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The story of a genius translator in Hangzhou with bipolar disorder
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The protagonist of the story, Jin Xiaoyu
Coexisted with bipolar disorder for decades
For ten years, only one eye can be seen
Completed 22 foreign language translations totaling 7 million words
It has received tremendous attention from society
At the same time, it also makes "bipolar" such mental disorders
Entered the public eye
Is "bipolar" easy to produce "genius"?
Or is the "genius" prone to mental disorders?
Is bipolar disorder a "genius disease"?
Jin Xiaoyu is self-taught and has completed the translation of 22 foreign documents in ten years, and the quality is very high. Flipping through historical information, Van Gogh, Beethoven, Hemingway... Many of the big names we know are bipolar disorder sufferers. There are also many media who refer to "bipolarity" as "genius disease", which makes people wonder: are most of the patients with bipolar disorder talented? Or are geniuses more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder or other mental disorders?
"The disease itself does not bring talent, but the bipolar disorder patients themselves are more emotionally rich and delicate, and when they are in a manic state, their thinking is particularly active, energetic, and inspired, and they may show extraordinary abilities and levels." Professor Hu Shaohua, director of the Department of Mental Health of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, said.
Compared with depression, anxiety and other mental disorders, bipolar disorder (also known as bipolar disorder) is relatively unfamiliar to the public, but in fact, the incidence is not low, according to the latest diagnosed epidemiological data, the prevalence of bipolar disorder is 3.5%. Patients alternate between depressive and manic states, sometimes depressed, unhappy, and hopeless, sometimes emotionally excited, excited, and feeling like they can do anything.
Bipolar disorder patients are extremely rich in emotion, their cognition and feelings of the world will be beyond the understanding of ordinary people, many things, perhaps placed on ordinary people may only cause emotional "small waves", but what happens to bipolar disorder patients is often an "unforgettable" experience. And when patients have manic episodes, high emotions and emotions may bring them special and extreme experiences, stimulate their inspiration and potential, and thus create "genius" works, such as according to later research, Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and "Starry Moon Nights" are likely to be created under the mood of manic attacks, and the World Bipolar Disorder Day is Van Gogh's birthday "March 30".
Van Gogh's Starry Night
In fact, for ordinary people, when they are energetic and interested, they will appear to be quick to react and think actively, and they will appear "somewhat dull" when they are not in good mood. Emotions have a very large impact on people's behavior, and for patients with bipolar disorder, this impact is even greater.
"So, it's not the disease that brings 'genius,' but that a bipolar disorder patient in a manic state may make them more 'burst into potential' in their areas where they are already good at." Professor Hu Shaohua said that he has received many patients with bipolar disorder in the outpatient clinic, including many young people with good grades and excellent learning, he still remembers a high school boy, he himself has been very fond of physics since he was a child, the problems of high school teachers are basically difficult for him, and he has also said that he wants to become China's "Einstein" and subvert today's laws of physics.
"But parents and schools failed to find out in time that the child actually had a mental disorder, and finally the child developed into a serious bipolar disorder, and the suicide attempt was discovered and began to receive treatment."
Compared to "genius"
Even more noteworthy is this
What Professor Hu Shaohua wants to call for is that when the public discusses "genius", we must not ignore the harm of bipolar disorder.
According to research, the mood of patients with bipolar disorder often switches between depressive episodes and manic episodes, patients experience great pain, suicide rates are much higher than depression and other mental disorders, and bipolar disorder patients may be accompanied by other mental disorders such as schizophrenia, eating disorders, etc., and the rate of somatic comorbidities is also very high, such as most bipolar disorders may have immune, endocrine problems, the probability of suffering from hypertension, Hashimoto thyroiditis, systemic lupus erythematosus is much higher than that of ordinary people.
At the same time, the misdiagnosis rate and missed diagnosis rate of bipolar disorder are also higher than that of general mental illness. Professor Hu Shaohua introduced that since 1993, bipolar disorder has been regarded as an independent mental disorder, which was previously classified as emotional disorder and is easy to be diagnosed as depression, but the treatment of the two is completely different, if it is misdiagnosed, it will also induce manic rapid circulation and aggravate the disease.
"So the diagnosis of bipolar disorder is very important, and according to studies, people with bipolar disorder take an average of 8-10 years to be diagnosed." Professor Hu Shaohua said.
The good news is that Professor Hu Shaohua's team took the lead in carrying out research on the brain-intestinal axis mechanism of bipolar disorder in China in 2016, aiming to promote the study of the pathological mechanism of bipolar disorder through scientific research and change the current situation of distress based on symptomological diagnosis. After years of research, Professor Hu Shaohua's team has made breakthrough achievements in diagnosing patients with depression and bipolar disorder, and the Department of Mental Health of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University can diagnose depression and bipolar disorder patients earlier.
Adolescents are at high risk
But don't sit in the right seat either
Bipolar disorder is most prevalent among people aged 15 to 19 years. Professor Hu Shaohua told us that at least one-third of the patients admitted to the mental health department of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University are patients with bipolar disorder, and in the ward, this proportion is even higher, almost 40-50%, most of which are adolescent patients.
At present, the cause of bipolar disorder is not clear, but it is related to genetics, environment, family relations, major changes, etc., and recent studies have also shown that it may also be related to substance abuse such as tobacco and alcohol, and viral (such as Toxoplasma gondii and cytomegalovirus) infection. Among them, it should be noted that bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism are the highest genetic disorders, and the heritability rate can be as high as 80%.
According to research, bipolar disorder is related to certain personality traits, just like depression prefers depressed personality traits, bipolar disorder is often related to impulsiveness, emotional instability, risk-taking, and self-challenge personality traits.
In addition to genetic factors, the family and social environment are also important factors in causing adolescents to suffer from bipolar disorder. Corporal punishment, parental tensions, tense relationships, and prolonged bullying are all important reasons. However, Professor Hu Shaohua also wants to remind parents that although teenagers are a high-incidence group, they should not overcorrect.
"The psychological development of adolescents has its characteristics, at this time his self-awareness germinates, there is a strong sense of self-expression, independent willingness, there may be emotional instability, easy to lose temper and other immature performance, parents do not need children to have a violent performance, worry about children 'manic', but to learn to respect children, listen to children, appreciate children, and maintain good communication with children." However, if the child has emotional irritability or depression that lasts for more than 2 weeks, it needs to be paid close attention, and in severe cases, if there is school aversion and excessive impulsive behavior, it is recommended to go to the hospital for medical screening. ”
People with mental disorders can also realize the value of life
Hopefully, more people will tolerate them
Returning to Jin Xiaoyu's story, Professor Hu Shaohua believes that the greater meaning is not to let everyone see the "genius", but to mentally handicapped patients, who are also likely to realize the value of life.
"There are many patients with mental disorders in our ward, including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, etc., some of them like to draw, some like to play table tennis, some like to write poetry, unless some of them have seriously lost their social function of mental disorders, most of the patients can coexist peacefully with the disease after standardized scientific treatment and follow-up, and even achieve clinical cure, and can also do some very valuable things." Professor Hu Shaohua said.
Jin Xiaoyu in translation work
In Professor Hu Shaohua's view, everyone - whether it is ordinary people, or mental disorder patients, are "gifted", or have their own interests, good at things, but most people may be overwhelmed by daily life and undiscovered, for patients with mental disorders, although they are often lacking in social function, but if they can find what they are good at and are interested in, focus on it, they can do excellent, and even less than ordinary people "earthly worries", On the contrary, you can bury your mind in it and do it more extremely.
Just like Jin Xiaoyu, he has focused on the field of translation for so many years, and he has done a very good job, and he can realize the value of life. "His family is really very good, and we can also see in our ward that if we can get the understanding, tolerance and love of our family and friends, the treatment effect of patients with mental disorders will be better, and they can also live well and realize the value of life." Professor Hu Shaohua said that if early detection and early diagnosis can be achieved, and after scientific and standardized treatment, patients with bipolar disorder can achieve clinical cure, or even achieve cure.
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Giving them more understanding, tolerance, help and support, so that they can find what they like and have a relaxed environment to do, may be the biggest meaning of our attention to Jin Xiaoyu.