The latter is actually something that has always been there; all it needs is a trigger to set it off. .
For one bipolar sufferer it wasn't one event in particular but, rather a series of events that all occurred in the year of 1998. Anita Atkins lost her father-in-law to cancer, had a baby, found out she was pregnant, and her father survived a stroke (Personal Interview). The year 1998 and all it encompassed was definitely her trigger. During our interview, she revealed that she was actually misdiagnosed. She was first diagnosed with post-partum depression (PPD), an illness that occurs after a woman gives birth, it usually lasts only a few months and is very treatable. It wasn't until she went to her family doctor, who diagnosed her with PPD, and told him that she felt she needed more help because she "had thoughts of suicide" (Personal Interview). Her doctor then referred her to a psychiatrist who then correctly diagnosed her with bipolar disorder. Now she is in control of her disorder thanks to proper medication and psychotherapy every three months.
Anita's story is similar to that of Lizzie Simon, the author of an article in Time magazine. Apparently, Lizzie's sudden onset came from her trip to Paris where it seemed like spontaneously she just "went insane" (Simon 1). The way she presents her symptoms in her article resemble an illness. At first her head felt "fuz[zy]", then she feels "uncomfortable [like] my jeans were too tight and my shoes too big" (Simon 2). At the end of her article she stresses her realization that like her drugs are not the only answer. The drugs need to be combined with psychotherapy. Like Anita, the drugs worked, but something was still missing, psychotherapy helps Lizzie out too. And, so we have two success cases to support the case of bipolar disorder. However, another similarity between the two is that both Lizzie and Anita were misdiagnosed with depression.
