Lord Shiva- the first bipolar

 

Bipolar. A person who is maniac and depressive alternately. Happy at one time, sad at another.
The APA ( American Psychiatric Association) of USA, the imposing grand daddy of the global " mental healthcare system “ ,who decide arbitrarily via their network of psychiatrists worldwide as to what constitutes a mental disorder and what does not ( with gentle and not so gentle prodding from Pharma companies) ,says that people with bipolar disorder , " have extreme and emotional mental states that occur at distinct times, called mood episodes." And going by standard psychiatric literature, the occurrence of bipolar disorder is around 3% in the community (again, based on arbitrary and questionable criteria decided by psychiatrists ).

Is that the case, really ?

To critically examine this issue, let's look at the "case" of Lord Shiva, whom many of us worship daily, in all his glory.Lord Shiva is silent,meditative at times.One sees his image ,meditating at Mount Kailash,eyes shut,contemplating the world and its problems.

Ever wondered about the other incarnation of LordShiva ? The furious" rudramurti ( figure of fury ) " ,livid at Sati' s ( his first wife's ) death, taking her limp, lifeless body on his shoulders, doing his " tandavanritya" ( the dance of destruction) , which threatened to destroy the world and sent the Gods into a frenzy of panic?

Silent. Overactive. In layman language.
Depressed . Maniac. In " psych " language.
They both mean the same thing. And both happen in real life, as a reaction to life's varied circumstances.

Yet, what do psychiatrists( with the exception of very few enlightened ones) do ? They label this as a " bipolar" syndrome, and medicate the " patient " till he is drugged into submission, a zombie-like emotionless state, so that he no longer understands the immense harm that these supertoxic drugs cause, and then declare him as "cured." These drugs are often no better than a placebo , a dummy drug used in clinical studies at times, as has been found in several research studies worldwide , and never efficacious in the long run. Often, these results are distorted by drug companies to tilt the scales in the favour of medication (https://www.facebook.com/groups/581441985347106/permalink/644238149067489/).

Dr. Peter Breggin, himself a renowned psychiatrist but an enlightened one who has criticized these harmful drugs lifelong, calls the long-term effects of these drugs " medication spellbinding" , which means the patient can no longer figure out how harmful these drugs are, because his thinking powers (" cognition")"have been badly affected, which is a side effect of all these drugs, if continued in the long term. (http://www.breggin.com

)The one unfortunately common thing about most psychiatrists is that they stridently deny the harmful side effects/ withdrawal effects of these drugs , as documented by Dr. Peter Goetze, co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration( the world's foremost body in assessing medical evidence) in his book ” Deadly Psychiatry and organized denial” (http://www.deadlymedicines.dk/…/G%C3%B8tzsche-Deadly-Psychi…

)

Come to think of it, the shrinks of today would have gleefully medicated Lord Shiva himself if they found and “diagnosed" him, labelling him as “bipolar."

Lord Shiva did not need treatment for " bipolarity." Neither do you, even if you have unfortunately stuck with a label of " bipolar disorder" by your psychiatrist, which , according to many enlightened doctors , is not a disorder at all but a perfectly normal situation to many of life 's challenges . Life isn't even, so our responses are guaranteed to be uneven. How would the Hindu scriptures turn out if Lord Shiva either meditated silently after Sati's demise, or danced furiously at Kailash without occassion, rhyme or reason? If you are highly depressed after a friend’s death or wildly happy after your job increment , in alternating cycles, it doesn’t mean you are abnormal. This is life. Happy and sad. It will pass. All emotional distresses do, unless medicated.

Depression, even if is supposedly distressing at times. is eminently manageable by incorporating techniques such as proper exercise, nutrition (diet/ supplements), work, meaningful relationships, creativity etc, about which I plan to write more in the months/ years to come. 

And come to think of it, it's quite fun actually. Normal is boring. Bipolarity is unique. Because it places you in the august company of Lord Shiva,probably the first bipolar of this world ,albeit" undiagnosed" by the APA and their allies.

Jai Shiva Shambhu!! The mercy of the Lord  is all-encompassing.May he protect all the bipolars of

this universe.