Breaking the stigma of bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is characterized by dramatic shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels that affect a person’s ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.

These shifts in mood levels are more severe than experienced by those without bipolar disorder.

Because the disorder affects each person differently, stigmas about the disease are created.

One local teen in Yuma is looking to break that stigma.

Jessica Welch is a 10th grader who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

“It stays with you your whole life, no matter what, you can always get it to get better, but it’s never going to go away,” Welch said.

Welch has recently created a teen support group to better educate both the community and those affected by bipolar disorder.

This is a topic that has become increasingly special to Welch.

“It’s me, it’s part of us, people don’t really understand it all the way so we want them to kind of understand it and know us for who we are and the part of us that we are,” she said.

Young teenagers like Welch have often an overwhelming amount of information when it comes to understanding the struggles of mental health issues.

She believes it is important for teens to hear from someone their age.

“So that just people understand that there are different types of bipolar, its different for everybody so they need to understand that not everybody is the same, so it’s good to get other people’s story so they can get all different perspectives of it,” Welch said.

Welch hopes to provide teens with the right resources they need.

“I’ve got multiple services that will help, therapy, and some agencies that help with it, so definitely we try to get them some services if they want it,” she said.

Along with sharing her experience with kids who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Welch also reaches out to teens that just want to know more.

“They’re pretty happy to be learning about it or the ones with a diagnosis they’re really happy to have someone who really understands them,” she said.

She also hopes to break the stigma of bipolar disorder.

“People just don’t want to deal with it, they don’t want to talk about it, so I’m trying to break it, and get people to talk about it and come forward and deal with all their insecurities about it, your problems with it,” she said.

In her own experiences of the disorder, Welch has found ways to cope.

“I like to run, I like to exercise, I like to be with my dog, so it just depends what you like to do to help you calm down and deal with it better,” she said.

In addition to using activities to cope, Welch thanks her friends and family for sticking by her side.

“I have some friends that help me a lot, through my bipolar, they stick with me through my elementary years, which has been a really tough journey,

Though Welch may struggle, her family has always stuck by her side.

“I’ve been in and out of juvie, ad mental hospitals, through suicide attempts, and all sorts of insecurities, with my bipolar disorder they have really stuck by me in being my aggressive self and even the best self I can be so they’ve been really supportive through everything and I want to thank them for that, they’ve been the best parents, I can’t imagine any other parents,” Welch said.

If you have someone you know with bipolar disorder, Welch encourages you to stick by them and be there for them when they need you.

Welch has been promoting her group through radio shows, flyers, and her own Facebook page.