It's unfortunately common for people with obvious and often very serious bipolar disorder symptoms to have total lack of insight that they are ill, even when all evidence points to the illness. This sounds impossible, but it's a well-researched and proven fact. It's unlikely that a person would run on a broken leg until it broke in half. But people with bipolar disorder, who are much more ill than someone with a broken leg, will often keep running, wreaking havoc in their lives and the lives of other people, all without realizing they are ill. They will run until they break. It's human nature to want to know why a person with bipolar disorder can't see the obvious. The answer is that loss of insight and self-awareness is a part of the illness and has to be treated as a symptom.
John Preston, PsyD is a licensed psychologist, professor emeritus with Alliant International University, Sacramento California and formerly a faculty member with UC Davis Medical School and the Professional School of Psychology, San Francisco.
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