Ask Dr. Van Pelt

Today, we will discuss the dichotomy between the following statements:

"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't."

General George S. Patton, Jr.

"...if your husband was on fire, trapped, in trouble or needed help, I would do whatever it took to help him. Including giving my life. I come from a place far away from here that believes in doing whatever it takes for the other. Somewhere that got lost in these parts."

Apparently, these statements are adopted by the same person. And I say that in a very loose sense because the opposite concepts truly indicate a bipolar personality.

Bipolar disorder is not a single disorder, but a category of mental illness defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood, clinically referred to as mania. Individuals who experience manic episodes also commonly experience depressive episodes or symptoms, or mixed episodes in which features of both mania and depression are present at the same time. These episodes are normally separated by periods of normal mood, but in some patients, depression and mania may rapidly alternate, known as suicidal tendencies. Extreme manic episodes can sometimes lead to psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. The disorder has been subdivided into axis I and axis II, Bipolar NOS, and cycholothimia based on the type and severity of mood episodes experienced.