My Kind of Crazy: Living in a Bipolar World

I am not a doctor, celebrity, or prize-winning author who can use mental illness as a platform. What I am, however, is an expert on being crazy. In fact, I have over thirteen years of personal experience. The medical term for my kind of crazy is known as Bipolar Disorder aka Manic-Depressive Illness. My experience on being crazy includes a series of psychotic breakdowns, severe bipolar mood swings, lengthy lists of medication regimens, countless therapy sessions, routine psychiatric hospital stays, a suicide attempt, and electroshock treatment. Although my case is more severe than most, I am not alone. I am only one of 5.7 million adult Americans who suffer from a mental illness in a given year. This is a staggering statistic, and yet the stigma attached to mental illness persists. Those diagnosed with a mental illness suffer in silence due to the shame associated with it. There are many books that approach the subject from a clinical and/or psychoanalytical perspective. My book, however, focuses on the human experience of living with a mental illness. Being bipolar brings with it the very highs and lows of emotion, and my story is written in the same way. The journey on which I take the reader is not a depressing one. There is much humor to be found and many lessons to be learned after one is diagnosed as crazy. I bring the reader with me on the emotional rollercoaster that is my life. With my story, I hope to dismantle the shame and isolation that one with a similar illness might experience. In fact, I believe one must embrace his or her inner-craziness in order to heal, evolve, and move forward to help change the societal perception of mental illness. Not unlike diabetes, mental illness should be understood on a biochemical level, not be viewed as a character flaw. When the brain gets sick, it exhibits symptoms that need to be addressed and managed just like any other illness. The author, Janine Crowley Haynes, is a forty-three-year-old wife, mother, and self-acknowledged crazy person living in a bipolar world.