Abstract:

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive illness, is a complex, chronic and severe mental health disorder that is characterized by episodes of mania, depression or a combination of both. The study seeks to examine the plethora of current and prevalent misconceptions perceived by members of the general population within the Caribbean country of Barbados. Different research methodologies were employed for the purpose of the study, including the conduction of the survey, which illustrates the general misconceptions, held by the Barbadian public, as well as interviews with local mental health professionals to discredit these misapprehensions. Four hundred people completed the survey. Results indicate that there is a percentage of the population which understood the disease, but which believes that effective knowledge dissemination was the key to the increase of awareness and the reduction of the misconceptions, as well as the fact that females were susceptible to the disorder, especially during the ages of 25-29.

Keywords: Bipolar Disorder, Misconceptions, Barbados

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