Hey everyone, Ali Mattu here, and I am with Tristan Miller That's me.
I'm an actor a stand up comedian podcaster and mental health advocate.
Yes.
Thank you for also saying that I wanted to do an episode about the top bipolar depression
myths.
Yes. and I Thought you'd be an awesome person to have on to help me out with this.
I appreciate that.
I am an expert in as much as I live with it every day and talk about it and do stand up
comedy about it.
So let's let's do that.
Well not that well maybe comedy.
OK.
What's your what's your first one?
The first one and this is one that I remember it comes from a personal incidence that bipolar
means you're just angry.
It also means that you're anxious it also means that you that you're hyper active sometimes
and irritable because things are going.
It feels like everything's going to slow.
And it means you're going really really fast or you really really slow.
And those are the two ways I like to define them because slow can mean depressed.
But it also can mean anxious or just kind of catatonic.
For some people it might not be anger but it could be like irritability like easily
being emotionally set off.
And when you have those ups and downs during the day they're generally based off of external
factors and not the disorder like Oh you had a bad day but you were feeling great or you
haven't eaten or drank enough water that day and your body is like do something about this
please.
Yeah that's another one that I had which is bipolar disorder explains all of your emotions.
Yeah I think everybody experiences every range of emotions no matter whether or not you're
mentally ill.
People feel things that everybody feels things Does that happen to you?
Are people like Oh are you just saying this because or are you just feeling that because
of bipolar people don't necessarily attribute that to me.
But I know I do.
I look at my own feelings and I'm like Are you actually mad or are you doing.
What is it emotional reasoning.
Are you feeling something and trying to tack it on to something.
I feel like neurotypical people don't question that.
They're like oh I'm offended whereas I have to go am I actually offended am I feeling
too good or am I just in a good mood.
But sometimes people have gone look man Are you actually upset or like what's going.
Are you actually sad.
Are you sad.
Are you sad about this movie or are you just feeling down and it's like I don't now like.
And that's hard because it kind of gaslights you to question everything and that kind of
goes into something kind of linked into my second one.
And it is that we're all like abusive or that we are emotionally manipulative we're sensitive
people Ali we're sensitive to people.
And I think that's the main common denominator between all people that I've met with bipolar
disorder they're very sensitive and they they get hurt really easily.
Trying to get someone as something out of somebody say oh I'm sad or why I feel great.
And you should be on this journey with me either way that's not the case.
We just are experiencing things like normal people do.
And when anybody experiences anything they want empathy.
That's the our whole drive as a species is like we want other people to feel with us.
How I describe it to folks is you know imagine being a third degree burn victim and you're
in a hospital and the windows open so there's some wind coming in.
No one else in that room really notice is the wind.
But if that layer of protection that your skin is supposed to be if that layer has is
not there you experience that wind in such a severe way and it's quite painful.
So a lot of folks with bipolar depression they feel and experience things more intensely
than other people might.
There's a certain beauty of being that sensitive but it also is a pain in the ass like because
it's one of the things that I've cried about forgetting to shut the fridge door once.
That's not normal.
You shouldn't romanticize it is there.
It's an illness it's a disease and you've got to treat it like it could kill you because
it could.
The idea that it's your fault.
Sure it's a huge myth.
OK.
So it's a little Good Will Hunting there that don't do this to me doc, don't do it.
It's a very biologically based problem it does run in families.
There's a strong genetic component to it.
It's not your fault that you're experiencing it.
It's your responsibility.
Yes.
You have to figure out how to deal with it and cope with it.
It is absolutely up to you to own up to what has happened in your life what is happening
in your life and reform your life.
So you are happy and healthy and the other people around you are too the next one I have
is that we should all be on medication medication can be a tool but it's just one tool in a
box of many you should have a big old tool chest for me I take anti anxiety medication
when it gets really really bad.
But never when I don't need it.
And I think that's something that should be championed more because it is about finding
the right fit rather than everybody should be on Lithium.
That's totally everybody should be on a mood stabilizer because some people are fine and
some people aren't.
And you got to whatever makes you function the best.
What goes along with what you're saying too is there are therapies that work you know
like it's not just about medication as the only treatment for bipolar disorder Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
The way I say it in my set it's like we having the oatmeal variety pack of mental illness
of like because you know every day you're waking up What's the flavor?
Oh it's intrusive thought syndrome.
It's chunky what are the chunks you know that sort of thing.
Another one I have is that we're dangerous people as a community we're kind of viewed
as unpredictable which is understandable because at a certain point we are once again it's
that sensitivity a lot of us are really kind and we try and do good things.
We're not all mean.
Yeah we're not all mean.
Ali No.
I know.
I know you're super nice people who experience mental illness are much more likely to be
the victims of violence.
Yeah than those who cause violent acts.
The next one I have is that we're just depressed because people don't I think in general I
don't know what bipolar depression is.
What is bipolar disorder.
Tristan?
I think Carrie Fisher put it so well it's going really really fast and then being really
really sad.
A lot of people think it's happy and sad.
It's really like saying it's really fast and then it's slow you have slow days and you
fast days and some days the slowness is because of congestion and trafficking of your mind
where things kind of just drip out.
And then other days everything pours out.
That's another metaphor she came up with.
It's a faucet an emotional faucet and either it's open or shut.
Your personality is still there even when you're up and down.
You're like there's that whole thing you are not your illness it informs who you are but
you are not it that gets into one of mind which is mania feels good.
Yeah.
It's a fun.
Yeah it's a ride.
It's great.
Generally I've found that people with bipolar disorder don't end up in the hospital when
they're depressed.
They end up when they're up and they've had a psychotic break.
Once again Carrie was really open about her experience of like she went to a mental institution
because she thought the walls were talking to her.
That's hard.
That's not fun.
You know no one likes that.
No one likes being delusional it's scary.
It's really frightening.
And this ties into the next thing I have and this is once again for people who have bipolar
disorder like hypomania a sustainable as a feeling as because hypomania tends to be a
little bit more euphoric I think and a little bit more productive because it's not as debilitating.
I know there have been times where I just it's almost like an addict of like I just
want to get back to where I feel creative and I feel happy and I feel good about myself
which is so hard because it's not sustainable.
It'll go away every time.
The key to being successful with living with this illness is when you are in those episodes
how do you deal with your life.
Patton Oswalt was talking about his experience with depressants because you do as an artist
and if your artist and mentally ill you do think that it kind of comes from you and that's
actually my next one is that the disorder is a catalyst for creativity where he has
spoken very openly about.
Once I was on medication.
Thoughts came easier to me.
I didn't get in my own way.
And so if you can step to the side and let that thing out and whatever makes that easier
if it's medication it's therapy if it's being more doing more things keeping active and
being creative.
Just do it.
What questions do you have about bipolar disorder and what myths have you experienced?
Let us know in the comments below.
Where can people find more of your awesome amazing healing Funny work You can go to Tristin
J Miller dot com.
You've got a YouTube channel too get where people can check out some of your stuff I'll
put a card right over there click on that card check out.
So beautiful!
Yeah I know.
I know you did really good work.
Thank you.
Yeah I programmed that myself.
Yeah.
Thanks for being on the show.
Tristan.
we're going to do another episode.
Oh yeah yeah.
It's going to be about how to cope with bipolar disorder.
Yes.
I think that's almost more important in a way.
Yeah but we can say that now because you just watch this whole video but Yeah, got cha check
out that video and see you soon.