Bipolar Disorder

*Update* I've recently started writing a blog that takes a look at mental illness and how to cope from a Christian perspective. Curious? Check it out: findinghopecatholic.wordpress.…

I recommend full view.

I have had the idea for this picture in the back of my mind since the beginning of the year. It's actually one of the reasons I began to pursue drawing again. I suppose you could say its a representation/slight satire on how I feel about Bipolar Disorder and its treatment. We have medication that works...for the most part. But it's not a magical cure. And there's various side effects to deal with. So while there are much worse diseases and disorders to be diagnosed with, its still not exactly a walk in the park.

I redrew this picture a couple years later with a bit of a different twist. You can check it out here if you're interested: okbrightstar.deviantart.com/ar…

Fellow sufferers of Bipolar disorder should readily understand this picture. I hope so anyway . Bipolar doesn't seem to be a very clearly understood disorder by the general public, so for a fairly decent explanation of the disorder itself Wikipedia has an article on it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_…
I've found that the ideas many people have about Bipolar disorder more closely resemble Dissociative identity disorder (a.k.a. multiple personality disorder) which is definitely not the same thing. Or they are unrealistically simplistic. It's often a rather complicated disorder, so if people are curious I recommend researching it.
If you can't read the drug names they are Zyprexa and Bupropion. Zyprexa is a commonly used antipsychotic used for treating Mania. Bupropion (a.k.a. Wellbutrin) is an antidepressant which tends to be used in treating depression in Bipolar disorder because its less likely to trigger mania than other antidepressants. I chose these drugs simply because they are ones I'm personally familiar with. Lithium is also commonly used and one I'm readily familiar with, but because it's a general mood stabilizer and can work for managing both mania and depression it wasn't something I could easily incorporate into the picture.
I think depression speaks for itself in this picture. And since it's something people without Bipolar disorder can identify with, I won't bother explaining it. I've also already discussed it in my depression related picture here fav.me/d5hcv8m
Mania is drawn the way she is to represent several different aspects of mania: Her general rainbow/sparkling aura and eyes are meant to represent psychosis, which can accompany mania. Her revealing outfit is meant to represent hypersexuality, another possible symptom of mania. Her dark circles are meant to represent insomnia, which I believe accompanies pretty much any manic episode. Her expression and posture are suppose to represent the overflowing energy and excitement that often accompanies mania. The snakes are suppose to represent the daring recklessness that tends to come along with mania, a well as the underlying danger involved in allowing mania to run amok in your life, unchecked by medication. There can be some very serious consequences from that, up to and including death in serious circumstances.
There are quite a few other aspects of mania that aren't touched on in this image, but I tried to include a couple of the more easily recognizable ones. The entwining of mania and depression in the bottom of the picture is meant to symbolize "mixed episodes" which are a complicated, decidedly unpleasant part of the disorder.

I'm curious to know what other people make of the picture. Especially other people suffering from Bipolar, since I have yet to meet anyone else with this disorder. Advice and constructive criticism on both the drawing and the idea are welcome! Also, I'm uncertain if I've placed this image in the correct category. Feel free to suggest a more appropriate one if you see fit.

I just want to make a note that when looking for references for this image I was shocked to find there are no model pictures in the pose of the girl in this picture. At least none that I could find. I would have thought there would be at least one or two. So due to lack of a reference she was drawn from my head. I apologize or any anatomical inconsistencies you might notice in her. Actually, the majority of this picture was pulled solely out of my head, so if you have any objection with how it was drawn you can blame it on that lol

References

Mania was based off pose 13 of this collection: aomori.deviantart.com/art/Fema…
Her hand was based off the 2nd one in this collection: washu-m.deviantart.com/art/HAN…