Examining and Comparing Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia

It's interesting. People tend to think of illnesses comparatively. They think about one illness as "worse" as another illness. No place is this truer than in the area of mental conditions. In this article we are looking at bipolar disorder or manic depression in comparison to schizophrenia. Are they mutually exclusive? No, they are not.

I have manic depression and my mother had manic depression ultimately developing into schizophrenia.

There are different types of both bipolar disorders and schizophrenic disorders. To discuss them in detail would take a very lengthy and detailed article. What I want to do in this article is highlight the "vanilla" type of schizophrenia using first person illustrations as much as possible.

Manic depression is a mental disorder. It is termed "bipolar disorder" because it moves to two extreme poles of thinking and behavior. One has mania which is displayed with rapid thinking, highly upbeat attitude, loss of self control and delusional thinking. Results of actions of actions are not considered. Often a person cannot sleep. This is followed to a crash to the opposite "pole" which is depression which consists of sadness and lethargy. Manic depressive's are noted for the high incidence of suicide.

Schizophrenia is a mental condition that consists of delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. In fact the most common form of schizophrenia is paranoid schizophrenia. Symptoms of this condition often include seeing visions and hearing voices.

I have been writing a series of articles on manic depression dealing with various keywords. I have tried to use first-person experience to explain the condition.

When I was 18-years-old I decided I was going to open a business. This was when I was in a mania. I rented office space, hired two secretaries and installed two phone lines. I did a pretty nice complete job except for the fact I didn't have a business. I had no product or service. That explains what mania is. It is all about action with no substance. After I wrote about $1,500 in bad checks trying to "kite" funds I was bailed out by my grandmother who had no idea how sick I was. I was not diagnosed for nearly 20 years.

I was born on my mother's birthday and she always read something into that. She had manic depression as well.

She and my father fought their entire marriage but never divorced. My father was a part-time charter bus driver and took some kids to spring break in Florida. My mother and sister went along. My mother and father had a fight. At the end of the fight my mother said "I wish you were dead!" My father at 48-years-of-age went out into the ocean and had a stroke and died.

My mother developed schizophrenia. She heard voices and she started getting "messages" from car license plates to the point where the messages told her to ram the cars. She had a job and started calling a man because she thought he was my dad reincarnated. She placed a towel over the television screen so no one could enter her home.

I had my mother committed and she improved dramatically with treatment. However you cannot make a person continue to go for treatment and you can't keep putting them in a hospital against their will. She lived a hellish life.

Which is worse? They are both potentially fatal. However, a person can also have both illnesses. You can go between "poles" all the time exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia.

All I can say is that the key in both situations is medication. Those that have the most problems don't take their medications.

References:

Personal Experience

http://health.yahoo.com/mentalhealth-overview/schizophrenia-topic-overview/healthwise--aa46940.html

http://health.yahoo.com/mentalhealth-overview/bipolar-disorder-topic-overview/healthwise--ty1019.html