Having bipolar disorder is like having a loose emotional switch. Flick the switch up and mood becomes elevated, flick down and mood becomes depressed. The switch tends to flick from north pole to south, or between black and white, without any shades of grey. It is as if there is an absence or a diminution of any inhibitory process to prevent the emotional momentum from building in a particular direction.
(Mood stabiliser) medication is like using glue to stiffen the switch, discouraging the switch from flicking to one pole, and discouraging mood instability.
Anxiety is adaptive. It drives the athlete, motivating them to compete, to train, to perform and to win. It drives the student to attend lectures, to read boring textbooks, to study and to pass. They may be anxious about failure, about humiliation, about losing self-esteem, losing confidence, losing momentum, about letting others down, or merely anxious to chase success. There are numerous fears that might trigger anxiety that is adaptive as it helps to drive some behaviour that is deemed adaptive for the individual.
Anxiety may also be triggered by danger, by t...
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