Bipolar Brittany; creativity and bipolar affliction in Hollywood.

Bi polar behavior is in no short supply in Hollywood. If it is not crazy agents screaming into the phone, it's out-of-control actors (that would include the female variety) driving drunk, wielding baseball bats at paparazzi . .  the list goes on. As amusing as it may be in TMZ snippets, this is not healthy, not natural behavior. No one knows what percentage of people living in Los Angeles are bipolar, but studies have shown that there are very high rates of bipolar among people in the arts, which includes musicians, poets and writers. "We don't know why this is the case, but there may be something about the gene for creativity that runs not only in those types of professions but in bipolar as well," said Dr. Lori Altshuler, the Julia S. Gouw Professor of Psychiatry and director of the UCLA Mood Disorders Research Program. "We are not talking about a town where being married and going to church every Sunday is highly valued," said Rebecca Roy, a therapist who estimates that 75% of her clients are musicians, actors, producers and writers, and advertises her practice with the slogan "Stay Sane in an Insane Industry." "L.A. is about reaching for the heights, for whatever is possible. That is kind of a manic view: the idea that there is always a carrot on a stick in front of you and if you can just gear yourself up for it you can get it. Millions and millions of people come here for that reason."

Bipolar may go undiagnosed in many communities, but in Hollywood, manic traits are not only overlooked, they are celebrated. (There are two types of bipolar: I and II. The difference is one of degree. Those with bipolar II experience hypomania, but not mania. In most cases, hypomania does not impair a person's daily functioning.)

 

Bipolar traits include increased energy and productivity, a decreased need for sleep -- many with bipolar need only three to four hours of sleep a night during a manic or hypomanic phase -- and increased self-esteem, talkativeness and sociability. "These are the types of traits most actors would like to have all the time," Altshuler said. "People who are hypomanic are the life of the party. They are magnetic, and the problem is, they don't want to be treated for hypomania because it feels so good. Case in point, Britney Spears, who has now been hospitalized twice for potential BP affliction. Her mania may look like fun on the outside, but I assure you, it is not. She is swept up by forces she can neither control nor understand. From all appearances it has swallowed her whole. And she is clearly self-medicating with alcohol or drugs or both. 

 

 

To be sure, the list of celebrities with bipolar disorder is in the hundreds. Some actors, such as Carrie Fisher and Patty Duke, have come out publicly about their struggles. Actress and activist Mariette Hartley, who has appeared in shows such as "Star Trek" and "The Incredible Hulk" over the course of her long career, called her decision to come out about the disease "wrenching. Famous or not, bi-polar affliction is a tough one. Doctors know there are very high rates of drug and alcohol abuse in people who are bipolar, many times higher than the general population rates. Experts say the list of celebrities with bipolar disorder (some confirmed, some not) is in the hundreds. Carrie Fisher and Patty Duke have come out publicly about their struggles. Mariette Hartley has appeared in shows such as "Star Trek" and "The Incredible Hulk" over the course of her long career. She admits that her decision to come out about BP was "Wrenching. Whether you are a famous actor, or a farmer in Iowa, this disease can be hidden from yourself," she said. "When the demons hit, they get you wherever you are."