“The point about manic depression or bipolar disorder, as it’s now more commonly called, is that it’s about mood swings. So, you have an elevated mood. When people think of manic depression, they only hear the word depression. They think one’s a depressive. The point is, one’s a manic-depressive” (Fry qtd. in Brainy Quote par. 1). The issue of manic depression, in my own opinion, has always been neglected in terms of study, or even disregarded. Everyone always seems to focus on one side of the disorder, forgetting that there may be another aspect to depression that contributes to the individual’s mental state, and to the same extent. Patients discussed in Chapter Four, “I Now Pronounce You Manic Depressive,” and diagnosed with bipolar disorder had the signs of elevated mood when they were over-excited and chatty, as well as the signs of a downward spiraling mood, which even led them to attempting suicide. While the opposite of a suicidal mood might be considered a good thing, on the other hand, the elevated mood is not always beneficial for the patients, since over-excited and “speedy” behavior can also lead to potentially dangerous consequences. Therefore, bipolar disorder is deceptively complex and should not be regarded as a one-sided illness, to be treated with one singular method; rather, bipolar disorder is a system of “social, physical, and emotional conditions” (Martin 106) that can be dealt with in a systematic way. The “gray” case of Mr. Anderson, an economics professor, is especially worth mentioning, due to the fact that he was on lithium for twenty years until he suffered renal insufficiency as a consequence, and whose behavior became uncontrollable after the medication was discontinued. He was sexually inappropriate with students, and failed to control his anger and irritability, especially in the “upper” pole of his bipolar disorder. In addition, when he was down, he needed a lot more sleep than usual. The “ups” went around the “downs” in circles that could take from one hour to five months. The newly prescribed medication did not seem to help, since Mr. Anderson claimed he had never felt normal after dropping lithium. It is evident that the initial medication prescribed to the patient two decades previously was not properly evaluated in terms of how it could potentially affect his health over a long term. Because bipolar is treated with medication that can adversely impact one’s physical health, it was not the best decision to prescribe lithium for twenty years. Now, even as lithium has been proven to cause serious physical health damage, its absence has negatively impacted his mental state. I cannot agree with the concluding diagnosis that Mr. Anderson belongs in the “gray zone” between mental illness and mental health, since his behavior shows that he is eager to recover and to feel normal again, and he is passionate about teaching and academia. Mr. Anderson’s mental illness has been controlled by lithium for years, so now, without the medication, the illness will continue to progress without proper intervention. Mr. Burton’s case is useful, in my opinion, for learning to differentiate whether a person’s misuse of a substance caused manic depression, or if an underlying illness adversely influenced the patient’s condition (Martin 121). Born into an unstable family, Mr. Burton was heavily exposed to negative influences that caused hi