Bipolar, Miranda Marschalk

Binge Eating Disorder

Arsil Darouiche

Academic Article: Marzilli E, Cerniglia L, Cimino S. A narrative review of binge eating disorder in adolescence: prevalence, impact, and psychological treatment strategies. Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2018 Jan 5;9:17-30. doi: 10.2147/AHMT.S148050. PMID: 29379325; PMCID: PMC5759856.

Non-Academic:Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Binge eating disorder. In Merriam-Webster.com medical dictionary. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.merriamwebster.com/medical/binge%20e ating%20disorder

Non-Academic: The following short film was created by WebMD starring Robert Miller. He shows us a glance of his life living with BED and the struggles he faces. YouTube. (2015). A First-Person Account of Binge Eating Disorder | WebMD. YouTube. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=NPgHu2Lup94&ab_channel=W ebMD.

Bipolar Miranda Marschalk

Bipolar used to be called Manic- Depression until 1980. The meaning of Bipolar is the switching between mood of manic excitement and depression on a somewhat regular basis. It is a mental health illness tha causes unusual shifts in mood and it interferers with the ability to carry out day to day activities and tasks. Bipolar usually starts around age 24 but may be present between ages 12 and 40 years of age. Females are more prone to this illness then men and approximately 3.3 percent of females and 2.6 percent of males are affected between the ages of 12 to 19. This word is important to me as I suffer from Bipolar disorder and I didn’t notice till my late 20’s that I started showing symptoms as young as 15 years of age. Adolescence is a very tough time in an individual’s life. Trying to fit in, in a new environment (Middle or High School). Trying to figure out who you are, dealing with peer pressure and isolation just to name a few of the obstacles Adolescence face. If you add Bipolar to an Adolescence list, things suddenly become that more challenging. Not to mention that signs and symptoms can be missed and hormones are raging at this age and the responsibility of one odd actions fall on them. Mood swings are quite normal in adolescence who are going through puberty. As is some amount of depression especially in females dealing with the onset of menstruation. And life for a teen becomes that much harder to navigate. Couple that with trying drugs and alcohol (which often happens during this stage of life) and possibly starting to date. You have a disaster in the making on your hands. I found my teen years difficult at best. The most challenging event was when I tried to jump in front of a moving car the second after my boyfriend dumped me. I knew then that something was not right. It would be ten more years of intense mood swings before I was given the diagnosis of Bipolar 1. There are 2 types of Bipolar. Bipolar 1 (manic and depressive phases) and Bipolar 2 (major depressive phase’(s)) lasting one month or more. Why is this word so important to me? Well, If I had known in my adolescence that I had Bipolar 1 I could have had therapy and possibly medication (which I take now and for the past 30 years) that could have improved my mental state. Which has led me down many a dark path. We as teacher need to look for signs that a student is struggling more than what would be considered normal for tat age. We need to take a bigger interest in our student lives outside of the classroom as well. We need to stop letting our students slip through the cracks. Mary J. Wilk, 2019Sorrentino’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker, Elsevier Canadian Mental Health Association, 180 Dundas Street West, Suite 2301, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1Z8, 416-977-5580

The word is BISEXUAL…

In the LGBTQ+ acronym, the B stands for bisexual. The word bisexual describes a person who is attracted to more than one gender. Prior to the current meaning, the definition of bisexual has been changed many times for example some believed it meant only being attracted to men and women, which excluded non-binary people. Throughout history this word has taken on many meanings. In 1859 it was first used to describe a person who we would now call intersex, having both male and female anatomy. Similarly, it was then used to describe someone who embodied male and female characteristics which is known as androgyny. When the concept of being queer was becoming more talked about people generally used the term gay, lesbian, or just heterosexual even if they were attracted to multiple genders. In the late 1900s there was debate over the fact that the word ‘bi’-sexual meant that there are only two genders, this is when pansexual became what people felt was a more inclusive term. Though today both terms co-exist and are not exclusionary to any gender. Bisexual erasure describes the experiences of bisexuals being diminished or inferior to that of homosexuals. Often people who identify as this feel unwelcome or discriminated in LGBTQ+ spaces. Bisexual people have always existed even though their experiences and stories may not be at the forefront of LGBTQ+ narritives. As time goes on, we can see more representation in media.

Since the definition of bisexual is often misunderstood it is important that there are resources young people can visit to feel seen and understood with the feelings that they are experiencing. It is sometimes seen that even adults who are understanding and accepting of LGBTQ+ youth, may be uncomfortable or confused by the bisexual definition. Education on this word and its meaning is important since there is a gap in recognition. As the feelings of a youth who is bisexual may not be as clear cut as being homosexual it is important that caring adults and LGBTQ+ organizations have healthy and appropriate resources as there is much misinformation on the internet. According to statistics Canada between the years of 2015-2018 there were 900,000 people who identified as either gay, lesbian, or trans: almost half of them being bisexual (and approximately 33% of them being under 25). This shows that bisexual youth are not rare, they are important and deserve to be understood. Navigating feelings of attraction both sexual and romantic can be challenging when growing up so defining and understanding words like bisexual help people to shed light on the experiences of these youth. By educating as much as we can, we thereby pass on that information for generations to come ultimately landing in a place where bisexual people and all other LGBTQ+ people are just as normal as anyone else and are treated equitably. Though it is important to acknowledge that bisexuals face more discrimination compared to other sexual identities, “research also indicates that bi people are also more likely to experience poor mental health, in part because of this erasure and discrimination” (Rhodes, 2022). Youth deserve to know that there is nothing wrong with being bisexual. They deserve representation, understanding, and supportive communities.