People with Bipolar Disorder interpret reality in a binary manner that switches between “Good” and Bad”.

When I was in college, I was a shy, introverted student who quietly did his work, rarely went out, and focused on getting good grades. During my first two years as a premed, I managed to score a GPA of 3.5, which is not bad for a premed. During the summer of 2012, I registered for the MCAT, took the test, and, surprisingly, got an extremely high score beyond the 95th percentile.

Fast forward a couple of weeks later, classes started again. It was my senior year. All of a sudden, within a couple of weeks into the semester, I started feeling sad. I lost all willpower to study, work, or enjoy fun activities such as video games or movies. I started spending my days in bed, or on my dorm room’s porch, sitting there, crying.

I knew what was going on. I was going through another depression phase. It wasn’t the first time I was depressed. It’s happened multiple times before. Fast forward 6 months later, my GPA dropped down to a 3.1. I almost failed one of my courses, and I couldn’t even attend my graduation ceremony because I was so depressed. Little did I know that this time, unlike previous phases, this one would be so hard it’d cause me to start planning my own suicide.

“Started from the bottom and somehow managed to go lower.”

At that point, I knew I needed help:

Visit psychiatrist

Get put on medication

Get monitored and have medication adjusted

Get back to life

Easy steps. Nothing difficult to follow.

Later on, I got into med school. Suddenly, I became a social butterfly, the Jim Halpert of the class. Everyone wanted to be my friend. I was spontaneous, on-point, and full of energy.

A little too full… to the extent where I couldn’t focus on studying, or sitting down, or sleeping for that matter. I started visiting professors, volunteering for different research projects, and registering for online classes to study (Keep in mind that I was already enrolled in 22 credits per semester in med school).

All of a sudden, one night, 2 hours prior to my 8 AM immunology final, I broke down. I realized I couldn’t do any of that stuff, and that I’m going to fail. I started screaming, breaking things, and crying hard.

The events after that escalated quickly into a spiral of uncontrolled behaviors and consequences:

Failed immunology course

Cancelled online courses

Started overdosing medication

Slept more than 12 hours per night

Skipped classes

Fast forward towards the end of the year, another sequence of events — a completely different set — transpired:

Asked two girls out (I’m usually shy)

Slept less than 4 hours a night

Skipped meds, believing I was cured

Aced class quizzes

Started hanging out with friends again

Lost weight, started working out

“Nothing can stop me, I’m all the way up.”

Fast forward a couple of months after that, I ended up dropping out of medical school, moving to Los Angeles, and working in the field of Biotechnology.

I managed to find an experienced therapist, who recommended a psychiatrist with more than 40 years of experience. The psychiatric evaluation was for 75 minutes. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Bipolar Disorder.

I was given Lamictal and monitored closely for 2 months, after which I started noticing a difference:

I no longer had racing thoughts, or lack of attention

My sleep pattern magically became better

I started reacting less emotional to people’s behaviors

My work performance soared, and my boss complained less about my work

I could solve problems and plan ahead with great ease.

I feel so… calm…

Bipolar Disorder was one heck of a ride for me. It almost cost me my life, and it left scars in my past that will take some time to go away. It’s not surprising that the Americans with Disabilities Act considers it a disability, and requires employers to accommodate employees who suffer from Bipolar Disorder.

The ADA has helped accommodate thousands of people with Bipolar Disorder since 1990

Yet, despite the mental effects people with Bipolar Disorder suffer from, they can lead a completely stable and productive lifestyle if provided with the correct medication and therapy. They can continue to become successful and have normal social relationships with others.