on brain scans,
  
  
• Roughly 6.5 million Americans are affected by bipolar disorder,
  
  
• At least 800,000 children in the United States have been diagnosed as bipolar, no doubt some of them wrongly,
  
  
• There are many drugs, but it's unclear how they work. Often, they don't work at all, and they may interfere with normal brain growth.

The Article starts out by saying, "Max Blake was 7 the first time he tried to kill himself."

• Many psychiatrists think that in the years since Max's diagnosis, doctors have erred on the side of seeing it everywhere, mislabeling kids and creating a lucrative market for drug companies.
  
  
• In the space of one year, he tried eight psychoactive medications. Despite all the meds - and in part, because of them - he was and emotional wreck.
  
  
• By 7 1/2, Max was on so many different drugs that.. his parents could no longer tell if they were helping or hurting him. He was suffering from tics, blinking his eyes, clearing his throat and "pulling his clothes like he wanted to get out of his skin".
  
  
• At 10, he has been on 38 different psychoactive drugs.
  

The article goes on to speak about the struggles that Max and his parents continue to go through after seeing their son face the affects of medications that don't work and hospital stays that are sure to leave a lasting impression on Max Blake. My heart goes out to his parents because I know what it's like to have a child that most people deem "complicated". I was considered one of them.

Bipolar disorder is a subject that I hold very close to my heart.
As someone who was diagnosed with this dis-ease, I have had my share of opinions about the disorder. Because I am not a licensed medical practitioner, I feel like I can only give my opinion based upon what myself and others around me have experienced. I normally don't give "disclaimers", however I know that some of my readers are doctors and I don't want to be bombarded with scientific emails regarding this subject (I still have my psychology book from college and I STILL disagree with the diagnosis of this dis-order). You can go here to read more about how I feel on being misdiagnosed.

As a child, what we call "bipolar disorder" was referred to as "manic depression".
After meeting with a child psychologist, my sister was diagnosed with manic depression as a kid. The psychologist didn't have enough accurate information to form this diagnosis because my sister didn't disclose pertinent information that would have allowed the doctors to know she was being abused, and her depression was due to this abuse. I believe that my sister was affected by being told she has this "dis-order", and so was I.

It is sometimes difficult for me to talk about this issue without remembering being in a mental institution.
What I have learned is that I am a fighter. I've been fighting most of my life. I know that my purpose has been destined by the experiences I have overcome. Being labeled as having something such as bipolar disorder when I have been able to live free from medication is absurd. For me, and I will be very honest, I will and have gone to a mental institution in a heartbeat if I felt/feel overwhelmed. I don't see the problem in that. I do, however, see a problem with over medicating children and I have witnessed this process in my own family and can attest to the fact that medication was not the solution to my problems; learning to heal myself was.

Now I ask you - Is this the face of a
bipolar child or merely a child going
through puberty?

Why I stay away from "labels" and "disorders" placed on me by people.
One thing that irks me is when I befriend someone only to have them get angry with me at some point and call me names like "crazy" and "psycho" because I have told them about this misdiagnosis. It hurts to be called names no matter the saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt..." Being abused mentally and emotionally is horrible enough, and to have this done because a doctor didn't bother to spend the time to diagnose me correctly is a travesty.

How may children are not taught the correct mindset about life?

How many children have to be misdiagnosed in order for us to stand up and say that over medicating children is NOT the way to solve the problem?

It pays to stay informed...

I love you, and there's absolutely, positively, nothin you can do about it!!! (and I wear my label of the Self Esteem Queen™ PROUDLY, thank you very much:)~

Dawn Johnson
The Self-Esteem Queen™

© 2008 Dawn R. Johnson – “The Self-Esteem Queen”™ All rights reserved.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR - A celebrated servant-leader, internationally recognized motivational speaker, author, business coach & small business consultant, serial entrepreneur and spoken word artist, Dawn Johnson, the acclaimed “Self Esteem Queen”™, is one of today’s leading experts on transformational leadership, entrepreneur personal development, and self-esteem enhancement.

To learn more about Dawn’s products and sign up to receive FREE tips on business, personal enhancement, visit her site at http://www.selfesteemqueen.com.

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