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Mazar recently revealed that her family has been affected firsthand by bipolar depression, the depressive state of bipolar disorder, a chronic mood disorder that consists of recurring episodes of highs (know as bipolar mania) usually alternating with episodes of lows (known as bipolar depression), according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
While she would like this relative’s name to remain anonymous, Mazar recalls a time ten years ago when she and her family helplessly watched one of their loved ones -- a teenage boy -- slowly transform into someone else. “He started acting differently around age 14,” she recalls. “This jovial, smart, handsome, charming, outgoing kid who was totally functioning in school and in society slowly disappeared. He eventually turned into someone who was a sad and reclusive chain smoker who also began using pot and drinking alcohol. There were periods where he’d be jittery, or he’d gain a lot of weight and then he’d lose too much weight.”
Needless to say, Mazar and her family were extremely concerned -- and perplexed. “We’d talk about it and ask each other, ‘Do you think it’s depression?’ ‘Do you think something’s going on at school?’ ‘Is there drama with his girlfriend?’” Mazar understands now why her family didn’t receive any feedback from her teenage relative. “He shut down, and a lot of times people who suffer from bipolar depression don’t talk. They may not even be aware of what’s going on themselves. And I’ve also learned that there’s a tremendous amount of guilt and shame tied into this condition, with the sufferer as well as with the family.”
Mazar's family took this teenager to numerous doctors over the years, who offered various diagnoses and prescribed several types of medications. But there was little to no progress. “He’d be up, then he’d crash,” Mazar remembered. “There were even several suicide attempts. And it got to a point where we thought, ‘This is it -- he may need to live home forever.’ We were an emotional mess. Life, as we knew it, was over," she said.
Because Mazar lives in another state from her relatives, she wanted to do anything she could to help out, even if it was from a distance. “What I did do was listen to what was happening, and I’d pick the brain of any health professional that I would see on my own or that I’d meet on a bus, on a train, on an airplane and ask them tons of questions. I read health articles. I did my own research.”
One year ago, which was about ten years after this teenager began suffering, he was diagnosed correctly with bipolar disorder. It turns out that his case is actually very common. In fact, according to a clinical survey published in the "Journal of Clinical Psychiatry," it can take up to ten years or more for bipolar disorder to be diagnosed accurately. The reason: An initial misdiagnosis, such as major depressive disorder or another mental illness, can follow a person for years, leading to inappropriate treatment that may worse the disease.
When a friend of Mazar’s mentioned his involvement with “Speak and Be Heard: Living with Bipolar Depression," she didn't hesitate to becme a voice for them.
“At first I thought, ‘I don’t really know what I can contribute because this didn’t happen to me or my own child.’ But then I realized how wonderful it is to finally have a campaign that will offer inspiration, success stories and hope to people who don’t have a support system. And since I’d been involved on this rollercoaster with my family, this cause moved me.”
Mazar’s goal today is to spread the word. “My relative is fully functioning today and it’s a result of finding the right combination of medication and diet, as well as having the love, patience and support of his family. I’ve also learned from doctors that diagnosing bipolar is much more complicated because the condition comes with a number of different variables. There needs to be more discussion with our doctors, in our communities and in our healthcare system. We need to do our part to help ease these sufferers back into society.”
Read more bipolar depression success stories.
