The series of pictures above were created and printed as an attempt to show the many changes and developments in different stages of bi polar disorder and or other possible mental disorders.  In hopes of using some humor and as few words as possible and by showing how to possibly get treatment for their loved ones or even themselves, by contacting their local mental health clinic.  The first slide shows a woman of 30 years of age and the many manic episodes and the symptoms that go along with them.  Many people aren’t diagnosed until they are in the late teens or early twenties or thirties.  The just figure they are going through a lot of rough patches in life and try to avoid realizing they have a real medical condition such as a mental disorder.  It also depicts the many sides of mania and or depression; the mania can be just as terrible as the depression side of bi polar.

     The second and third slide attempt to show some humor while reaching out to people in order to make them aware of the seriousness of this specific mental disorder.  In the slide with the snowman stating that love is melting his ice cold heart and asking is it killing you too, shows some of the real emotions and feelings that are involved with bi polar disorder.  Just as in the third slide the two hearts talking as the one states that 20 years ago when I said I would never let you go it was sweet, but that same statement being said over and over again in a 20 year period can be very dangerous and disturbing along with restraining orders the heart states.

     The series of pictures above were created to persuade people that may have depression or some other mental disorder that getting treatment is the best way to live a so called normal life.  On the other hand the same series of pictures were created to suggest and persuade so called normal people to notice changes in someone they love and show them how to live with a person with a mental disorder and who to go to for help in getting treatment.

     Leaving bi polar untreated can be very harmful to the person with the disorder or even the person that loves them and sees the many changes and doesn’t do anything about it.  So don’t take this humor to lightly it is information that may save your loved one or even you from living a chaotic life wondering why so much chaos is always surrounding you or the person you love.

     As an advertisement to someone who needs treatment the pictures are able to get their  attention without being offensive.  They also catch the eye of people by being colorful and humorous to look at from the start. Once a person gets up close and personal to the picture or skit of pictures and starts actually noticing some of the symptoms and comparing those symptoms to themselves.  Making a person who may be affected by bi polar disorder think wow this might be me.  Giving the person the ability to find out who to contact about such things without feeling ashamed or guilty.  These kind of ads are very effective with many mental disorders, where if it were a typical ad with a bunch of words people would tend to look and walk away.

   Bi polar disorder seems to have a stigma along with it and goes along way with people joking about or criticizing bi polar people.  Whether we know someone with bi polar or not, this mental disorder is widely publicized for its mood swings, chaotic behavior, depression, and promiscuous behavior among many other tendencies that go along with it.  Due to the publicity some people diagnosed with the illness feel very uncomfortable with others knowing that they are bi polar and try to hide it, by not going to get treatment, taking the chance of an episode of either kind.  Or just an outburst of some kind which seem to be continuous patterns of bi polar disorder.

    Certainly, that would make a simple cartoon not only cute to look at but it is an effective way to communicate to people.  Just a cartoon to look at, you wouldn’t think it has so much information but it really does, it has where a person can go get treatment or where to look for treatment.  The simplicity of the cartoons can help reach people with bi polar disorder because they tend to over think many situations, and when something is made so easy to understand it is hard to complicate it.  Not only showing where to go for help but if a person has doubts on things such as symptoms relating to bi polar disorder, looking at the first cartoon could be quite helpful and humorous at the same time.

     These specific cartoons caught my attention which tends to be a hard thing to do at times.  The reason that is even brought up is I am bi polar and after looking at the little ads, laughing at them to myself, I wondered to myself about my treatment in which I have neglected for quite sometime now.  Seeing the ads made me realize the seriousness of the disorder called bi polar.  The first time I ever heard I was bi polar I argued with the person telling them they were making a mistake, only because of the stigma that goes along with the disease.  Now after seeing the ads I am telling you about and telling you how effective they are, I am willing to finally go get the treatment I have needed for so long.

     I could write you so much on how these ads are effective and tell you why about other people, what is the use?  Seeing is believing and me telling you first hand that they worked on me should be more than enough along with the portion I wrote about the cartoon ads.  Many people with bi polar tend to find ways to medicate themselves with drugs, alcohol, or in my case sleep.  I tend to want to sleep 25 out of every 24 hours there is.  That only goes to show that is not normal.

The person or persons responsible for these cartoon ads are brilliant in knowing how to get the attention of people.  Knowing that a lot of information on such a cute little idea goes a long way.  How much more effective can they be?