This paper examines bipolar disorder through two lenses: historical and biblical interpretations of mental illness, and contemporary psychiatric and neuroscientific research. Beginning with the Bible's framing of mood disturbances as spiritual possession, the paper traces the evolution toward clinical understanding via the DSM-IV. It reviews literature on irritable mood disorder, hippocampal volume, and the relationship between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The paper then proposes an original experimental design comparing three treatment groups — placebo, chakra-based energy therapy, and antipsychotic medication — using MRI assessment and hypothesis testing to evaluate treatment efficacy, concluding with simulated results suggesting both chakra and medication treatments outperform placebo.
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by a neurochemical imbalance that produces drastic swings in mood. The focus of this research is to examine the Bible's references to bipolar disorder alongside the development of modern theories that favor a non-possession approach to understanding its nature.
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that often goes untreated outside of the developed world. Irritable Mood Disorder is considered a functional feature in the behavior of individuals suffering from bipolar disorder. Bipolar is a broad-based disorder that frequently has underlying cognitive disorders which compound the problem when a manic or depressive phase is being experienced.
Adults and children alike are afflicted with bipolar disorder, and there is evidence to support that the disorder is genetic and therefore passed on to offspring. Research into bipolar family history (Hall, Whalley, Marwick, McKirdy, Sussmann, Romaniuk, & Johnstone, 2010) points to a correlation between patients with irritable mood disorder and the percentage diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder. The tendency to become agitated easily, react with irrational anger, and a lack of coping skills are defining features of the irritable mood disorder patient. However, one with irritable mood disorder may not suffer from bipolar disorder, and conversely, one with bipolar disorder may not exhibit irritable mood disorder.
Interestingly, the Bible approaches bipolar disorder as a manifestation of exalting evil (1 Peter 5:6–7). Bipolar symptoms are framed as the influence of spirits or demons — essentially the devil's influence within a possessed individual compelling that person to behave in a manic or depressive manner. The devil served as a scapegoat in biblical writings to describe what is now classified by the DSM-IV as a psychiatric disorder resulting from neurochemical imbalance.
Further biblical treatment of mental illness appears in Philippians 4:8, which references the distinction between outward appearances and the condition of the heart. Appearances can be deceiving when an individual is considered possessed and therefore under the influence of an ungodly force believed to manipulate the actions of the righteous. The Bible's explanation for bipolar disorder — as well as its understanding of the cause — resided in the belief that spirits had pervaded the mental state of the individual and therefore dwelled within the skull. Accordingly, early treatments involved creating circular openings in the skull to release the pent-up spirits.
Without the disorder having any mention in scripture, the evolution of mental illness throughout history might have been guided by more scientific — and less inhumane — approaches. The biblical framing had lasting cultural influence on how societies interpreted and treated what we now recognize as mood disorders.
Hall et al. (2010) describe the hippocampus as the brain center associated with schizophrenic activity. The smaller the hippocampal volume, the more likely an individual is to experience schizophrenia, and this genetic predisposition toward a smaller hippocampus can be passed from parents to offspring. Importantly, however, Hall et al. (2010) also indicate that reduced hippocampal volume is not a direct causative factor in bipolar disorder. There is only a correlation between a smaller hippocampus and the probability of associated bipolar disorder in the population. Although the hippocampus volume may be hypothesized as an underlying causal variable, it may also reflect a lurking variable influencing the primary causal relationship.
Kinsella, Kinsella, and Patel (2006) classify bipolar disorder as a psychosis. Psychosis refers to a condition in which individuals hallucinate or hear voices that seem external in origin — not a function of auditory processing, but of the imagination. We generally distinguish conscious thought from intrusive internal voices. A psychotic individual may also be susceptible to delusional thinking, and schizophrenia can present as a comorbid condition alongside bipolar disorder. While bipolar disorder does not inherently imply schizophrenia, patients are frequently diagnosed with both simultaneously.
The deviation from the Bible's interpretation becomes apparent when one examines the apparent causal link between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Without the tools of neuroscience to study thought patterns and electrical brain impulses, a spiritual explanation was the available framework. We now know that bipolar disorder is estimated to affect approximately 1% of the population (Mackin & Young, 2005; McDougall, 2009). While this seems a small percentage, it represents roughly 3,000,000 individuals in the United States alone, based on a population of approximately 300 million.
Given the afflicted population, there is a tendency to associate mental psychosis primarily with adults rather than children. However, McDougall (2009) points to different methodologies for observing bipolar disorder in children compared to adults, noting that pathology in an adult is physiologically different from that of a child. There is no conclusive evidence to fully substantiate this distinction, though it is well established that the mental thought patterns of a developing mind differ substantially from those of a fully grown adult.
Kutscher (2005) describes parental frustration when raising a child with bipolar disorder and the desire for the child to realize their potential despite the often debilitating and socially restrictive nature of the condition. Bipolar disorder is characterized by Kutscher (2005) as an individualistic disorder, for which person-specific treatment is preferable to a one-size-fits-all approach based solely on chemical imbalance and generic medication.
Bipolar disorder requires additional research at a national level to further improve diagnosis and treatment of the disorder (Steinkuller & Rheineck, 2009). A rational clinician will recognize that each individual is different (Kutscher et al., 2006) and will therefore assess a patient based on their unique physical and mental profile, rather than defaulting immediately to a bipolar-schizophrenic diagnosis and antipsychotic prescription. Research presented by Kinsella, Kinsella, and Connor (2006) acknowledges a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the disorder and its links to other psychiatric conditions classified as psychotic disorders (Kinsella, Kinsella, & Patel, 2006).
The lack of conclusive evidence regarding the origin and neurological basis of bipolar disorder presents an important area for further inquiry. The Bible's depiction of an evil spirit may be reinterpreted as a metaphor for a negative energy source encompassing the body. The human body functions as a complex electrical system, with neurological centers communicating through electrical currents interacting with synapses and axons to relay signals throughout the nervous system.
With this in mind, rather than describing the body as "possessed" by evil, one might instead say that a negative energy source is interfering with the electrical nerve centers and disrupting normal neurological activity. This framing is consistent with Kutscher's argument that the disorder should be understood holistically, through root-cause analysis specific to the individual rather than through a generalized psychoactive or pathological diagnosis.
The ability to investigate whether a negative energy source interferes with a person's mental state — or whether the issue is purely neurological — could be explored through a regional study. Participants could be recruited via a public advertisement asking for volunteer subjects to undergo free diagnostic evaluation for bipolar disorder and to receive free treatment if diagnosed. The methodology for determining bipolar disorder would include MRI scanning to assess hippocampal size, combined with a behavioral self-report from each participant. Bipolar disorder is commonly characterized by sharp peaks and troughs in manic and depressive behavior. Suicidal ideation, when accounting for all other contributing factors, often accompanies bipolar disorder, and subjects with such history would be included in the eligible population.
"Age-based differences in diagnosis and treatment approaches"
"Three-group experimental design with MRI and treatments"
"Hypothesis testing, correlation coefficient, and IRB procedures"
"Chakra and medication groups outperform placebo control"
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