The Well OF Life
A Bi-Polar Story:
I wrote this story to help my friends and family understand what I go through as a person with Bi-polar disorder.
Once upon a time there was a magical well called The Well of Life. This well contained all the material needs of this world. The well provided these needs, for a week, to any family that could take two full buckets of its magical waters home with them. The well was located in a valley, surrounded by gently rolling hills. Two families lived on the eastern side if these hills. The names of the families were:
The Normies and the Bi-Polars
The Normies and the Bi-Polars seemed very similar at first glance. The families each had a mommy, a daddy, and a son. That is where the similarities ended. Each family set off for the well on Monday. The Normies set off bright and early and started their trip up a gentle path with little to block their way. The Bi-Polars tried to set off early, but they didn’t sleep very well and had a hard time getting out of bed to face yet another day. The hill that was so gentle for the Normies changed completely as soon as the Bi-Polars set foot on it. The gentle grade became steep, and rocks sprung up to stub toes and trip heavy feet making the trip a bit more difficult for the Bi-Polar family.
This is how a relatively normal day can feel for me when I am not under medication for my Bi-Polar.
The Normies soon make it to the well and fill their buckets as the Bi-Polars continue to struggle up the hill. The Normies openly disparage the Bi-Polars on their way back, telling the Bi-Polars how lazy they must be. The Bi-Polars finally make it to the well and fill their buckets, but when they turn back to the hill it has changed once more. The gentle hill is now even steeper and covered in thorns. Biting insects buzz angrily on the slope, daring the Bi-Polars to make the climb. The hill is their only way back home, so the Bi-Polars must grit their teeth and suffer over the hill, though sometimes they just cannot do so, and collapse in tears, today they brave the hill. They start their journey through the thorns, getting bitten and scratched along the way. Their buckets become tangled in the thorns, and often they lose half the water they have collected. They do make it to the top eventually spirits broken and in tears.
This is how a depressive day can feel for me, when there is no joy in accomplishments and even the simplest task can be overwhelming
The hill changes once more and is now covered in beautiful and sweet smelling flowers. The insects are gone and the Bi-Polars feel instantly uplifted and euphoric. They feel as if everything is now right in the world and nothing could ever go wrong. The family starts running here and there down the hill among the flowers. The buckets are all but forgotten as they joyously stop here to sniff a flower or there to make a daisy chain. The memory of the time before is not forgotten, however, and temper run high and hot. They snap at each other constantly even as they have fun, laughing and smiling together. The Bi-Polars eventually make it home, long after the Normies are safe in their beds. Their Pails now contain only enough for a day, if that, due to their reckless behavior.
This is how a manic day feels to me, when a short temper, reckless and impulsive BEHAVIOR and racing thoughts occur.
The Bi-Polars must now repeat the trek to The Well of Life again and again, while the Normies stay home and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Life for the Bi-Polars is hard but they still laugh and love, work and play, hope and pray, just like the Normies do. The Bi-Polars, if given the right combination of medication and therapy, can live fruitful lives. They only require understanding and compassion from the Normies, who often do not offer any support.
The Bi-Polars could do just as well as the Normies if only someone was willing to offer the help they need.
THE END
I wrote this story to help my friends and family understand what I go through as a person with Bi-Polar disorder. The truth is many “Normies” see the symptoms and setbacks of Bi-Polar disorder as laziness, selfishness, and/or deliberate disobedience. This problem is even more prevalent in “Normie” parents who can’t understand that the forgetfulness and impulsive behaviors are not committed by choice. This can make life even harder, as accusations of selfishness and laziness become internalized and the “child” of these parents comes to believe they are what their parents say they are.
“The Well Of Life: A Bi-Polar Story” is the story of my struggles with Bi-Polar disorder but many mental illnesses present similar difficulties; to put it another way: A mentally ill person must climb the mountain, while all the “Normies” out there have a pass for the tunnel.
To all you "Normies" out there, please remember:
Mental Illness is AN ILLNESS, it is NOT A CHOICE, and it is NOT A CRIME
Please try to be more understanding: Life, with a mental illness, is hard enough as it is.
To my fellow sufferers, you are not alone and you are not a worthless or hopeless cause. Remember:
BE STRONG WHEN YOU CAN
CRY WHEN YOU NEED TO
AND NEVER EVER BE ASHAMED OF WHO YOU ARE
DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHASE YOUR DREAMS
Thank you.
A Bi-Polar Story:
I wrote this story to help my friends and family understand what I go through as a person with Bi-polar disorder.
Once upon a time there was a magical well called The Well of Life. This well contained all the material needs of this world. The well provided these needs, for a week, to any family that could take two full buckets of its magical waters home with them. The well was located in a valley, surrounded by gently rolling hills. Two families lived on the eastern side if these hills. The names of the families were:
The Normies and the Bi-Polars
The Normies and the Bi-Polars seemed very similar at first glance. The families each had a mommy, a daddy, and a son. That is where the similarities ended. Each family set off for the well on Monday. The Normies set off bright and early and started their trip up a gentle path with little to block their way. The Bi-Polars tried to set off early, but they didn’t sleep very well and had a hard time getting out of bed to face yet another day. The hill that was so gentle for the Normies changed completely as soon as the Bi-Polars set foot on it. The gentle grade became steep, and rocks sprung up to stub toes and trip heavy feet making the trip a bit more difficult for the Bi-Polar family.
This is how a relatively normal day can feel for me when I am not under medication for my Bi-Polar.
The Normies soon make it to the well and fill their buckets as the Bi-Polars continue to struggle up the hill. The Normies openly disparage the Bi-Polars on their way back, telling the Bi-Polars how lazy they must be. The Bi-Polars finally make it to the well and fill their buckets, but when they turn back to the hill it has changed once more. The gentle hill is now even steeper and covered in thorns. Biting insects buzz angrily on the slope, daring the Bi-Polars to make the climb. The hill is their only way back home, so the Bi-Polars must grit their teeth and suffer over the hill, though sometimes they just cannot do so, and collapse in tears, today they brave the hill. They start their journey through the thorns, getting bitten and scratched along the way. Their buckets become tangled in the thorns, and often they lose half the water they have collected. They do make it to the top eventually spirits broken and in tears.
This is how a depressive day can feel for me, when there is no joy in accomplishments and even the simplest task can be overwhelming
The hill changes once more and is now covered in beautiful and sweet smelling flowers. The insects are gone and the Bi-Polars feel instantly uplifted and euphoric. They feel as if everything is now right in the world and nothing could ever go wrong. The family starts running here and there down the hill among the flowers. The buckets are all but forgotten as they joyously stop here to sniff a flower or there to make a daisy chain. The memory of the time before is not forgotten, however, and temper run high and hot. They snap at each other constantly even as they have fun, laughing and smiling together. The Bi-Polars eventually make it home, long after the Normies are safe in their beds. Their Pails now contain only enough for a day, if that, due to their reckless behavior.
This is how a manic day feels to me, when a short temper, reckless and impulsive BEHAVIOR and racing thoughts occur.
The Bi-Polars must now repeat the trek to The Well of Life again and again, while the Normies stay home and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Life for the Bi-Polars is hard but they still laugh and love, work and play, hope and pray, just like the Normies do. The Bi-Polars, if given the right combination of medication and therapy, can live fruitful lives. They only require understanding and compassion from the Normies, who often do not offer any support.
The Bi-Polars could do just as well as the Normies if only someone was willing to offer the help they need.
THE END
I wrote this story to help my friends and family understand what I go through as a person with Bi-Polar disorder. The truth is many “Normies” see the symptoms and setbacks of Bi-Polar disorder as laziness, selfishness, and/or deliberate disobedience. This problem is even more prevalent in “Normie” parents who can’t understand that the forgetfulness and impulsive behaviors are not committed by choice. This can make life even harder, as accusations of selfishness and laziness become internalized and the “child” of these parents comes to believe they are what their parents say they are.
“The Well Of Life: A Bi-Polar Story” is the story of my struggles with Bi-Polar disorder but many mental illnesses present similar difficulties; to put it another way: A mentally ill person must climb the mountain, while all the “Normies” out there have a pass for the tunnel.
To all you "Normies" out there, please remember:
Mental Illness is AN ILLNESS, it is NOT A CHOICE, and it is NOT A CRIME
Please try to be more understanding: Life, with a mental illness, is hard enough as it is.
To my fellow sufferers, you are not alone and you are not a worthless or hopeless cause. Remember:
BE STRONG WHEN YOU CAN
CRY WHEN YOU NEED TO
AND NEVER EVER BE ASHAMED OF WHO YOU ARE
DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHASE YOUR DREAMS
Thank you.