Does Having Bipolar Disorder Mean That I Am Crazy?

Dr. Findling answers the question: 'Does Bipolar Disorder Make Me 'Crazy'?'

By
Robert Findling, M.D., Director, Child and Adolescent Psychology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center
April 29, 2008, 2:56 PM ET
1 min read

— -- Question: Does having bipolar disorder mean that I am crazy?

Answer: People with bipolar disorder can certainly think differently than other people, perhaps have a different emotional responses to things than other people, but crazy is a pejorative term. Bipolar disorder is a medical illness that is due to dysfunction in the central nervous system or the brain.

And to demean it, such a serious condition, such a poignant and heartbreaking condition, with a term like crazy is just not justice.

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