About World Bipolar Day

About World Bipolar Day

World Bipolar Day (WBD) - an initiative of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD), the International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF), and the Asian Network of Bipolar Disorder (ANBD) - will be celebrated each year on March 30th, the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, who was posthumously diagnosed as probably having bipolar disorder. 

The vision of WBD is to bring world awareness to bipolar disorders and to eliminate social stigma.  Through international collaboration, the goal of World Bipolar Day is to bring the world population information about bipolar disorders that will educate and improve sensitivity towards the illness.  

 

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that each last from days to weeks.

It is estimated that the global prevalence of the bipolar disorder is between 1 and 2% and has been said to be as high as 5%. 

 

Symptoms

People with bipolar disorder have episodes of:

• Depression - feeling very low and lethargic
• Mania - feeling very high and overactive

The symptoms an individual might experience depend on what mood they are in.

Unlike simple mood swings, each extreme episode of bipolar disorder can last for several weeks (or even longer).

 

Causes

The exact cause of the bipolar disorder is unknown, although it’s believed a number of things can trigger an episode.

These include:

• Extreme stress
• Overwhelming problems
• Life-changing events
• Genetic or chemical factors

 

To spread more awareness or to learn more about World Bipolar Day, check out the following links:

https://www.worldbipolarday.org/

https://www.dbsalliance.org/

https://ibpf.org/

https://www.isbd.org/