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Marci Chavarria

Professor Batty

English 101

May 28, 2019

The Struggles of Being Bipolar in College Due to Medication Side Effects

Imagine starting your day off completely great, when suddenly your mood changes. You

suddenly remember how great you felt minutes ago and now you feel irritated or just sad for no

reason. Can you also try to imagine those feelings you get on a roller coaster? Those are two

examples of what a person suffering from Bipolar Disorder experiences every day. Bipolar

Disorder is an affective disorder characterized by periods of mania alternating with periods of

depression, usually interspersed with relatively long intervals of normal mood. Bipolar Disorder

is not curable but it is controllable with certain medications given by a licensed physiatrist. One

out of many stigmas students with disabilities usually come across, are having a disability be

visible to the eye. Today I am here to prove that in fact students with Bipolar Disorder do

struggle in college when dealing with medication side effects.

Colleges have many resources for students with disabilities. The main advantage would

be the SSD office, which every student with a disability should go through in order to come up

with a plan for their college/education experience. “Mental illnesses are medical conditions that

disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning”

(Belch, 2011). Students who suffer with Bipolar Disorder tend to always stay up late, get no

sleep at all, and rush to get to their deadlines. These certain issues may cause college to be very

difficult. Bipolar Disorder is a common mental disorder that often has its onset during the college

year and it affects 2.6% of people over the age of 18. Studies have shown that medications,
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psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, family-focused therapy, interpersonal and

rhythm therapy help those who suffer with this disability.

Bipolar Disorder has certain focuses to take in consideration for all of those individuals

dealing with it. For college students, medication, its side effects and the cost can be

overwhelming. A psychiatrist is the only doctor who has a practice or science of diagnosing and

treating mental disorders. Finding the right medication for each person is filled with a lot of trial

and error. Medication does in fact have long term effects to those who take it. It is always best to

fully understand what will be the pros and cons to each medication prescribed and its effects.

Students claim to need more sleep than the normal amount. A sedative is usually given to those

who suffer with insomnia, but a low dose can also be given to those with bipolar disorder to calm

them down. This can be a problem if medication is given to put the student to sleep. This can

create manic episodes for the student knowing they need longer hours of sleep just to function,

leaving hardly anytime for school assignments and study time. Studies show that about 86% of

students with psychiatric disorders withdraw from college (Collins and Mowbray, 2005). Faculty

may experience anxiety or fear in dealing with this student subpopulation, which in turn has an

impact on the students’ academic performance (Sharkin, 2006).

In conclusion, I am here to prove that in fact students with Bipolar Disorder do struggle

in college when dealing with medication side effects. Medications often have different side

effects depending on each individual. It’s an everyday struggle for a college student dealing with

these side effects. That being said, every college campus has resources for students with

disabilities known as the SSD office. My name is Marci B. Chavarria, I am 28 years old, a single

mother of two amazing boys and I suffer with Bipolar Disorder. As a college student who suffers

from a mental disability, I can relate to every piece of evidence that I have provided in this essay.
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Medication, for me has been a very huge struggle and like I mentioned it can be based on trial

and error. It gets to the point where you are willing to just try every medication possible just so

you can try and feel normal. It has been a very huge struggle trying to finish school and dealing

with all the other stuff that life throws at us. There are so many stigmas that push college

students who suffer with mental disabilities away. I can defiantly relate to that, especially the

fact that people expect a disability to be visible. For many years, I felt super embarrassed

because social media has made mental disabilities look like its some type of trend to go along

with. When really its not a trend at all for those who have to deal with it every day. We are just

trying to find a way to fit into an everyday life of an average person, even if we are not average

at all.
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Works Cited

Belch, Holley A. “Understanding the Experiences of Students with Psychiatric

Disabilities: A Foundation for Creating Conditions of Support and Success.” New Directions for

Student Services, no. 134, Jan. 2011, pp. 73–94. EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ

935572&site=eds-live.

Federman, Russ. “Treatment of Bipolar Disorder in the University Student Population.”

Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, vol. 25, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 24–38. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/87568225.2011.532471.

Lejeune, Simon M. W. “Special Considerations in the Treatment of College Students

With Bipolar Disorder.” Journal of American College Health, vol. 59, no. 7, Aug. 2011, p. 666.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/07448481.2010.528100.

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