sylvia plath and bipolar disorder

Bipolar Disorder and Sylvia PlathBy Arielle Tenorio

What is bipolar disorder?

• Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a serious illness that makes normal moods seem extreme. A person with bipolar disorder suffers from severe mood swings, ranging from very low (depression) to very high (mania).

These mood swings are

called “episodes.” Here

are the four main types of

episodes that a person with

bipolar disorder would have...

1.Depression2.Mania3.Hypomania4.Mixed moods

Treatment for bipolar disorder

• The best treatment strategy involves a combination of:

• medication • therapy• lifestyle changes• social support.

The cause of bipolar disorder

• There is no single cause to bipolar disorder. Is it believed that genetics, along with environmental and psychological factors, are involved in the development of bipolar disorder.

Triggers include...

•Stress

•Seasonal changes

•Sleep deprivation

•Medication

•Substance abuse

• Sylvia Plath suffered bipolar disorder and described her illness in her first book, The Bell Jar:

• “It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous and positive and despairing negative; whichever is running at the moment dominated my life, floods it. I am now flooded with despair, almost hysteria, as if I were smothering.”

Works cited:

• http://www.bipolar.com/• www.suite101.com/article.cfm/depression/40073• www.poemhunter.com/poem/lady-lazarus/• www.helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm