insomnia and Bipolar disorder

Insomnia

Habitual sleeplessness/inability to sleep

Welcome to my Explorations website! For this project, I explored the relation between bipolar disorder and insomnia, and created an art piece that redefines how to portray the two disorders. I worked with my friend Lisa who already has a lot of knowledge about how bipolar disorder causes insomnia. Together we researched bipolar disorder and the certain parts of the brain that cause insomnia. We learned that there is a cycle most common amongst adolescents with bipolar disorder where the irritability from being bipolar causes them to lose sleep. Sleep deprivation results in more irritability, and they cycle continues. Bipolar disorder is often depicted negatively which makes it uncomfortable for young people to have an open discussion about it. On top of the sleep deprivation caused by hormones that teenagers already suffer from, teenagers with bipolar disorder have to also suffer from insomnia. Teenagers with bipolar disorder are silently suffering from their disorder because they don’t want to be shamed or treated differently. Our goal for this project was to bring more awareness to this issue, and to provide a more positive portrayal of the disorders.

 

 

Final Product

I used the application Photoshop and the brush tool to create this. People with bipolar disorder have highs and lows. Insomnia can be caused by either one The eye with the warm colors represents mania, or the “high.” The eye with the cold, dark colors represents the low. The darker eye has its pupil rolled back to represent that lows are not as enjoyed as mania. However, even though the low represents depression and are often dreaded by those with bipolar disorder, it can still be a peaceful time. The eyes mirror each other and are portrayed almost the same way to show that either one can represent insomnia, and they can both be peaceful experiences.

 

Final Production Title

The image below is my infographic. This infographic shows the part of the brain that causes irritability and the physical and mental effects it has on the person with bipolar disorder. I used the application Illustrator to draw the figures and put the infographic together. I chose a cold color scheme to represent night and calmness. For the part of the brain and the heart which become irritable for people with bipolar disorder, I chose the color red. While insomnia does mean lack of sleep, we learned that those who have insomnia often find it peaceful since they know they can’t control it. After learning this, I decided to keep the color scheme blue and purple to represent “cold,” calm colors.?

 

Reflection Title

In this Explorations project, I learned a lot about how mental disorders effect both your mind and body. The mania causes irritability which makes it merely impossible to fall asleep. Many teenagers suffer from this and it causes a lot of stress in their every day life. It effects their school, relationships, and physical health. As someone who doesn't suffer from this, I was shocked to find out the every day struggles of teens with bipolar disorder. My goal was to portray bipolar disorder visually, however I have never experienced it and therefore don't know the true struggle behind it.