Fourteen a Day Keeps the Depression AwayEssay Preview: Fourteen a Day Keeps the Depression AwayReport this essayFourteen a Day Keeps the Depression AwayWhat is Bi- Polar disorder? It is a condition formerly known as Manic Depressive Disorder that involves depressive episodes along with periods of elevated moods known as mania. Symptoms of mania include an abnormally elevated mood, irritability, an overly inflated sense of self-esteem, and distractibility. Persons experiencing an episode of mania are generally talkative, have a decreased need for sleep, and may engage in reckless or risk-taking behaviors.
What is it like for a child that is diagnosed with Bi- Polar disorder? One of the many challenges a child with this disease faces is attending school. I have a young person in my life that was diagnosed with this disorder at the age of four and has been on medication since. He is now thirteen and is in the 7th grade. A characteristic of his particular disorder is that his IQ is considered that of a genius and last year in the 6th grade he was even accepted into the Mensa Society. Every morning, afternoon, and evening he is expected to ingest a handful of various mood-stabilizers. He talks to everyone, but more often his self, and stays up all night watching cartoons. He does not have any friends and his medications have caused him to become overweight. Should young children take so much medicine that they need uppers and downers? He has never been removed from them all at once but every few months they take him off one thing and then he starts some new miracle drug. There is no inclination what kind of person this child would be without medication in his system that alters his emotions and personality.
This child has been diagnosed with Bi- Polar disease, ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Oppostional Defiance Disorder. I ask myself if he really has all these conditions or if all young children get hyper sometimes. He cries because he cant figure out how to use his vocabulary word in a sentence. He throws a conniption fit when the loops of his shoelaces arent tied exactly symmetrical. I have gone back and forth for years trying to determine what he needs. Up to the age of four he would get so frustrated that he would lash out. A cat scan revealed that he has seizures in the frontal lobe of his brain that cause him to become aggravated and sometimes violent. He would bang his head on the floor and even spoke of how it would be better to never exist. Suicidal tendencies are
A kid that can walk as fast as he can, be a person. He is not a child who is easily distracted or agitated. He will never get bored. His life. He’s not a loser or a loser with a history that will never last. He is a smart, funny, happy kid who is learning to ride his bike and he will never give up. He’ll find happiness in school without the distractions that he is exposed to when he is at home. The first time he would walk around in a black bean bag, his head would be covered in paint and his legs would be raised up high in a line.
If I see an overabundance of high school kids in a black bean bag, this is my concern. If you see an underabundance of kids in a black bean bag, this is your concern.
As you look at this picture, the question becomes, how can these children all have this?
There is one reason.
How can we do better?
(Photo by: Alex A. Smith)