Name Game

Read authors note

"Please, don't be quick to throw around hurtful names like Crazy or Psychopath because the person you are addressing could be just like me. Hi, I'm Alicia Gay and I am Bipolar 1 with Psychotic features." -Myself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Poetic master
Age-lined face
Growing older
With every coming day
Anger ridden
It's written on my face
Who I am
And
Who I once was
Are fading away
With everyday
A new battle
I face
Little voices
In my head
Refuse to cease
If only you knew
How I long to be dead
A cry for help
It refuses to cease
Can this illness
Over come me?
Psychopath
A word I know well
Everyday branded
Stuck in this hell
Would you notice
If we met on the street
What is truly going on
Inside of me?
With all the names
And angry words alike
Would you know
That you've killed me inside?
I'm set in my ways
It's not hard to tell
But this illness has placed me
In my own living hell
Judge if you must
But keep your names to yourself
I'm fighting my battles
All by myself.

Author's Note

o be diagnosed with bipolar I disorder with psychotic features, individuals must have experienced one or more manic or mixed episodes during the course of their illness. A manic episode is a period of unusually elevated, excitable or irritable mood lasting for at least one week. Other symptoms include inflated self-esteem, more talkative or pressured speech and racing thoughts. A mixed episode is diagnosed when a person experiences both a manic episode and a major depressive episode, rapidly alternating with each other. A major depressive episode includes symptoms such as depressed mood, increased restless or decreased physical activity and feelings of worthlessness, among others.
The presence of psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder places an individual at the severe end of the diagnostic spectrum, meaning that he exhibits more than the number of symptoms required to make the diagnosis. Also, these symptoms significantly interfere with his ability to function in his job, socially or within his relationships.

Psychotic Features Classification:
Psychotic symptoms can be congruent or incongruent. Mood-congruent psychotic symptoms are delusions, which are false beliefs, or hallucinations, which are false sensory perceptions, that are consistent with the person's current or most recent mood episode. For instance, a person who is having a manic episode may have delusions that she has special powers and is invincible. Mood-incongruent psychotic symptoms are delusions or hallucinations that are inconsistent with a person's most recent or current mood episode. An example would be a person experiencing a major depressive episode who reports the delusion of special powers. This false belief is inconsistent with the themes of powerlessness and helplessness that are common during depression.

Reviews

[TheConjuringCat]

Brilliant!

[☯]

A very deep poem. Everyone is fighting their own battle, and you can't judge someone until you've been in their shoes. It's an amazing poem, you've captured the thought effortlessly. Short but sharp. :)

[∂αʌ<..]

wow!
i like the format in which you wrote the poem! its just brilliant!
its just packed in with a lot of info but never heavy to read!
a wonderful work!