Carrie Fisher on Bipolar
Posted in Bipolar by: Alisa
Scott was watching TV while getting ready for work a couple months ago and happened to stop on the Today show when they introduced Carrie Fisher (Princess Leah from Star Wars). Among other things she spoke about being bipolar. I loved hearing her speak about bipolar because we share a lot of the same views.
She talked about the stigma of bipolar and said she didn’t understand it because to live with bipolar “takes balls”. Amen to that sister. Why should I be ashamed of people knowing I’m bipolar when I’m living a functioning, adult life? Sure I have my hiccups and my bad days but I’m taking care of my husband and raising three healthy, happy children. What more could you ask for?
Matt asked Carrie about bipolar being a daily struggle and I feel like my last episode is still so fresh and raw that I do deal with it every day. Every little change in my body sets off alarms that make me hyper vigilant to what’s going on in my body. So I’m not changing from manic to depressed on a daily basis but I do deal with bipolar daily.
How beautiful is it that she describes bipolar as the weather. As moods that happen independent of the person feeling them. They just come on and you have to deal with them even though they are not who you are or necessarily how you are feeling.
It took me weeks to get this video off of my Tivo and formatted right so YouTube would play it correctly. I really wanted to share this with you because it spoke to me. Mostly because I saw someone else who wasn’t ashamed of being bipolar. My gosh, we didn’t ask for this but we sure as heck are doing the best we can. What is there to ashamed of?
February 15th, 2009 at 11:55 am
This is interesting just because I know that Carrie Fisher wrote a book in the 80s about her mom, Debbie Reynolds, and supposedly (I never read it) she accused her mom of having psychotic episodes, etc. So to hear her come full circle and say that its okay to have mood disorders or whatnot is really great.
I think its too bad that there is such a stigma out there about being depressed, being manic, being psychotic, or having fluctuating behavior. When it really comes down to it, its how well you are functioning that matters. There are plenty of people who live with it everyday, and they are coping—that is what is important.
February 16th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Thanks for sharing this–I think much of the stigma of bipolar is going away, actually. I admire people like you who are dealing with it so well.
February 17th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Great clip. I haven’t heard it said better.
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:48 pm
You have been patient in teaching Gary and I about bipolar. Thank you. Alisa, you are our super star, a wonderful wife and mom. You are doing it.