Heidi’s Story

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The person featured in this video is sharing his or her individual experiences living with bipolar I disorder. They have been compensated for her time. Individual experiences with the condition and treatment will vary.

Sponsored by AbbVie.

Heidi

My name is Heidi, I live in Boca Raton, Florida. And I’ve been living with bipolar disorder since I was in my early 20s.

You could be fine for a while. And then bam, manic episode, you know, stress, something happens that, you know, can catapult you into a state where you’re getting into a manic place.

It’s a high; there is a sense of elation, a sense of, you could do anything. And then there’s a sense of, of like, I had special powers, or I was going to write a manuscript or a book, but in a manic state, it’s like, I got to do it all night, I’m gonna stay up all night and write this screenplay. And before you know it, you are out, you’re out for the count.

You know it’s not your fault, and you still feel like, you just feel helpless, you feel like there’s nothing you can do about it. You know, you can’t, you can’t power through bipolar. You have to ask for help. I think the hardest thing to do is ask for help.

With mental illness, unfortunately, we live in a society where there’s a lot of stigma around it. I’m hoping that being able to talk about this helps lift some of that stigma.

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US-VRA-240077 03/24