Personal Story

James has bipolar disorder.

Here's his story.

Four months ago, James found out he has bipolar disorder. He knows it's a serious illness, but he was relieved when he found out. That's because he had symptoms for years but no one knew what was wrong. Now he's getting treatment and feeling better.

James often felt really sad. As a kid, he skipped school or stayed in bed when he was down. At other times, he felt really happy. He talked fast and felt like he could do anything. James lived like this for a long time, but things changed last year. His job got very stressful. He felt like he was having more "up" and "down" times. His wife and friends wanted to know what was wrong. He told them to leave him alone and said everything was fine.

A few weeks later, James couldn't get out of bed. He felt awful, and it went on for days. Then his wife took him to the family doctor, who sent James to a psychiatrist. He talked to this doctor about how he was feeling. Soon James could see that his ups and downs were serious. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and he started treatment soon after.

These days James takes medicine and goes to talk therapy. Treatment was hard at first, and took some time, but now he's back at work. His mood changes are easier to handle, and he's having fun again with his wife and friends.

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