No. He’s diagnosed with a mental illness, Bipolar II. It typically causes dramatic ups and downs of mood and disorientation.
People with Bipolar II have deep, deep paralyzing periods of depression, the length of these episodes depending on the cycling pattern of their particular case of the disease. Untreated individuals typically find it very difficult to get up long enough to relieve themselves, take a bath or eat a meal. They can have eating problems as a result. Thinking is depressed and work is out of the question unless they are medicated for the disease.
People with Bipolar II also have wild expansive mood swings where they may believe that they are invincible or that they are the “life of the party” on steroids. This can cause them to engage in wildly exhibitionistic, immoral or illegal behavior without discretion or regret. They may go long periods of time without sleeping or eating, or they may sleep for very short periods of time during manic episodes. They may spend money they don’t have, make sexual conquests or behave in other non-acceptable or unusual ways. When they “crash” from a manic episode, they usually need hospitalization and for a short period can be an acute danger to others or themselves during this short “crash” period.
People with Bipolar II cycle on some frequency, which can also determine, to some degree, the severity of their particular case of the disease. “Rapid cyclers” may have several cycles a year; managed patients less.
Untreated Bipolar II does damage to the mind and can come with psychotic breaks and incidents, particularly in the later stages of the disease. Rapid cyclers and untreated patients are most prone to damage. It is not unusual for patients with Bipolar II to have halucinations, illusions of grandeur or unusual beliefs. They can be out of touch with reality, particularly if they skip medications or skip doctor’s appointments. There is often a counseling component to treatment as well as a pharmaceutical component, depending on the particular manifestation of the disease.
Bipolar II can appear in childhood or older adulthood, but it’s very rare. It usually appears in the teens or early adulthood. There’s generally a period of crisis during which the disease is not yet diagnosed when the person has real problems which are unrecognized. It can take some time to appear in its full manifestation. The disease, as well as the aspects of manifestation of the disease, are highly genetic. It runs in families.
People who manage the disease medically are much more common than you might realize. It’s possible to carry on a productive life in this manner, however, it’s not good to be thrust into situations that trigger the disease, or situations that require a lot of responsibility or accountability.
There are many good books on this topic. For anyone with more questions,
cont.
there are many good books on the topic in most bookstores.
Diagnoses, when everyone of us is judged mentally ill, according to one or another definition by the psychological association, diagnoses can be bought too.