I've always been interested in mental disorders since I was younger. Chapter 15 really caught my interest. Particularly, bipolar disorders in chapter 15 caught my interest because my mom was diagnosed with this when my parents divorced when I was a child. I've always wondered what cause such a disorder and if it was genetically passed on. In this chapter, I noticed that the author states that it is the most genetically influenced of all disorders. This frightened me a bit so I started looking at what the symptoms are. In this article called, Bipolar disorder in Medline plus, they stated that Some of the symptoms included being easily distracted, little need for sleep, poor judgment, and poor temper control. I am very easily distracted, have poor judgment, and lately I didn't have a need for sleep. I started to think that there was something wrong with me but there is more to the disorder than I thought. I realized I was just overreacting. I don't sleep a lot because I choose not to. I could be very distracted for many reasons especially because I am in college and it is a new environment. Additionally, poor judgment is probably just because I am a teenager trying to learn from my own mistakes. In conclusion, I learned more about the bipolar disorder from skimming through chapter 15 and it taught me more about myself.
This is very interesting. I often times wonder how similar to my parents I will eventually become as well. I think it is good that you were level headed in your analysis of your symptoms. This is a great example of Scientific Principle #6: Occam's Razor (or parsimony)where the simple explanation, such as you are a college student in a new environment, is usually the correct one. I applaud you for your analysis!
This is a very interesting post because I often wonder how genetically influenced multiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder are. They are both seen within my family several times and it is important to understand all of the signs of each first before assuming anything. It is important to think of how our situation also effects us in certain cases.
Oh! I am so glad you do not fall to the confirmation bias. It is so awesome for you to be objective about your behavior. I think you are completely right! Situations do play a huge role in our behavior and sometimes it stimulates some of our behaviors that we are prone to do. Yet, being aware of this disorder has genetic influence is good for you and I think you are totally fine. :)