Being a life long Rocky Mountain guy, if I were ever asked to describe depression in picture form, I would probably start with, “imagine you’re in the Northwest”… I’ve been here for a week and am suffering from lack of solar gain.
I’m told that it’s something you get used to. The sun actually did come out one day and I found it really kind of exhilerating, followed by a trampled feeling when the clouds came streaming in and swallowed it all up again. Sounds like a bipolar disorder region.
As a life insurance agent who is in love with the high mountain, small town way of life, I find it interesting that people can live in big cities, or places where the sun rarely shines, and keep it together without medication. I don’t know that I could do it.
Bottom line. Coping is what it’s called. Maybe those people who can deal with those places have better coping skills than I do. I’ll let them. I’ll keep my low coping skills safely tucked away in the mountains or on semi deserted beaches.
January 18th, 2008
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been blogging a lot on the subject, or dealing with life insurance underwriters and doing research, but bipolar seems to be popping up everywhere in my world.
I hear the word more. I see more ads on TV for treatment options. I hear it being discussed on talk shows and yes, in the tabloids. It seems, like most health issues, that there about as many treatment options as there are variations on the theme of bipolar.
I read people’s stories. You never find stories about mild, stable bipolar. Not much to tell. Take the medication and get on with life. The stories I do find really drive home just how varied and deep the disorder can be. One of the most recent I read was about a guy who was diagnosed bipolar while on a mission trip. Pretty horrible experience.
The good news is that we are reaching a lot of those people who’s stories are tough, but not horrible. The good news is that those who we are reaching that are compliant with their bipolar treatment and because of that they are able to lead stable lives, are also finding that the lie about bipolar being uninsurable is just that, a lie.
Bottom line. Life insurance companies aren’t looking for Superman or Superwoman. They do want to know that, whether it is diabetes or bipolar, their potential clients are doing all the right things and taking their situation seriously.
January 18th, 2008
