The Loveable Mark Ruffalo in ‘Infinitely Polar Bear’

Music & Pop Culture, The Bipolar Addict

Quirky. Eccentric. Adorable. In Infinitely Polar Bear, the bipolar character Cam Stuart is a super-likable guy. Played by Mark Ruffalo, Cam is a fun-loving father in a family of four just trying to get by. Bipolar characters are few and far between in high-profile pop culture. There’s Pat, the bipolar football fanatic played by Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook, and Carrie Mathison, the bipolar CIA agent played by Claire Danes in the hit Showtime TV show Homeland. And that’s about it. Until now.

Gay Marriage Victory Hits Home for The Mentally Ill

Music & Pop Culture, The Bipolar Addict

The plight of the mentally ill is not unlike that of the gay population. Like any minority group, sometimes we feel like we are second-class citizens. Like any minority group, sometimes the mentally ill feel like they are second-class citizens. Gays and lesbians for the most part used to feel misunderstood. Ostracized. Stigmatized. In some parts of the country and in certain circles, they still do. But for those of us with bipolar and other mental illnesses, we are also stigmatized to the extreme.

SoberHeroes: Eminem

Famous Addicts, Music & Pop Culture, SoberHeroes, The Bipolar Addict

With all the fame and fortune comes great instability and hardship as with many who live in the world of celebrity. Until he got sober in 2008, Eminem had a problem with prescription drugs – particularly Vicodin, Valium, and Ambien. According to an interview with Rolling Stone, the pill-popping was intense. “In a day I could consume anywhere from 40 to 60 Valium. And Vicodin… maybe 20, 30? I don’t know. I was taking a lot of shit.”