Jason Hellewell Memories

About Bi-Polar Disease

Jason struggled with bi-polar disease for 10 years. It is a difficult condition, marked by extreme lows and highs. Sometimes you are depressed, just wanting to sleep and withdraw from the world. And then there is the opposite, the "manic" phase, where you have lots of energy.

From the Wikipedia entry for Bipolar Disorder:

Bipolar disorder (previously known as manic depression) is a diagnostic category describing a class of mood disorders in which the person experiences states or episodes of depression and/or mania, hypomania, and/or mixed states. Left untreated, it is a severely disabling psychiatric condition. The difference between bipolar disorder and unipolar disorder (also called major depression) — for the purpose of this introduction — is that bipolar disorder involves "energized" or "activated" mood states in addition to depressed mood states. The duration and intensity of mood states varies widely among people with the illness. Fluctuating from one mood state to another is called "cycling" or having mood swings. Mood swings cause impairment not only in one's mood, but also in one's energy level, sleep pattern, activity level, social rhythms and thinking abilities. Many people become fully disabled — for significant periods of time — and during this time have great difficulty functioning.

This is a difficult disease: hard to treat, and hard to live with. It is one that is never cured, and takes much effort to deal with.

Bipolar disorder is found in disproportionate numbers in people with creative talent such as artists, musicians, authors, poets, and scientists, and it has been speculated that the mechanisms which cause the disorder may also spur creativity. Many historical figures gifted with creative talents commonly cited as bipolar were "diagnosed" after their deaths based on letters, correspondence or other material. (Wikipedia entry)

So bipolar disorder appears to be common among artistic people. As you can tell by Jason's music on this site, he was very artistic. We have drawings done by Jason that further exhibit his artistic talents.

But it's a hard disease. One that utlimately consumed Jason's life.