Below is a question posed by a user via Quora.com The Question is “How to explain Bipolar Disorder to someone else?” I did paraphrase by the way, Hope my answer helps,
First What is your angle? Why do you feel the need?
Are you an advocate for the understanding and compassion for those who suffer mental illness?
I ask because you may not want to explain it at all.
What is the purpose? Everyone in one way or another has some form of mental health issue in my opinion.
You feel you need to be understood? We all want to be understood.
Here is how you can explain perhaps how you may feel……. I say this because I feel this way and it’s a great analogy.
I am the lab rat. I am in a maze. There is no way to ever solve the maze as of yet.
I can move from front to back, left to right, but the outcome is always gonna be the same redundant cycle.
I’ll never exit the maze. There are beautiful parts in the maze, scary parts, agitated parts, renovated parts, crazy parts, serine parts, but all those areas have no exit out.
I live within the confines of my maze. My maze is different than your maze, your maze and yours.
I interact in my maze differently than yours. Basically you can’t teach them just tell them as I told you.
On my really bad days I’m in the dark corners of my maze. Good days bright. But no matter which way I go, no exit is in sight.
Just band aides, pills to cover and cloak.
If not for my beliefs in God, I would not be here.
NJM~
Good Luck, God Speed.
Bipolar Tapestry~Poetic Thoughts 