When it comes to mental health issues, it’s no secret that celebrities, the media, and entertainment (think movies, television shows, and even music) can influence public perception.

Sometimes this influence is a good thing. Such high profile spotlights can help bring awareness and education, and many mental health advocates are thrilled when famous faces like Joaquin Phoenix, Liv Tyler, and Miley Cyrus create PSAs to help boost the visibility of non-profit mental health movements or when a former NFL pro like Greg Montgomery signs on as the national spokesperson for a suicide prevention campaign. Of course, we can’t forget the slew of celebs who’ve helped launch such organizations, such as Joey Pantoliano’s No Kidding, Me Too!, Paige Hemmis’ Blueprint for Hope, and Glenn Close’s Bring Change 2 Mind.

Of course, not every publicized situation is ideal. Sometimes we worry about whether issues like suicide are being responsibly reported or if what’s touted as natural and unretouched is really the best choice for promoting a healthy body image.

So, it should probably come as no surprise that some psychiatrists are concerned about how an increase in celebrity frankness and media attention regarding bipolar disorder has affected the public — specifically, how it could lead to an increase in self-diagnosis and even a desire to have bipolar disorder.

This month’s issue of The Psychiatrist, a Royal College of Psychiatrists publication, features the cover story “‘I want to be bipolar’ … a new phenomenon” by London-based psychiatrists Dr. Diana Chan and Dr. Lester Sireling, the abstract of which states:

Despite the stigma attached to mental illness, we have noticed in our clinical practice a new and unusual phenomenon, where patients present to psychiatrists with self-diagnosed bipolar disorder.

The AFP goes on to highlight the article further than I can without a subscription, which cites celebrities like Mel Gibson and Axl Rose who’ve spoken publicly about bipolar disorder and discusses the various media and entertainment outlets such as MTV’s True Life: I’m Bipolar and BBC’s The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive that have might have helped lead to such this “phenomenon”:

The increasing popularity of bipolar disorder may be attributed to increased media coverage, coupled with the high social status associated with celebrities such as (British TV personality) Stephen Fry talking about their own personal experiences of mental illness.

Chan and Sireling state that, for psychiatrists, “sensitively dealing with the patient who wants to be bipolar” will be a challenge associated with this increase in people who want to have bipolar disorder, which obviously is important, but as an advocate and someone who tries to fight the stigma associated with mental illness, I’m wondering if this “phenomenon” says anything significant about a change in the way the public looks at stigma or if it’s more a case of being uneducated about everything having a mental illness — and its diagnosis — entails.

Given that Chan and Sireling also suggest that the people who “‘want to be bipolar’ may not always comprehend the consequences of being diagnosed with the disorder,” I’m leaning toward the latter.

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Dr Antoine Spiteri (March 3, 2010)

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From Psych Central's website:
PsychCentral (March 3, 2010)

Carina Tuppier (March 3, 2010)

From Psych Central's Alicia Sparks:
Bipolar Disorder: Separating the Trends from the Types | Celebrity Psychings (March 31, 2010)

James (April 4, 2010)

Timothy Lomauro (July 5, 2010)

Justin Marley (July 5, 2010)

    Last reviewed: 25 Jul 2011