How the Human Stress Response Explains Away “Bipolar Disorder”

54
16135

My current diagnosis is “Bipolar I Disorder.” In a few years, that likely won’t exist. I might even be able to sue my clinician for not assessingΒ β€” or ruling outΒ β€” known biological markers of stress that overlap with conventional diagnostic features.

Here is how it works.

What we now know about the stress model

For a variety of complicated reasons, some of us develop an overactive stress baseline (sympathetic/fight-or-flight response) early on in life. Here’s the down and dirty from Robert Sapolsky, world-renowned neurobiologist and primatologist at Stanford University:

Across numerous species, major early-life stressors produce both kids and adults with elevated levels of glucocorticoids (along with CRH and ACTH, the hypothalamic and pituitary hormones that regulate glucocorticoid release) and hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system. 32 Basal glucocorticoid levels are elevatedβ€”the stress response is always somewhat activatedβ€”and there is delayed recovery back to baseline after a stressor. Michael Meaney of McGill University has shown how early-life stress permanently blunts the ability of the brain to rein in glucocorticoid secretion.Β (Sapolsky, 2017, pp. 194-95.)1

A simple way of thinking about this is that a lot of us start our lives in ‘high idle’ mode. The engine is always a little too revved and running a bit fast for its own good. Plus, it’s harder than usual to calm it down. This puts added wear and tear on the system, and that begins to show over the years.

There are a zillion ways the effects of a high rev can manifest. The stress response affects virtually every aspect of human functioning.Β  Here are some that Sapolsky (2004)2 discusses in another book:

  1. Functioning of glands, hormones, neurotransmitters
  2. Heart, blood pressure, cholesterol, breathing
  3. Metabolism, appetite, digestion, stomach and gut functioning
  4. Growth and development
  5. Sex and reproduction
  6. Immune system, vulnerability to disease
  7. Pain
  8. Memory
  9. Sleep
  10. Aging and Death
  11. Mental health and well-being
  12. “Depression,” motivation, ability to experience pleasure
  13. Personality and temperament
  14. Vulnerability to addiction

In other words, there’s practically nothing that happens in human minds and bodies that the stress response doesn’t potentially affect.

How the stress response affects us individually is a different matter. Human beings are incredibly diverse in our life circumstances, experiences, interests and gifts. There is no manual for life. Nor is there any one right way of doing things. Rather, human development is more of a creative endeavor.

Each of us constructs a response to the challenges we face based on what we have to work with (personally, socially, environmentally) at the time. With time and repetition, some responses start to come more naturally than others. They start to feel like the essence of ‘me.’ And, in all likelihood, what I come up withΒ β€” and what ends up feeling entirely natural to meΒ β€” will end up being entirely different from what you come up with and what ends up feeling natural to you.

That’s the beauty and diversity of life. It potentially gives us a lot to learn from each other.

So what’s going on with ‘mania’?

Well, here’s a really interesting piece of information. As it turns out, the human stress response (sympathetic/fight-flight) is a real swinger. It plays for both teams. In other words, the stress response doesn’t just get turned on by fear, like if I’m being chased by a bear. It also turns onΒ if I am the bearΒ and chasing you. This was discovered by a bunch of researchers at the University of Florida. (Bradley et al. 2001;3 Bradley et al., in press;4 Lang et al. 2010;5 Lang et al. 2013;6 Schupp et al. 2004.7) Here is one of the diagrams they drew to illustrate what they found:

(Schupp et al., 2010, p. 598.)

As you can see, the upside of the stress response (appetitive motivation) has a lot of overlap with the exciting and pleasurable things that many of us tend to chase after when we’re so-called ‘manic.’

When you think about it, it makes sense though.

The human stress/survival response (sympathetic nervous system/fight-flight) developed to help us surviveΒ β€” both as individuals and as a species. Our survival is not just about getting away from threats as fast as we can. Survival also requires us to be alert and on the ball for potential opportunities.

It’s not enough to just know there’s an opportunity. A lot of opportunities are only there for a moment. Like classic cat and mouse, you have to gear up and go after it before it gets away.

Think of bargain shopping at Walmart on Black Friday. I have to be able to mobilize really quickly if I’m going to snatch up that hot deal on a big screen TV. Fortunately, the survival response is there for me. It’s all over the stuff that matters to human beings the mostΒ β€” thereby enabling me to out-hustle or out-wrestle the next guy who is all over the same Walmart bargain that I am.

Physiology of “Mania”: Symptom by symptom

So now that we have a basic outline of what’s going on, let’s take a look at so-called ‘mania.’ We’ll go through the criteria for a ‘manic episode’ symptom by symptom so you can see how the stress response is potentially operating here.

DSM 5 Criteria for Manic EpisodeΒ 

A) A distinct period of abnormally andΒ persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable moodΒ and abnormally andΒ persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lastingΒ at least 1 weekΒ and present most of the day, nearly every day (or any duration if hospitalization is necessary.

B) During the period of mood disturbance and increased energy or activity, three (or more) of theΒ following symptomsΒ (four if the mood is only irritable) are present to a significant degree and represent a noticeable change from usual behavior:

1.Β Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity.
2.Β Decreased need for sleepΒ (e.g., feels rested after only 3 hours of sleep).
3.Β More talkative than usualΒ orΒ pressure to keep talking.
4.Β Flights of ideasΒ or subjective experience thatΒ thoughts are racing.
5.Β DistractabilityΒ (i.e., attention too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli), as reported or observed.
6.Β Increase in goal-directed activityΒ (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) orΒ psychomotor agitationΒ (i.e., purposeless
non-goal-directed activity).
7. Excessive involvement inΒ activities that have a high potential for painful consequencesΒ (e.g., engaging in unrestrained
buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments).

Let’s start with Criteria A first: elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, increased energy,Β increased goal-directed activity.

To really see what’s going on, let’s go back to that Walmart bargain and take a look at what is happening physically and mentally:

  • First of all, an opportunity like this doesn’t come every day.
  • In all likelihood, I’m gonna get something I desperately want at a price I can finally afford.
  • But there’s a catch: I get the bargain if and only if the item I want is still on the shelfΒ β€” which requires me to activate like crazy to beat out the next guy.

So is my mood expansive or elevated…? You bet. It’s the chance of a year, and I might get it.

Am I going to get potentially irritated…? Well, if anything cuts me off or gets in my way, you bet.

Is my energy increased…? You bet. I have to make a dash for it.

Am I goal-directed…? You bet. That’s the whole purpose.

Does it last a week…? Probably not, because it’s a one-day sale.

But it could. Like if I had to compete with the other customers in a survivor show for the chance to get the best dealΒ β€” and that competition went on for a week or a month… Well then, if I really, really wanted that item, and this was my one chance, I might well stay revved for as long as it took to give myself the best chance I could at landing the prize. And, just the same as if I was in a war zone and had to stay in high alert, my body would likely rise to the occasion for as long as I needed it to in order to protect my interests as much as possible.

Okay, on to Criteria B. Here’s where you have to understand a bit more about the fight or flight response and how it actually affects us. When I’m chasing the opportunity of a lifetime, this is what my body does:

  1. Adrenaline surges. My heart pounds, lungs pump and blood pressure amps. All of this is in service of getting as much fuel and oxygen to my muscles as possible.
  2. My hair stands on end, my fists clench, my legs get ready to run. Everything is primed and ready to pounce at the drop of a hat.
  3. My digestion shuts down. My stomach gets queasy and light. My bladder and bowels emptyΒ β€” just to make sure there’s no needless surplus holding me back.
  4. Higher-order thinking (judgment) gets put on hold. That takes energy that my muscles need to move me. It also takes wayyyyy too long. This is a time for action! I can’t afford to get bogged down in details. Once the cat is in the bag, there will be plenty of time for a more careful and reflective appraisal of what could be different.
  5. With judgment out of the way, out come the fast reflexes and old habits. The autonomic system takes over behind the scenes and starts calling the plays. Whatever it is that I do best and know bestΒ β€” whatever comes most naturallyΒ β€” is what that system goes with. After all, the stakes are high. This is the Superbowl of my life. I’m not going to try out a new quarterback or a new play. I’m also not going to put in the second string. No way! It’s the stuff I’ve already done a zillion times over that is going to get done once again in this frame of mind.
  6. Next come the tunnel vision and the tunnel hearing to shut out all the outside distractions. Attention rivets. This allows me to hyper-focus and totally zoom in on my vision of what I want to happen.
  7. I feel no pain. Literally. Endorphins, my body’s natural opioids, are in full gear now, again making sure that nothing distracts me from the task at hand.
  8. It gets even better. The fact that I’m pursuing a highly meaningful personal goal is giving me massive hits of dopamineΒ β€” which is essentially endogenous cocaine. In other words, I’m getting encouraged and reinforced by my body’s own reward system to wholeheartedly pursue something I care about a lot.

Okay, now let’s go back to Criteria B.

1.Β Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity. Am I feeling pretty powerful here? You bet. An opportunity of a lifetime is within reasonable reach. My muscles are pumped. I’m feeling no pain. I’m getting massive internal rewards. Endogenous cocaine is telling me I’m doing great.Β Β Any outside feedback that could discourage me is being shut out. Yep, this space feels pretty awesome. And if I weren’t pretty awesome too, then why would I be here?

2.Β Decreased need for sleep.Β  Let’s be honest. Is there any chance in hell my body is going to let me sleep in these circumstances…?

3.Β More talkative than usualΒ orΒ pressure to keep talking. Yep, for sure. If I care about you or you care about me, you bet I’m talking. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I want you to know about it. I want you to get in on it. I want your support 100%. This is way, way, way too precious for either of us to miss out on. And, I’m gonna make sure you know that. I’m also going to make sure you have all the information you need to help this plan succeed. Heck, you can even carry it out without me if I go down.

4.Β Flights of ideas, racing thoughts. You bet. There’s so much to figure out and so many angles to anticipate. All possibilities must be considered. All vulnerabilities must be anticipated and addressed.

5.Β Distractability. Frankly, I might never feel this good again. I’m on a roll and I better take advantage of this energy while it’s here. There’s not a moment to lose. I need to make sure that I get everything I can possibly get while the universe is being this generous to me and making me feel this amazingly great. Yes, I know you might think you have important things to say to me. But that can wait. We can talk anytime. You don’t understand.Β This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

6.Β Goal-directed activity,Β psychomotor agitation. Yep. This is here for sure, like we talked about above, for all the reasons above.

7.Β Risky activities, high potential for painful consequencesΒ (unrestrainedΒ buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments). Exactly. This is where the survival response is really so deadly.

In simple fact, the whole purpose of the survival response is to facilitate quick action and fast resolution. So it’s basically telling me that everything is urgent and to run, run, run. Because, after all, this is theΒ opportunity of a lifetime.Β So, nail it down, right now. Once we have it in hand, there will be plenty of time afterward to think about what we did, how we did it, how it might go better next time. But, says my brain in the survival frame of mind,Β this is not the time.

In these circumstances, my better judgment really doesn’t have a chance. It’s under-resourced at the same time that my body is primed for action and my old habits are given a free reign. There’s also very little chance of any outside feedback getting past the firewall that is being patrolled by the high intensity tunnel vision/tunnel hearing hyper-focus system that is keen to insure that 100% of my attention is focused on pursuing this reward.

So that about does it. Dispensed with all the symptoms of so-called genetic, chemically-imbalanced ‘mania’ armed only with the little ole garden-variety human stress response that happens for millions of Americans every Thanksgiving.

If you’ve been following me so far, and relating it to your own experience, then quite possibly you’re beginning to see how all of this might come together to create the ‘perfect storm’ that gets labelled a ‘manic episode.’

But what about that inevitable crash that comes after the so-called ‘mania’? Where does that come from?

Piece of cake. The survival response runs on borrowed time and energy. It requires sacrifice from all sorts of other bodily systems. At the time, I have no idea this is happening. The adrenaline, the power surge, the dopamine hits, the pain killers, the hyper-focus frame of mind all converge to keep me chasing short-term gains.

Once I come back to earth, however, it’s payback time. There’s a boatload of refueling, replenishing and damage repair that has to be doneΒ β€” at the very least in my own body, quite possibly in my life as well.

Let’s talk Biomarkers

Hopefully by now you can see how mostΒ β€” if not allΒ β€” of the so-called ‘bipolar’ symptoms connect to the human stress (survival) response. The even better news is that there is a way to test to see if this is what’s happening. There are numerous biomarkers for these kinds of stress states: blood pressure, blood sugar and oxygen levels, blood and saliva tests for hormones (e.g., adrenaline, glucocorticoids), skin conductivity tests, muscle tension or twitching, frequency of movement, whether fine motor or large motor movements are more prevalent, pupil dilation, whether visual perception is biased toward detail or gross impressions, brain scans to see what neural pathways are ‘hot’ or ‘cold’… the list goes on.

What about other DSM Disorders…?

Yep, they all potentially have their stress response correlates, with symptoms that match known ‘stress signatures’Β  as well. It’s only a matter of time before we start to map them and do the real/honest science that so many of us have been calling for all along.

Stay tunedΒ β€” we’ll be debunking some of these other ‘disorders’ from a stress response perspective in the near future.

Why this matters

Let’s suppose you tell me that the wreckage I create in a ‘bipolar’ state of mind is due to a genetic or disease condition that renders my brainΒ  structurally defective.Β  If that’s the case, then any hope I have of effective treatment is logically the purview of brain scientists, doctors and surgeons.Β  My major role is to pray that they figure out a cure and soon.

On the other hand, suppose the problem isn’t that at all.Β  Suppose that what’s really driving my so-called ‘mania’ is that my stress/survival response is firing wildly.

Then the solution is a lot more within the realm of something I can work with. Yes I have some learning to do. I need to understand the basics of how the survival system operates. I need to learn what turns it onΒ β€” and even more importantly, what turns it off.

But if I have that basic knowledge (which the average person can be taught in a few hours) then I have a tremendous amount I can work with through my own observation and trial and error.

Working with ‘Mania’

Here are some basics that I’ve found useful for me.

What turns me on?

The survival response turns on from fear. Predator fear and prey fear look a little different. Predators get scared of losing opportunities. Prey get scared of becoming them. But fear is still the basic trigger that activates the system.

What turns me off?

I used to think there was no way to shut this thing down. It had been a part of meΒ β€” and basically running my lifeΒ β€” for long as long as I could remember. I couldn’t imagine how I could work with it. I had tried so many things, none of them really seemed to work. The drugs shut me down, but killed everything I enjoyed about myself along with it. I felt stuck.

Things started to change when I began to see my body as my ally, rather than my enemy.

The simple fact is this: My body basically hates being in survival mode. The survival system burns up energy and resources like they’re going out of style. It’s simply not sustainable.

There are 300 trillion cells in the human body. The survival response oversupplies a few of them, but leaves the vast majority high and dry. For the rest of these cells, life in survival mode is pretty dismal. Their needs are all basically getting ignored and going unmet while the survival system is off and running. They are not happy about this at all. Nothing would make them happier than to exit survival mode and go back to the other option (happy, sustainable, relaxed) that every human body has to offer.

This other option is the rest and refresh mode of the parasympathetic nervous system. You don’t hear much about this system. It’s considered boring, compared to fight or flight. It’s basically involved in repair and maintenance.

But, when you think about it, there is tremendous wisdom and potential in this restorative bodily system. It’s what lets us digest food, keep a steady heartbeat, not forget to breath,Β  replenish resources and sleep at night. It’s what allows us to grow, heal injuries, defend against infection, reproduceΒ β€” and love and connect with ourselves, each other and whatever is beyond.

Better yet, this restorative (parasympathetic) part of us has been with us since the womb. It knows our needs and how to meet them better than anyone else could. No cell in the body is even more than five cells away from the capillary network it manages. It literally does brain surgery on us every night while we sleep to heal the damage of the day.

Put another way: The β€˜dumbest’ one of us on the planet has a parasympathetic nervous system that is smarter than any neuroscientist who ever lived. If that weren’t the case, none of us could be alive right now.

Turning Off ‘Mania’

If I want to function in this world, my body basically gives me two choices:

1. A survival (stress) response that revs me up and keeps me running and chasing.

2. A restorative system (parasympathetic) that offers less excitement but the option of real serenity and sustainability (well-being).

My personal belief is this:Β I have to decide β€˜which wolf I want to feed.’

For me, that means actively choosing which bodily system I want to live in and relate to life from as human being. Is it the body of trust and connectionΒ β€” of sustainability, restoration and well-being? Or is it the body of excitement, ambition and hot pursuit?

Setting my mind to go for the trust and connection body is about half the battle. Here are some other tips I’ve found useful:

  1. The survival (stress) system goes on for a reason. It is signalling me that something I care about feels unsafe or at risk. Once that risk is addressed, the system has no reasonΒ to stay on. It turns off naturally once I start to feel secure. As a result, I generally approach my activation with an eye to restoring a sense of safety and well-being. I ask myself what I’m scared of and try to listen honestly for the answer.Β  Sometimes just doing this muchΒ β€” honestly owning that I’m scared of something and facing the truth of what that isΒ β€” can help a lot.
  2. There’s a bit of a trick to making conscious contact with the body of well being (restorative system). I can’t access this part of me by trying harder or forcing myself to feel something. The harder I try, the more my survival (stress) system revs up. The restorative (well-being) system turns on when I make a decision to let go and allow myself to be helped. I consciously shift my focus from trying to fix it to actively cultivating my capacity to trust and be cared for. This parallels the wisdom of many religions (and also Twelve Step programs). My personal belief is that this is not an accident, but more on that another time.
  3. As someone with a boatload of social trauma, and a really bad relationship with my body historically, making this shift this has not come easily. Nevertheless, I’ve found it possible with practice. Over time, the internal motor has begun to slow down. Everything is not always a crisis anymore.Β  It doesn’t always have to get fixed right awayΒ β€” and sometimes not at all! There is now a frame of mind that I can access where everything really is okay just the way it is.
  4. In trying to lessen the amount of time I spend in survival reactivity, it helps to learn to recognize the signs of amping up. I can then use that β€˜biofeedback’ as a mindfulness bell to return to the body of well being. Once back in that state of relative well being, I can begin to gently inquire into what is scaring me and allow possibilities for addressing it to bubble up.
  5. The long and the short of it is that there’s a zillion ways to feel scared, but also a zillion resources for feeling safer. There’s also a zillion options for finding something or someone I can potentially put my trust in. That’s where the diversity of life and experience on planet earth is a huge asset.
  6. It can also help to do things that physically reassure my body and the cells in me that we are not in crisis. I try to find ways to be with myself that are totally different from how my body would act if I were running from a bear. This includes moving slowly and intentionally, activating my curiosity about small things, doing stuff that takes fine motor coordination instead of large muscle groups, making tiny gentle touching movements one finger at a time, wiggling my toes one toe at a time, doing something familiar and easy like making my bed or washing a dish, playing my guitar…Β the possibilities are endless.
  7. It’s important to be patient. As Sapolsky points out, the transition from survival (sympathetic) activation to restorative well being (parasympathetic) is a delicate one. It’s bad for the body to have both systems firing at the same time (like heart attack bad). Also, it takes a while to clear one set of hormones from the bloodstream and introduce new ones. Thus, the body needs to time to make a safe transition. This takes a whileΒ β€” a minimum of 10-20 minutes, and more likely an hour or two. Sometimes, I even find it happening slowly over several days when I’ve been on a real emotional bender.
  8. Waiting out this transition can feel really uncomfortable. The more activated I am, generally the harder it is to sit tight. But if I’m able to keep trusting in the process (instead of panicking and ratcheting myself back into stress reactivity), my body gets progressively more comfortable. My muscles relax as my cardiovascular and endocrine systems stop pumping and priming them for action. The circulatory system starts re-routing oxygen and glucose to my stomach, intestines, pancreas, kidneys and prefrontal cortex. Queasiness, cravings and gut discomfort dissolve as my digestive system reboots into a context of relative calm. Rational capacities return, and big picture perspective and judgment radically improve as my brain has increasingly more to work with. The end result is that I become progressively interested inΒ β€” and capable of enjoyingΒ β€” rest, relaxation, sleep, healthy food, recreation, mundane social interactions and life management tasks. My body repairs and restores.

Eventually I feel human again.

Below are some steps that I use to help me make the transition. I practice them daily, often by setting a timer and doing them as a meditation (e.g., 1-2 minutes per step).

It actually really works, if I’m willing to try it.

Show 7 footnotes

  1. Sapolsky, R. (2017). Behave: the biology of humans at our best and worst.Β  Β New York : Penguin Press,Β https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/19107284-d0wnload-behave-pdf-audiobook-by-robert-m-sapolskyΒ  (pages 194-95).
  2. Sapolsky, R. (2004).Β Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, 3rd Edition (New York: Holt Paperbacks),Β https://www.mta.ca/pshl/docs/zebras.pdf.
  3. Bradley, M. M., Codispoti, M., Cuthbert, B. N., & Lang, P. J. (2001). Emotion and motivation I: Defensive and appetitive reactions in picture processing. Emotion, 1(3), 276-298.Β https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cd1a/a512069ea32d00bba9e2d9e62f172304652f.pdf.
  4. Bradley, M. M. & Lang, P. J. (in press). Motivation and emotion. In J.T. Cacioppo, L. G. Tassinary, and G. Berntson (Eds.),Β Handbook of Psychophysiology (2rd Edition). New York: Cambridge University Press, http://brain-mind.med.uoc.gr/sites/default/files/aaaaEmotion_0.pdf,
  5. Lang, P. J., & Bradley, M. M. (2010). Emotion and the motivational brain. Biological Psychology, 84(3), 437–450.Β https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612949/pdf/nihms-164194.pdf
  6. Lang, P. J., & Bradley, M. M. (2013). Appetitive and Defensive Motivation: Goal-Directed or Goal-Determined? Emotion Reviewβ€―: Journal of the International Society for Research on Emotion, 5(3), 230–234.Β https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3784012/pdf/nihms452994.pdf
  7. Schupp, H., Cuthbert, B., et al. (2004). Brain processes in emotional perception: Motivated attention, Cognition and Emotion, 18:5, 593-611,Β http://wwwtest.kch.uiuc.edu/Research/Labs/neurocognitive-kinesiology/files/Articles/Brain_processes_in_emotional_perception_Motivated_attention.pdf

***

Mad in America hosts blogs by a diverse group of writers. These posts are designed to serve as a public forum for a discussionβ€”broadly speakingβ€”of psychiatry and its treatments. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own.

***

Mad in America has made some changes to the commenting process. You no longer need to login or create an account on our site to comment. The only information needed is your name, email and comment text. Comments made with an account prior to this change will remain visible on the site.

54 COMMENTS

  1. I really like this article Sarah. People on MIA recommend alternative solutions. It’s great to see examples of these solutions presented and analysed as you have done here.

    I’ve read through your thesis but I’ll have to go through it again and again to get to a full understanding. It’s very worthwhile though.

    The amyglydia (I believe) says “if it looks like you’re in trouble, look after yourself at all costs”; and Dr Peter Breggin says (I believe) that “Neuroleptics wreck the amyglydia”. This is the position I was in when I stopped taking “my medication”.

    I have to let go of my defenses to get to a position of “wisdom”. That’s not an easy thing to do, but for me it gets a lot easier as I get older.

    Report comment

    • Flachra – yes, I so relate. I get so embarrassed by how self-centered and self-focused I become in high-stakes, high-stress frames of mind. And yeah, I suspect SSRI’s messed up my stress response big time for the worse. I share your goal of dropping my defensiveness. Grateful you are out there working on it too. In the end, I think it’s necessary – not just for those of us with formal labels – but for any of us who would like to see a kinder, more just, more honest world.

      Report comment

      • Thanks Sarah,

        What about other DSM Disorders…?

        “2. There’s a bit of a trick to making conscious contact with the body of well being (restorative system). I can’t access this part of me by trying harder or forcing myself to feel something. The harder I try, the more my survival (stress) system revs up. The restorative (well-being) system turns on when I make a decision to let go and allow myself to be helped. I consciously shift my focus from trying to fix it to actively cultivating my capacity to trust and be cared for. This parallels the wisdom of many religions (and also Twelve Step programs). My personal belief is that this is not an accident, but more on that another time.”

        Once you know this works, you’re Saved!

        Report comment

  2. This is a fantastic summary, Sarah. I do not have a background in medicine/neuroscience/physiology, so I am not qualified to comment in detail, but it makes perfect sense of the phenomena I have observed in many clients who have been diagnosed as ‘bipolar.’ From a psychological perspective, mood swings do sometimes seem to be driven by the need to escape from overwhelming unprocessed emotional memories of grief, pain and powerlessness, into a state of feeling confident, powerful and outwards-directed, and I have found that working with the underlying emotions and memories can reduce the need to escape into ‘mania.’ I think this is compatible with your model. Your synthesis is also a very useful expansion of the biological mediating factors that we have discussed in the Power Threat Meaning Framework.

    Report comment

    • Thank you so much for weighing in here Dr. Johnstone. The Power Threat Meaning Framework is such a crucial and monumental work. The hope in writing this essay is that readers will hold the PTM framework in mind as the overarching context, and see the biology proposed here as a possible, partial application of that larger framework to a specific ‘disorder’ posited by the DSM.

      Report comment

  3. THE best work I’ve seen in the field. Keep going!

    “There is no manual for life. Nor is there any one right way of doing things. Rather, human development is more of a creative endeavor.”

    What more to say?
    Beautiful truth, Sarah, thank you.

    Report comment

    • This a fair criticism, Dr. Kelmenson. Given how this essay is written, I make it sound like I’m only interested in biology. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The stress model proposed here is not intended as a standalone theory. It is intended as a complement to culturally-aware, social justice and trauma-informed paradigms like the The Power Threat Meaning framework (Johnstone et al. 2018); The Social Justice Model of Fundamental Human Needs, (Knutson, 2016) and Intentional Peer Support (Mead 2008). The history is that I have been working on the Social Justice Model of Basic Human Needs for the past 6 years, which talks about how mental well-being is inextricably intertwined with fear and insecurity human needs and social justice considerations. My work drew heavily on theories proposed by Shery Mead in her work on Intentional Peer Support two decades ago. Both models are very similar to (and thus validate) what Lucy Johnstone et al. (2018) of the British Psychological Society independently proposed a couple months ago in the Power Threat Meaning Framework. With the work of Johnstone et al. firmly establishing the relationship between mental well being and considerations of power, threat, meaning and social and social justice considerations, I was then free to focus on the one aspect of my model that the work of Johnstone et al. did not address – that is: how normal physiological responses operating in human minds and bodies are consistent with – and actually support – the framework that Johnstone et al. so beautifully documented in their work.

      Johnstone, L. & Boyle, M. with Cromby, J., Dillon, J., Harper, D., Kinderman, P., Longden, E., Pilgrim, D. & Read, J. (2018). The Power Threat Meaning Framework: Towards the identification of patterns in
      emotional distress, unusual experiences and troubled or troubling behaviour, as an alternative
      to functional psychiatric diagnosis. Leicester: British Psychological Society, https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/introducing-power-threat-meaning-framework,
      Knutson, S. (2016). Einstein, Social Justice and the New Relativity, https://www.madinamerica.com/2016/02/einstein-social-justice-new-relativity/). I’ve been working on a Social Justice Model of Basic Human Needs for the past 6 years.
      Mead, S. (2008). Intentional Peer Support: An Alternative Approach, http://www.intentionalpeersupport.org/product/intentional-peer-support-an-alternative-approach/).

      The model is very similar to what Lucy Johnstone et al. of the British Psychological Society recently proposed in the Power Threat Meaning Framework. Which is very similar to what Shery Mead proposed in Intentional Peer Support nearly 2 decades ago.

      Report comment

    • This a fair criticism, Dr. Kelmenson. Given how this essay is written, I make it sound like I’m only interested in biology. It may help to know that the stress model proposed here is not intended as a standalone theory. It is intended as a complement to culturally-aware, social justice and trauma-informed paradigms like the The Power Threat Meaning framework (Johnstone et al. 2018); The Social Justice Model of Fundamental Human Needs (Knutson, 2016), and Intentional Peer Support (Mead 2008). The purpose of this essay is to address a question left somewhat open by Johnstone et al. – that is: how normal the physiological responses operating in human minds and bodies are consistent with – and actually support – the framework that Johnstone et al. have so beautifully documented in their work.

      Johnstone, L. & Boyle, M. with Cromby, J., Dillon, J., Harper, D., Kinderman, P., Longden, E., Pilgrim, D. & Read, J. (2018). The Power Threat Meaning Framework: Towards the identification of patterns in emotional distress, unusual experiences and troubled or troubling behaviour, as an alternative to functional psychiatric diagnosis. Leicester: British Psychological Society, https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/introducing-power-threat-meaning-framework,

      Knutson, S. (2016). Einstein, Social Justice and the New Relativity, https://www.madinamerica.com/2016/02/einstein-social-justice-new-relativity/).

      Mead, S. (2008). Intentional Peer Support: An Alternative Approach, http://www.intentionalpeersupport.org/product/intentional-peer-support-an-alternative-approach/).

      Report comment

      • I don’t think Dr. Kelmenson’s statement stands on its own, but I don’t think “biology is bad” or that there is a problem with biological explanations. The problem with the bio-psychiatric model (the one we’re all “mad” about) is 1) that it is disempowering, and does not work towards health, rather “removing pathology” which is not an effective way of treating “mental health issues” or extreme moods, stress response, broken society or whatever the issue really is. You can’t treat it as pathology, because you need the whole system of the “mind/brain” working effectively to work. Meds take part of it out of commission in an attempt to “remove the pathogen.” So part of the “mind/brain” is gone. That’s not working.
        2) It’s just wrong. It’s not a “chemical imbalance.” That’s false.
        So a biological model that doesn’t have these two problems, works towards health and is actually true… Well that should be a good thing, if it’s useful to people. If it’s not they can “try what works until it doesn’t, and then try something else.” Or, just accept that it’s sometimes difficult, and act on our values. Or whatever it is that the Dr. is actually suggesting we do. You seem to have a good model, and good advice on how to handle things. Biology isn’t a problem if it provides a useful model that will lead to effective, good outcomes.

        Report comment

        • Thank you for making the distinction that you do Samuel. You articulated so beautifully what I hope others might appreciate about a different way of approaching human biology. For me, the stress approach has the potential to be a great leveler. What I believe we are up against here is not really ‘mental illness’ at all. It’s the human condition – and what happens in human minds and bodies – when we care deeply about something or have something unimaginably awful happen – and then are unable to find or access meaningful outlets or ways of resolving it in our known world. This, for me, is not a failure of biology or a question for medicine. Rather, it reflects the poverty of our relationships in contemporary culture. It is deeply painful to me to know – and have personally experienced the transformative power of human connection and relationship in my deepest, darkest hours – and still see so little attention given to the idea of ordinary human beings as a crucial resource for each other in times of intensity or distress.

          Report comment

          • You bet! I’m really liking your model, and I went to your blog for more info, and plan on researching the other links.. especially the BPS and the former NIMH director… Totally agree… human beings are a crucial resource. I’ve been volunteering at Soteria Israel, and I see how effective that resource has been. Much success with this!

            Report comment

    • I would like to try that. Unlike Bob Whitaker’s wonderful books, this would focus exclusively on those with “Bipolar” diagnoses allegedly “unmasked” by SSRIs prescribed for depression or an off label purpose.

      Blaming the Patient. How’s that for a title?

      Report comment

      • Yes Rachel! Please do write that piece! That kind of consciousness raising about the potential harms from drug-based approaches is SO essential. It’s part of my story as well, though in far subtler ways than for many people. I didn’t ‘go manic’ from the drugs (I wasn’t on them that first time) – it was the anxiety that put me over edge (I believe). But a few years later, after some time on SSRIs, I ended up with a body I no longer recognized as the same one I had had for the first 35 years of my life – and that (I believe) was fundamentally changed for the worse by SSRI exposure. That’s a different part of my story that I hope to write about in another piece. If you want a preview glimpse (not a very well written one – just some notes I’m working with for the moment), you can find it here: https://peerlyhuman.blogspot.com/2018/03/reality-in-nutshell-how-human-stress.html

        Report comment

      • Sarah,

        I believe “Schizophrenia” could be eradicated (and the hopeless cases brought back to life), with the model you present.

        I see your Your Stress Model as being very effective to someone attempting to taper from neuroleptics and suffering from the “High Anxiety” of psychiatric drug withdrawal.

        Many years ago I suffered from dreadful Anxiety when I attempted to withdraw from neuroleptics*. It was worse than anything I had previously known, and I tried lots of different tactics to get myself off the hook.

        Finally, I discovered that if I stopped trying to think my way out of it, my Anxiety would eventually soften and that my problems would then become manageable.

        From a calm perspective my problems became “non problems”. You explain the physical processes attached to “High Anxiety” very well and you give excellent advice on how to deal with them.

        I’m really looking forward to more extremely useful Presentations from you on Mad in America.

        *(The drug I withdrew from in the mid 1980s was Depot Injection Fluphenazine Decanoate “suitable” for “Severe and Enduring Mental Illness”).

        Report comment

  4. wow, thank you so much Sarah.. What you write really makes sense and gives me some ideas (and reinforcement as to what I already do) as to how to stop the mania. We can never ignore how our brain is involved in this, the amygdala is a wonderful part of our brain and the reason why I say you can never treat anxiety in the long term with drugs as our brains will always adjust to them so it can survive.
    The last time I got really manic (ended up in hospital) I didn’t get depressed afterwards as I framed the low energy I felt as “convalescing” and didn’t beat myself up about it. I was back to work in 3 weeks (7 days of those I was an “acute inpatient”)
    Just wondering if you have any comment on how the seasons effect this. I can have the same level of stress in summer of winter and I won’t go manic but if it happens in Spring or autumn I start revving up.

    Report comment

    • What a great story Pauline. I love how you reframed the meaning and got a different outcome. This fits so well with what Lucy Johnstone et al. have been positing in the Power Threat Meaning Paradigm (https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/introducing-power-threat-meaning-framework), and illustrates the potential impact of a simple shift in perspective. I think the seasonal question is a great one. I notice changes in that myself. Sometimes I’m tempted to see this as purely ‘biological’ but I also notice that the seasonal changes have different subjective meanings for me – like fall means winter is coming, so get prepared for a longass haul, and spring means relief from dark times and being cooped up inside – and also less energy that my body has to expend just keeping my internal organs warm. That’s all I’ve got so far – anyone else…?

      Report comment

      • Yes i have read the Power Threat Meaning Paradigm and can relate my story to this very easily. I was also very pleased to see Intentional Peer Support in the appendices as this way of working I’m very passionate about (I coordinate peer services in my area in NZ and am a trainer. Interesting about seasonal changes. I certainly feel myself “coming alive” like a frolicking lamb in the spring. Also I am quite effected by time changes with day light savings. I used to travel a lot to the UK and suffered very badly from jet lag.

        Report comment

  5. Really nice, Sarah. Comes at a really good time both personally and in terms of where we are in the integration of trauma-specific services and supports. I think this compliments body based yoga and others sensory/somatic interventions. Love the humour in your work, too!
    b

    Report comment

  6. I don’t have a current diagnosis. They, the mental health coppers, had a diagnosis. Without me, they don’t have a diagnosis. Confessions of “mental illness” might get a person out of an institution, however, such confessions aren’t likely to get a person as far as the denial of the legitimacy of any such confession extracted under torture, that is, state sanctioned violence, bullying, pressure and duress.

    Report comment

    • Really important points about the impact of confinement, coercion and torture Frank. Yes, very true that ‘owning’ a diagnosis – even for illustrative purposes – is a potentially slippery slope and can be used to thwart instead of foster dignity, equality and self-determination.

      Report comment

  7. This article is the best explanation of the manifestation of so called bipolar disorder that I have ever come across. I have always suspected that my diagnosis of bipolar disorder was actually an unusual reaction to stress. I have never accepted the label and have not believed in taking medication and have always wondered why no one in the mental health system was asking what happened to you instead of labelling your behaviour.
    Thankyou for this I will be sharing it with others with this diagnosis and my mental health team!

    Report comment

  8. Ironic how after 25 years of drugs I am worse off physically with a legitimate chemical imbalance created by psychiatry. Yet my depression and suicidal desires are gone.

    And I get along with people. My neighbors would laugh in disbelief if you told them I’m “crazy.” I talked to an old pro-psychiatry friend who thinks I am on “meds.” She was surprised at how much better I sound.

    Report comment

  9. Yes, thank you Sarah, very timely for me as well.

    I hate it when I get out of ‘control’ with anxiety/fear. Your links are useful, and reinforce what I know to be true intellectually; emotionally I still have a ton of work to do.

    Can anyone here tell me anything about “Brain Gym”? It’s incorporated into my local (free!) yoga class, and recently been introduced into the school system. I suspect it could be another tool in the ol’ chest.

    Thanks again. Bookmarking this one!

    Report comment

    • I used to teach juggling in schools and sold the activity using brain gym as a way to sell this as it is a bilateral activity that strengthen the corpus colostrum (hope I spelt that right) which increases the integration between the right and left brain helping with learning etc. It was trendy in schools as part of an accelerated learning model which appears to have gone out of vogue somewhat. (In NZ anyway but good things often get rehashed)

      Report comment

  10. Thanks for this Sarah!
    I think you have encapsulated a part of human existence. I think it works for all folks and did help me to put some of my experiences into a more clarifying framework.
    This should be taught to students everywhere so that we can have an informed public.
    It seems we are as a country – a society- and world all in trauma mode. And not with one trauma but many overlapping the personal and public boundaries of family, work, region, culture, religion, gender – and on and on.
    I think trauma maybe the one universality that can pierce through the blinders of eye, heart, ears, and mind that we all either have chosen or have been forced to wear.
    I would think giving this to the movements besides ours would be invaluable.
    Keep up the work.

    Report comment

  11. “Michael Meaney of McGill University has shown how early-life stress permanently blunts the ability of the brain to rein in glucocorticoid secretion…”

    when these so-called experts make definitive statements, I get skeptical…especially after my wife and I continue to accomplish things in her healing that the ‘experts’ say can’t be done…like shutting off her hyper-arousal that kept her in a heightened state of stress…It can be done…

    I could be wrong, but stress is still one step away from the real problem even if I give you the assertion that some people default at higher stress levels (which is a BIG if)…thus, stress is a symptom not a cause. For my wife the cause was her childhood trauma, for others it may be something else, but I didn’t address the stress, I addressed the trauma and now the hyper-arousal, i.e. stress, is gone…

    Report comment

    • YESSSSS! I couldn’t agree more. What I’m proposing is not intended as a standalone theory. It is intended as a complement to culturally-aware, social justice and trauma-informed paradigms like the The Power Threat Meaning framework (Johnstone et al. 2018); The Social Justice Model of Fundamental Human Needs (Knutson, 2016), and Intentional Peer Support (Mead 2008). I wrote this essay to support these approaches, not contradict them! In particular, I wanted to address a question left somewhat open by Johnstone et al. and Mead – that is: how the normal physiological responses operating in human minds and bodies are consistent with – and actually support – the frameworks they propose (and which Johnstone et al. have so meticulously supported and convincingly argued with existing research).

      For more info on what I believe to be the much fuller picture that the stress model should be interpreted from and applied to, please see the following:

      Johnstone, L. & Boyle, M. with Cromby, J., Dillon, J., Harper, D., Kinderman, P., Longden, E., Pilgrim, D. & Read, J. (2018). The Power Threat Meaning Framework: Towards the identification of patterns in emotional distress, unusual experiences and troubled or troubling behaviour, as an alternative to functional psychiatric diagnosis. Leicester: British Psychological Society, https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/introducing-power-threat-meaning-framework,

      Knutson, S. (2016). Einstein, Social Justice and the New Relativity, https://www.madinamerica.com/2016/02/einstein-social-justice-new-relativity/).

      Mead, S. (2008). Intentional Peer Support: An Alternative Approach, http://www.intentionalpeersupport.org/product/intentional-peer-support-an-alternative-approach/).

      Report comment

  12. To be short and sweet:

    My current diagnosis is β€œBipolar I Disorder.”

    Only if you allow someone to get away with imposing junk science on you and accept that label.

    Obviously your insight resonates with many people. Still, why not just junk the psychiatric/”recovery” trappings?

    Report comment

    • If a creepy date calls me a “fat bitch” should that be my current diagnosis?

      It lacked syllables and air of “scientific” respectability–plus the guy wore jeans instead of a white lab coat and stethoscope. Guess that means I don’t need to self identify as a fat bitch to avoid being labeled as anosognosiac. πŸ˜›

      Report comment

  13. L.M. Montgomery describes an altered state of mind shrinks would call mania or psychotic mania in her Emily books. Emily Starr calls it “the flash”– a burst of ecstatic joy and energy that helps her to write.

    Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon would both receive lovely psych labels now. Anne “laughed and cried far too easily.” Clearly Bipolar 1. πŸ˜›

    Off my “meds” I am experiencing the “flash” again. It’s beautiful. Poor physical health and poverty can’t take it away.

    I’m not spending too much, getting drunk, or sleeping with strangers. My “flash” helps me write stories and understand people better.

    Why should the straighteners steal my joy? Never again!

    I’m not mad any more, but I’ll never be normal. 24 years of isolation mixed with segregated groups for “my kind” didn’t help in that respect anyhow.

    I prefer the term eccentric.

    Report comment

  14. What a beautiful and articulate exploration of Saplosky’s work! This is an excellent read to see a path toward real biomarkers of distress and hence maybe even real solutions where there are actual problems! The Medical Model spends far to much time caught up in labels that are sooo insignificant and only perpetuate a culture of fear and illness. Thanks for writing this!

    Report comment

LEAVE A REPLY