UBC Mental Health Awareness Club

Disregarding the annoying background music (you can’t unhear that now), this pop culture event brings up two really good questions: 1) What effect does using the term “bipolar” as an adjective have? and 2) Can the popularity of this usage actually be a good thing?

Everyone probably remembers when people used to say “that’s so gay” — or maybe people still use that word, but I wouldn’t know because I live in a library hunched over my laptop writing research papers. Anyway, in the same vein, “That’s so bipolar” or any variation of “____ is bipolar” and “I feel so bipolar right now” seem to be the hip lingo that kids these days are all over. However, when words become careless, so do their meanings.

According to the English language, “bipolar” is actually an adjective (for those who had any doubts), with a few definitions (courtesy of the online Merriam-Webster dictionary) to its name:

1. being marked by two mutually repelling forces
2. involving the use of two poles
3. occurring in both polar regions
4. being characteristic of a bipolar disorder

Obviously the fourth is the one pop culture seems to be using the most. However, as the video demonstrates, this term often seems to be applied to scenarios involving frequent changes in opinion and/or action in situations one might consider trivial. This contributes to the stigma associated with bipolar disorders by having .0001% relevance to the actual disorder. If having a bipolar disorder at its worst suddenly meant having a different hair colour every month, then we might finally understand the meaning behind the hair colour company “Manic Panic.”

But I digress. Now for the second point I want to explore — can this actually be helpful? The quick response is, of course, no; anything that contributes to negative images of what it’s like to have a bipolar disorder is inappropriate under any circumstance. However, since this is widespread in society — and so far the weather forecast is still “cloudy with a chance of stigma” — we might be able to find a silver lining. I feel like the saying “any press is good press” can be applied here. Having a celebrity outwardly contributing to stigma is not a good thing because of however many lads and lasses out there will use such celebrities as a role models. But there are people out there, like us mental health correspondents here at the MHAC, that are vigilant for these kinds of things and take action when we need to. And chances are some of those young and impressionable kids will see people fighting the stigma and they’ll find new role models to look up to.

It’s by no means a fantastic situation, but it’s a nice reminder that people are out there working to break down the stigma associated with mental illness and their voices are becoming louder every day. Perhaps this is a good moment to consider the following: What do you do to fight stigma?

Many of us are familiar with the terms anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder but what about women who don’t receive these labels but who are engaging in dangerous patterns of restriction or purging? The term these women receive is EDNOS or ‘Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.’

What is the prevalence of women receiving the ‘Eating Disorder Not Other Wise Specified’ diagnosis? Among American colleges, 6% of girls reported concerns over anorexia or bulimia, while 25- 40% reported disordered eating that fits an EDNOS diagnosis (Bishop, Baker& Baker, 1998; Schwitzer, et al., 2001; Tsai et al., 2001). This means they do not fit either the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa or bulimia. Knowing that self-reporting can prevent one from revealing certain symptoms or feelings, both reports could be higher than what was reported. This is a very significant finding, however, as it highlights the seriousness of eating disorders among college populations. Having the EDNOS diagnosis is not something to take lightly but rather is an indication that this individual is struggling and in need of professional intervention.

With regards to diagnostic features, a variety of symptoms can be expressed. In one study, 13% of women with EDNOS showed severe restriction of their diet, which is characteristic of someone who is anorexic. The study showed a much higher rate of excessive exercise, occasional vomiting and occasional laxative use among women with EDNOS over those with a different diagnosis (Schwitzer, 2012). It was also found that these women are more likely to engage in binge eating, with 80% of EDNOS clients bingeing 1 to 3 times per month (Schwitzer, 2012).

Along with symptoms regarding reducing caloric intake, women with this diagnosis show serious cognitive and emotional symptoms. Many women develop an intense fear of gaining weight and becoming fat. When these women view their body negatively it has adverse affects on their self worth. As experienced personally, when you hold negative beliefs about yourself, it leads to further restriction or excessive exercise- the destructive cycle of eating disorders. The psycho- emotional symptoms involve: intense preoccupations with food- where one feels that food is controlling their life, fighting urges to consume food, and trying to ease the effects of the preoccupations on their mood, stress levels and their sense of self (Schwitzer, 2012).

Another concerning symptom related to EDNOS is the high occurrence of mood disorders. It was found that 40% of college-aged women in the United States with EDNOS had issues with moderate depression (Schwitzer, Rodriquez, et al., 2001). Of this sample, 14% reported periods of suicidal thoughts and 8% reported performing self-harming or suicidal behaviour.

These statistics indicate that a great number of college -aged women are using destructive methods to control their weight and resist their ‘unhealthy’ urges to consume more food.  It is so important that educators of young children and adolescents instill the importance of treating your body with respect and nurturance. Without early intervention, disordered eating will enslave many more young women.

When I was growing up, we always learned in school that Canada prides itself on being culturally diverse. We learned that Canada, as a single entity, was comprised of all sorts of different people from all sorts of different cultures. In a way, it united us and gave us that great sense of patriotism that makes a country strong. But I felt like it also blended us together to the extent that all these differences meshed together and thus ceased to exist.

Perhaps that’s why the world of mental health is only beginning to cater to this great diversity in Canada. In the article “There Isn’t Even a Word for Depression: Immigrants and Mental Health,” the author comments on the different ways different culture perceive mental illness. Because these cultures are submersed within Canadian culture, we think they might somehow fit into the Canadian mental health system. This, as evident in the article, does not seem to be the case.

It makes sense when you look at language. Anyone who’s studied a language knows direct translations rarely make sense, because a language is a unique way of looking at the world and interpreting the array of experiences one has in life. In the case of mental illness, what a native English speaker associates with the word depression will not be relevant to someone whose native tongue is not English. The mental constructs surrounding the word depression are in context of the rest of the English language and the way one has experienced that word in life growing up in a predominantly English setting.

In this way, I feel it’s important to remember that a mental health system based on an English-speaking culture may not be able to support the needs of individuals who didn’t grow up in an English-speaking culture or who grew up in another culture simultaneously.