Hi Laura Droege

Thank you for your comment at Provoketive Magazine (http://provoketive.com). We’re creating a space of rich conversation about life, faith, justice and culture without judgment. Our desire is to provoke the reader’s imagination through conversation and open up spaces of dialogue, learning, and hope.  We want to invite you to come back soon and continue to participate in the conversation. 

Thank you,
Jonathan Brink
Provoketive Magazine

You posted the following comment:
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Hey, Melody--

Thanks so much for the encouraging words! In answer to your question, bipolar disorder is characterized by extremes in moods: depression on one end of the scale and mania (high, elevated, unnaturally energetic mood) on the other. Sometimes there is psychosis along with the mania. There are two types. I have type 2, which has "hypomania" rather than classic "mania"  (it's a step down from mania and doesn't last as long), and horrible depressions. Oddly enough, it's kind of hard to get diagnosed with bipolar disorder, even though the definitions sounds clear enough on paper. I kept getting diagnosed with depression because that was my main symptom. 

I love what you wrote about how God values us and our stories. Simply beautiful. Thank you for reading.