Society and Culture
12 years ago
Society and culture
Stigma
There are widespread problems with social stigma, stereotypes, and prejudice against individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Cultural references
Kay Redfield Jamison, a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, profiled her own bipolar disorder in her memoir An Unquiet Mind (1995). In her book, Touched with Fire (1993), she argued for a connection between bipolar disorder and artistic creativity.
Several films have portrayed characters with traits suggestive of the diagnosis that has been the subject of discussion by psychiatrists and film experts alike. A notable example is Mr. Jones (1993), in which Mr. Jones (Richard Gere) swings from a manic episode into a depressive phase and back again, spending time in a psychiatric hospital and displaying many of the features of the syndrome. In The Mosquito Coast (1986), Allie Fox (Harrison Ford) displays some features including recklessness, grandiosity, increased goal-directed activity and mood lability, as well as some paranoia.
In the Australian TV drama Stingers, Detective Luke Harris (Gary Sweet) is portrayed as having bipolar disorder and shows how his paranoia interfered with his work. As research for the role, Sweet visited a psychiatrist to learn about manic-depressive illness. He said that he left the sessions convinced he had the condition. TV specials, for example the BBC's The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, MTV's True Life: I'm Bipolar, talk shows, and public radio shows, and the greater willingness of public figures to discuss their own bipolar disorder, have focused on psychiatric conditions, thereby, raising public awareness.
On April 7, 2009, the nighttime drama 90210 on the CW network, aired a special episode where the character Silver was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A public service announcement (PSA) aired after the episode, directing teens and young adults to the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation website for information and to chat with other teens.
Stacey Slater, a character from the popular BBC soap EastEnders, has been diagnosed with the disorder. After losing her friend Danielle Jones, Stacey began acting strangely; and the character had to come to terms with the prospect that, like her mother, Jean Slater, she suffers from bipolar disorder. The high-profile storyline was developed as part of the BBC's Headroom campaign. The Channel 4 soap Brookside had earlier featured a story about bipolar disorder when the character Jimmy Corkhill was diagnosed with the condition. Dean Sullivan, the actor who played Jimmy, was presented with a Special Achievement Award at the 2003 British Soap Awards for the role.
Stigma
There are widespread problems with social stigma, stereotypes, and prejudice against individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Cultural references
Kay Redfield Jamison, a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, profiled her own bipolar disorder in her memoir An Unquiet Mind (1995). In her book, Touched with Fire (1993), she argued for a connection between bipolar disorder and artistic creativity.
Several films have portrayed characters with traits suggestive of the diagnosis that has been the subject of discussion by psychiatrists and film experts alike. A notable example is Mr. Jones (1993), in which Mr. Jones (Richard Gere) swings from a manic episode into a depressive phase and back again, spending time in a psychiatric hospital and displaying many of the features of the syndrome. In The Mosquito Coast (1986), Allie Fox (Harrison Ford) displays some features including recklessness, grandiosity, increased goal-directed activity and mood lability, as well as some paranoia.
In the Australian TV drama Stingers, Detective Luke Harris (Gary Sweet) is portrayed as having bipolar disorder and shows how his paranoia interfered with his work. As research for the role, Sweet visited a psychiatrist to learn about manic-depressive illness. He said that he left the sessions convinced he had the condition. TV specials, for example the BBC's The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, MTV's True Life: I'm Bipolar, talk shows, and public radio shows, and the greater willingness of public figures to discuss their own bipolar disorder, have focused on psychiatric conditions, thereby, raising public awareness.
On April 7, 2009, the nighttime drama 90210 on the CW network, aired a special episode where the character Silver was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A public service announcement (PSA) aired after the episode, directing teens and young adults to the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation website for information and to chat with other teens.
Stacey Slater, a character from the popular BBC soap EastEnders, has been diagnosed with the disorder. After losing her friend Danielle Jones, Stacey began acting strangely; and the character had to come to terms with the prospect that, like her mother, Jean Slater, she suffers from bipolar disorder. The high-profile storyline was developed as part of the BBC's Headroom campaign. The Channel 4 soap Brookside had earlier featured a story about bipolar disorder when the character Jimmy Corkhill was diagnosed with the condition. Dean Sullivan, the actor who played Jimmy, was presented with a Special Achievement Award at the 2003 British Soap Awards for the role.