Can O' Worms: A Different Look at Bipolar Disorder

You know, I've been considering opening up this philosophical "can of worms" for awhile now, and I might have before (I really don't remember), but I was reluctant because of all of the ambiguity present. Now, I figure, what the hell, I may as well.

I'm pretty sure that you've heard me use the term "alternate reality" before. There was even an old '80's piece of software that went by that name. So I'll use it today.

Simply put, how do we define reality? Reality is what our brains and our other senses say it is. But maybe there's "subjective reality".

So, if bipolars are being "fooled" by some stray misfiring neurotransmitters, how do we know that it isn't simply their "subjective reality". Because no one else sees it? What if through some abnormal biochemical process has bipolars being able to sense what "ordinary" man can't? After all, don't we only use about 10% of our brains? Who is to say that bipolars aren't just simply tapping into that "locked reserve"?

Ok, point in fact - I have never felt so close to God in my life than when I was manic that last time. And I'm not a religious man. The question becomes: was I truly close to God because of an aberrant biochemical reaction in my brain causing me to be better in touch with my "spiritual being", or was I simply misled? When I heard those spiritual messages in different types of music, was it because of a different biochemical reaction in my brain that was more in touch with auditory prompts and groups of words than usual, or was I simply led astray?

I know much of what I "sensed" was in fact delusional, but I wonder if snippets of that "alternate reality" aren't just that: surrogate actuality. That is, things undiscernible by the "normal" brain that are detectable by a super-charged brain (and that is what it's really like).

I mean, at certain times, I had never been so joyous. Again, I think that it might be tapping into untapped reserves.

"This medication works by increasing the levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain and thereby relieving the symptoms of depression" (Wellbutrin).

What if manic depressives, during their manic phase, simply started to increase the level of dopamines and norepinephrine by boatloads naturally through an errant biochemical process, becoming sort of a natural anti-depressant, thereby inducing their "bizarre" behaviors?

Just a few things to consider...