...make lemonade, says the proverb. It is very easy to pick out the negatives of bipolar, to mull over the limitations it places on me, the disadvantages of my condition. However, recently I have been trying to consider the flip side, the positive personality traits I am bestowed with due to my illness. What good or positive can I spin out if this hand I have been dealt?
Well I can be very passionate about issues. All sorts of issues, sometimes I just like to discuss, no matter the topic! Perhaps this enthusiasm, the passion with which I can decipher an issue and present it to others stems from my different brain wiring. Maybe my reflective nature, my need to deeply consider things from all angles is down to the way my brain chemicals function.
History is littered with people suffering from bipolar who have made significant contributions to the arts, politics and literature. Van Gogh was apparently bipolar, with some of his greatest paintings, the result of his high manic states. Others include Winston Churchill, Buzz Aldren and Robin Williams. Bearing in mind only 1% of the population have a diagnosis of bipolar, perhaps there is something positive about this condition, creative, inspiring that drives so many sufferers into influential spheres of society.
Don't get me wrong, if I could make it go away I would, without a second thought. I am a Christian and can't deny that I haven't struggled many times with why I have been made in this way. Why should I have to deal with this condition, its limitations. Why would I be created this way. Looking at the positives helps with this, perhaps it is integral to me and my purpose in life. Perhaps having bipolar holds some potential, a creative, spiritual sense that is essential to my journey. Instead of disorder maybe it is a potency, a potential that can be constructive and just maybe outstanding.
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