Bipolar Disorder: Boy Interrupted

Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood and the ability to carry out daily tasks. Due to this disorder, Evan Perry could not live a normal life. When he was a small kid he used to talk about death and rifles, things that 6-year olds don’t think about. The Perry family had already experienced a similar case. Evan’s uncle suffered from bipolar disorder and committed suicide at the age of 21. Evan’s parents said they knew that when a really energetic and happy episode came, a very depressed one would follow. Evan’s life was like a roller coaster, after a high peak came a hard fall. This disorder affected everyone around Evan, his parents, siblings and friends. His first suicide attempt was at a very young age when he was found in his school’s roof. After going to many institutions, he escaped and did crazy things such as breaking into a stranger’s house but he also learned a lot and became more dedicated to cooperate with his teachers. In wellspring, he developed many skills and drank some pills that balanced his mood shifts. The weakness of these pills is that they make people feel as if they have no emotions. The medications controlled his behavior and everyone around him saw his huge improvement. His parents even thought he might be cured but bipolar disorder can not be cured. Evan had thoughts such as “nobody loves me”, “everyone would be better off without me” just like any teenager, the difference was that he had these feelings ten times worse and many more episodes of depression than a normal teenager. Evan tried without his medication but it obviously did not work. After a discussion about homework he left a note and committed suicide at the age of 16. This caused a lot of suffering for Evan’s family but during an episode of depression he could not understand how much this would hurt the people he loved. It was almost as if there were 2 Evans; a really happy one and a depressed one.