The Essential Role of a University Bipolar Support Group

Welcome to the first posting of Bipolar You - a blog about bipolar disorder. What distinguishes this from the many blogs you'll find across the web is the specific focus upon bipolar disorder during the university years.

In my day-to-day professional life, I'm Director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at the University of Virginia. Over the course of my 20 years working in university mental health, I've probably seen close to 200 students who fit within the bipolar spectrum.

Sounds like a lot? Not really. The frequency of bipolar disorder in university students is actually fairly low, at least in relation to many of the other mental health issues that have students seeking help these days. So how prevalent is bipolar disorder? The National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) estimates about 2 ½ % of the US population over age 18 fits the diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder (much more about these criteria in future blogs).

Based on that 2 ½ % estimate, at a university of 20,000 students, you might expect to find 500 students with bipolar disorder. Not so small! But hold on. You also have to take into account the requirements of successful university study: a good track record of strong academics, successful management of high stress, sufficient stability for independent living, etc. In other words, the performance requirements for success in a university environment often exclude those with more acute bipolar symptoms.

At UVA over the last 5 years we've seen an average of 55 bipolar students per year through CAPS. That's about 1/3 of 1% of the UVA student population - much lower than 2 ½ %. Of course there are also those students with bipolar disorder attending UVA who we never know about because they don't seek help through our services. So the mean at our university is likely higher than 1/3 of 1%. That said, we also see the effects of very selective admission and a relatively high-stress academic environment weeding out those whose instability has derailed their academic performance.

Back to the question of how common is bipolar disorder among university students. Currently, we don't have large scale aggregate numbers to give us a good picture of national bipolar prevalence at the university level. But my guesstimate, based on UVA numbers as well as communication with other Counseling Center Directors across the country, is that bipolar prevalence is probably closer to about 1% of the general university population. Still a pretty small percentage that translates into a significant challenge for those with the disorder. That is, if you're a university student with bipolar disorder, you're probably going to feel fairly alone... at least in relation to knowing others who share your same struggles.

One of the answers I've found to this challenge is to offer a bipolar support group for students with the disorder. These groups are not common at universities, unless you're attending a relatively large one. Where they do exist, they're probably found in counseling or mental health services at large universities. If you're bipolar and you can find such a group, by all means give it a try. The experience will go a long way towards helping you to feel you're not alone. Besides, students who don't have bipolar disorder rarely have a clue about what it is and what it means for those who live with it. But for those who do share the diagnosis, you'll find there's much common ground that can be shared.

That's just a place to start. Beyond the reality of experiencing something that most of your peers don't, the challenges of living with bipolar disorder during the university years can be enormous. These very challenges and their accompanying strategies will be the ongoing focus of Bipolar You.

Next time - a beginning outline of the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder. Essentially, what is it and how do you know if you have it?

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Russ Federman, Ph.D., ABPP is co-author of Facing Bipolar: That Young Adults Guide to Dealing with Bipolar Disorder (New Harbinger Publications). See www.BipolarYoungAdult.com