First, take a good look at this Mental Health Humor cartoons series, The Family Stew. That’s me and my Bi polar symptoms. Even on a couch, it looks like a lot of hard work. Have you ever met someone like me? Maybe, you know someone living with bi polar disorder or you have loved someone with bipolar?
If so, then my cartoons may be a little to0 close to home. You may not find all my cartoons funny. Some are not always meant to be funny. The idea behind the cartoons is to use humor to cope. Remember it’s helpful, even therapeutic, to use humor in dealing with many of life’s issues. So why can’t we use humor as a tool for mental health?
With this in mind, I have taken the serious symptoms of Bipolar Mania and Bipolar Depression and paired it with one of my Mental Heath Humor cartoons below. Coping with Bipolar symptoms with the use of Positive Humor is good for us. Laughter is the best medicine!
Yes, I can laugh! I know it’s not all fun and games… Maybe, I’ve got a higher purpose, one that takes hard work to achieve. One that has been called by different names… Like, “balance,” or “recovery,” or “normal.”
Before I get into the symptoms, let me just touch on one thing. Bipolar is not an excuse. If some say things like, get off your butt/couch/sofa/or chair” or “why can’t you do more” or “be more highly functioning” or contribute to society…It is as if they are saying something is wrong with my MORAL Compass…
Well, I say…Laughter is the best medicine!
In the above-Mental Health Humor Bi polar cartoon, can you pinpoint any of my common Bipolar symptoms? Do you see any Bipolar Mania or Bipolar Depression phases that we may share in common? Remember not everyone’s symptoms are the same and the severity of mania and depression can very. Let’s use a little Mental Health Humor to review some of the other symptoms.
“Symptoms of Bipolar?”*
During a manic phase, symptoms include:
- heightened sense of self-importance
- exaggerated positive outlook
- significantly decreased need for sleep
- poor appetite and weight loss
- racing speech, the flight of ideas, impulsiveness
- ideas that move quickly from one subject to the next
- poor concentration, easy distractibility
- increased activity level
- excessive involvement in pleasurable activities
- poor financial choices, rash spending sprees
- excessive irritability, aggressive behavior
- feelings of sadness or hopelessness
- the loss of interest in pleasurable or usual activities
Mental Health Humor and psychological disorder humor and cartoons by Chato Stewart
- difficulty sleeping; early-morning awakening
- the loss of energy and constant lethargy
- the sense of guilt or low self-esteem
- difficulty concentrating
- negative thoughts about the future
- weight gain or weight loss
- talk of suicide or death
See more symptoms at Psychcentral.com Symptoms Of Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression)
Chato Stewart
* Bipolar once known as Manic Depression
# Bipolar and Uni-Polar depression differ due to the manic state of the bi polar episode.