My name is Jeffrey Riley and I am bipolar. I was first diagnosed in 2005 when I was 22 years old. I had a conservative upbringing and neither my family nor I were prepared for my diagnosis. From my graduation from HS all the way to the present day (age 41) , I have struggled with the illness mightily at times. Thankfully, for the last six or seven years, with the help of medication, some wonderful mental health professionals, and my own hard work, I have achieved a relatively stable level of competence and clarity of mind. I am writing a fiction book chronicling the tales of four mentally ill young people (ages 15-20), namely their stays in a mental health clinic, what they did to get there, and the things out of their control (parents, symptoms, etc) that contributed to the breakdowns that put them in there. The book draws on some of my own personal stories along with various contrivances. The story also includes narratives of some of the types of mental health professionals that work in these clinics. That said, I have experience in mental health clinics, run-ins with police when I've been my most symptomatic and a laundry list of medications I've taken over the years. I also have learned much about the symptoms of bipolar disorder from research (I'm an amateur psychologist.) Bipolar disorder and those that suffer from it are issues that are very close to my heart. I have a college degree and a love of philosophy (though I'm not an expert) and I want to write essays from my perspective in this blog about how the views of certain classical philosophers apply to those people today that have bipolar disorder (including me.) I came to this conclusion when I was reading on the Greek classical philosopher Epicurus and I couldn't help thinking about how his views on what comprises a good life relate to those with bipolar (and other mental illnesses for that matter.) I want to help those with bipolar (as well as making my own opinions known), and I think posting my insights in a blog will be fun and possibly helpful.
I want to write on comprehensive philosophical subjects including the best lifestyle for bipolar people, whether it be the moderate and ascetic life freeing human beings from pain that Epicurus preaches, to the relative disconnection from society and its perceived evils that Cynics preached to the integration with indifference of the Sceptics to the attention to duty and the spirit of responsibility of groups like the Stoics. I will also comment on Pre-Socratics along with the 'Big Three" of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle where their views are applicable to bipolar people. My main goal? To write on the best possible way for bipolar people to live, contribute to society or achieve mental and emotional peace (or both.) What is possible for the bipolar sufferer? What is realistic? What is preferred? What if a bipolar sufferer chooses to forego all the above questions and perspectives to achieve a different way of facing society and living their lives? These are the questions (and many others) that I want to comment on and I hope I can create an interesting and insightful dialectic to anyone who happens to read it. After the Greeks, I'll probably comment on the Existential philosophers (my favorite group) and other more modern minds. I will also attempt to comment on how bipolar people and views of political philosophy intersect though it isn't my main goal. In my view, people with mental illnesses are not welcome by the general public in political matters so I don't want to write endlessly on a subject that I feel largely doesn't apply to the bipolar. ALL of that said, I'll be posting some comments soon. I'm a huge fan of the opinions of Epicurus; I also like the Cynics and Sceptics so I'll be starting with those schools of thought. I hope that anyone who reads my blog will find it entertaining, stimulating and thought provoking. My E-mail address is below if anyone wants to contact me for whatever reason.
wwwocls@yahoo.com
I'm new to blogs and I don't know my way around yet so there are several features I'll need to learn (such as if someone can just message me through the blog or not.) All comments relative to bipolar disorder and/or it's relation to philosophy are welcome. If you are a person with bipolar disorder and you would like to chat with me about it, excluding philosophy, you are more than welcome. As I've written above, I have a lot of experience with the ups and down of the illness and will help if I can.
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