I chose to write about Virginia Woolf, a British novelist who wrote A Room of One's Own, To the Lighthouse and Orlando, to name just a few of her works. Virginia Woolf was my first introduction to feminist type books. I chose Woolf because she is a fantastic writer and also one of my favorites. Her unique writing style, known as stream-of-consciousness, was influenced by the symptoms she experienced from her bipolar disorder. Many people have heard the word "bipolar" but don't realize its full implications. People who know someone with this disorder might understand their erratic behavior as a character flaw, without realizing that people with bipolar mental illness do not have control over their moods. Virginia Woolf's illness was not understood during her lifetime. She committed suicide in 1941. There are several theories about what could lead a person to develop bipolar disorder. In the case of Virginia Woolf, many researchers have linked her illness to childhood sexual abuse by her older half-brothers, based on Freudian theory (Carmango, 1992). Uebelacker (2006) studies correlations between family functioning and the course of bipolar disorder and finds that stable family relationships would likely make it easier for members of a bipolar family to manage their symptoms. In Woolf's case, family problems may have played a major role, not in the development of her illness, but in the onset of her episodes (Carmango, 1992). A person's environmental forces do not cause bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mood disorder characterized by periods of mania, depression, or a mixed manic-depressive state. This disease can seriously affect a person's reasoning, understanding, consciousness and behavior. Acco...... middle of paper ......c Depressive illness. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Frances, A. and Ross, R. (1996). The DSM-IV Case Studies are a clinical guide for differential diagnosis. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc. Miklowitz, DG, & Otto, MW (2006). New psychosocial interventions for bipolar disorder: review of the literature and introduction of the systematic treatment improvement program. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy. 20, 214-230. National Institute of Mental Health. (2007) Bipolar disorder. Bethesda, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services. Schleicher, J. (2007). Mental illness and the creative process. Retrieved from http://www.onu.edu/node/26779 Uebelacker, LA, Miller, IW, Keitner, GI, Ryan, C., & Solomon, DA (2006). The impact of family treatment on family functioning in bipolar disorder I. Journal of Family Psychology. 20, 701-704.