"Emotional changes everyone has, bipolar patients have extreme emotional changes, when happy they are very confident and excited, when sad, they will be very desperate, feel that life has no meaning." 」
- One thought of heaven, one thought of hell, one thought of ignorance
The movie "A Thought of Ignorance", a niche Hong Kong film, depicts the experience and mental journey of Ah Dong, who suffers from bipolar disorder, from a mental hospital and returning to society.
When his father took Adong out of the hospital, the doctor also focused on telling the family to pay attention to supervising the patient to take medicine. When extreme emotions overload the psychological and mental load, can not regulate themselves, has reached the medical judgment of mental illness / disorder, must follow the doctor's advice, take medication on time, and review on time. In reality, after a period of treatment and improvement of symptoms, patients will be very negative or even avoid taking medicine.
Antoine was like this, quickly avoiding taking the medicine after being discharged from the hospital, initially pretending to take the medicine at the urging of his father, and then going to the bathroom to spit it out. Including after experiencing some life events, the father, after being injured, was very angry and asked Antoine to take medicine, and Antoine also had a very strong emotional resistance. On the one hand, patients have a sense of shame, are tormented by the symptoms of the disease and feel that they are not strong enough, on the one hand, they feel that just taking medicine cannot solve the demons that plague them, on the other hand, they feel that their families only care about whether they take medicine, they do not really care about themselves, they do not care about their inner feelings, and they do not love themselves.
In the treatment of mood disorders such as bipolar disorders, it is necessary to use drug therapy as a basis and psychological treatment as a supplement. Especially after receiving standardized drug treatment in psychiatric hospitals and returning to society, we must pay attention to psychological treatment while insisting on taking medicines. In the case of ensuring a stable state of mind, psychoeducation is carried out to change his wrong/negative/negative cognition and help him restore cognitive and social functions.
This must be a long and repeated process, the patient in the long negative life events, slowly eroded, slowly swallowed, the mother's illness and mania in the family, the lack of father, the escape of the brother, the burden of life, the girlfriend's incomprehension, etc., all of which crushed him at the moment when Antoine accidentally killed his mother.
His subjective world collapsed, as if he had experienced a magnitude ten earthquake, and now he was living like an aftershock every day, stimulated by the situation of life, he would flash back to the memory scene that made him miserable, such a life, constantly collapsing, constantly rebuilding, it was really hard. Therefore, patients with bipolar disorder/ mood disorder, while adhering to drug treatment, need psychotherapy to help rebuild the spiritual home, so that the displaced heart is no longer homeless, which consolidates the treatment effect and prevents recurrence, and has a very positive help and support for the patient's return to society.
When it was time to analyze what was in line with the standard performance in Antoine, I clearly felt my resistance, I didn't want us to wear colored glasses because someone had bipolar disorder/mood disorder, we saw that he was not right anywhere, don't label them. Based on this, I still found some typical/atypical problems.
1. Manic/hypomanic
At a friend's wedding, uninvited, noisy, indifferent to the feelings of others. Stimulated by the words of guests, they will associate themselves, especially if they are trapped by money, they will be unbearable when others discuss money, and they will be emotionally excited, and even have some hostility to others. But as Antoine says, "The doctor said that when I was sick, I ignored the feelings of others, but I still knew how to respect others." So, if Antoine hadn't been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, in a culture that encourages individual expression, I would have thought of Antoine as a very personal person.
In the interview for the job, Ah Dong gushed about himself, and it was even difficult to be interrupted by the interviewer, he was full of confidence, and the interviewer was obviously impressed by him. And when Antoine confessed the fact that he was hospitalized for bipolar disorder, he was "beaten to death with a stick", and the interview unit did not accept him as a "psychopath". Therefore, whether many extremely confident people have a certain degree of hypomania, I don't know, nor dare I imagine.
After his ex-girlfriend found him for dinner, he was very happy and ran to tell his father that he would soon get married and have many children, and of course his father was very happy for him. With a vision of a better life, he launched his own wealth action, bought a lot of flower boxes and seeds, prepared to build a farm on the rooftop, planted plants can be purchased online, and then delivered to the door, earning the first bucket of gold to rent other rooftops, maybe soon can be listed for financing. If Antoine does not fall into a depressed state later, in this state of hypomania, maybe he can really succeed in starting a business. But as far as entrepreneurship is concerned about achieving wealth freedom, he is still relatively blind and lacks planning for market research.
In a state of good/manic state, he is full of confidence and energy, and he can chat warmly like an old friend with unfamiliar neighbors, if it is a familiar person, it is understandable, but when Antoine picked up the cup in the other person's hand and drank a sip of water, this is more surprising to the other party.
2. Depression
It really hurts Ah Dong, when he enjoys the good in the world of hypomania, the critical blow of life makes him exhausted and unstoppable into the torrent of depression.
Perhaps the original intention of the ex-girlfriend was to take Antoine out of the painful state of guilt for his mother's death, but when she demonstrated how she could get out of it, the strong emotional expression/accusation overwhelmed Him, he clearly felt the unfriendliness of the environment (subjective feeling), he felt insecure, and the cells of his whole body were used for defense, for protecting himself. Finally he broke down, feeling unable to protect himself, helpless, and walked out of the venue to the convenience store, eating chocolate almost like crazy, as if it were the last straw that could save him and give him strength. Unexpectedly, suffering was like dominoes. Photographed, pointed, accused, he collapsed, burst into tears, and curled up in a corner weakly, as if he were a speck of dust.
After learning about it, his father took him to the hospital for the first time, but he met a doctor like a machine (sorry), and his father wanted to have more expression and communication, but he did not get more support. In particular, when asked if you want to commit suicide, you have to go back to a mental hospital if you want to commit suicide, and you don't give people a trace of human care, which I regret.
After that, Antoine could not go out, lying in bed all day, not bathing, and no longer going to the roof to water the flowers. Every day with pain, every day with tears. Scenes from the past came to erode him and devour him, but he could not dodge. The mother's negative evaluation and groundless accusations blame Antoine for her own painful tragedy; the mother's yelling and scolding, emotional catharsis, or the moral irony of being embarrassed to bother you, step by step, pushing Antoine into a dead corner. Antoine was treated as an emotional trash can, and slowly he himself despised himself and could not and would not love himself.
When it comes to the diagnosis of symptoms of bipolar disorder/mood disorder, all people are warned not to take the standard to themselves, label themselves, and if necessary, they must go to the psychiatric department of a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment. Normal mood high and low, ups and downs, everyone will have, everyone adjusts the time is not the same, feel psychological overload can find a counselor to talk. I feel that not only can't slow down, but also affect my normal social function, and when I can't work normally, I have to consider going to the hospital.
If the causes of bipolar disorder/mood disorder include genetic, biological, psychological, and social co-pathogenic factors, then its treatment and prevention also requires the efforts of individuals, families, and society. In our opening chapter, it has been said that individuals should gradually develop positive living habits and attitudes on the basis of drug treatment and psychological treatment.
Speaking of families, what else can we give them (bipolar/mood disorder) love, which is a big proposition in itself. When we tell them to take medicine, can we not be so tough and blunt, and care more about their psychological feelings; don't always tell him that you are sick, don't strengthen his sense of shame, give them more humanistic care and understanding; don't tell him not to think wildly, can you think of something happy, can you be normal, and accept and tolerate them more. Of course, accompanying bipolar disorder/mood disorder patients themselves will be very stressful, and families also need more self-care. In the case of their own rationality and stability, they actively help patients to restore their functions and integrate into society. For the early warning signal that the patient may be relapsing, keep a heart, and actively communicate with the doctor to prevent recurrence.
Speaking of society, I thought of the great Adler in my heart, and I hope that Adler's successors will actively devote themselves to social work and social education in psychology. Eliminate the misunderstanding and demonization of bipolar disorder/mood disorder by the general public, after all, in this fast-paced and stressful society, no one can guarantee that they will not be overwhelmed by emotional collapse. The more support society has for them, the higher the degree of attachment to ourselves. Don't give them verbal violence, discrimination and exclusion, it is the disease that hinders them, not that they are problematic.
In the end, if there is no support from family and society, may they be able to open the most primitive power of life and heal themselves. Be able to love yourself, protect yourself, avoid exposure to situations that trigger negative emotions, actively seek positive support from family and friends, and develop good habits and attitudes. May all people in distress (bipolar disorder/mood disorder, etc.) be able to think of heaven, hell, joy, and blossom as foretold at the end of the film.