Many people like to call a person bipolar inspiration, especially if the person is publicly successful or famous. They say it when we carry on, when we tell the truth about our illness, and sometimes when we just exist in public without breaking down, where others can see. But all too often, what they really do is turn our pain into something that works their i feel good They don’t see us as full of people with serious mental illness. They see us as a lesson, a symbol, a moving story that they can consume from a safe distance.
That’s the problem with inspiration porn. The life of people with bipolar disorder is not here to motivate other people, to warm their hearts, or to remind them to be grateful for their own easier lives. We are not inspired because we suffer. We are not admirable because we manage to function while carrying a disease that can kill us. People with bipolar disorder deserve dignity, support, treatment and respect, not objectification disguised as praise.
What is Inspiration Porn?
According to Jan Grue, in this articleInspirational porn can be defined as:
“… the representation of disability as a desirable but undesirable characteristic, usually by presenting the disability as a visually or symbolically distinct biophysical deficit in a person, a deficit that can and must be overcome through the demonstration of physical ability.”
It essentially labels people with disabilities like bipolar disorder and uses their story as a feel-good lesson.
You might see it as:
- Being called brave just because you exist with a disability
- Your pain is referred to as refreshing
- People who praise your survival while ignoring the realities of your pain
- To become a symbol of resilience rather than being recognized as a three-dimensional person
This goes hand in hand with romantic disability like bipolar disorder. How often have we heard about the frenzy that creates genius creativity? How often have we heard of mental illnesses that suffer driving brilliant art? How often do people try to posthumously diagnose highly gifted people with mental illness? They do all this to show us how much our disability is “worth”.
There are no end to the examples of this around us. Watch movies like:
- Silver Linings Playbook — makes the symptoms of mental illness seem like mere quirks redeemed through romance.
- Girl, interrupt — makes psychiatric suffering feel aesthetically enticing, compelling, and somehow revolutionary.
- A beautiful mind — softens the everyday burden of mental illness and frames it with genius, love and uplift in a way that can feel idealized.
Each of these films shows mental illness, but does so in feel-good ways with happy endings that “solve the problem” of mental illness to inspire audiences. I’m not saying that such movies are bad, per se, but I can attest to the fact that there is nothing romantic or pleasant about suffering from bipolar disorder.
Why inspirational porn is harmful
Essentially, inspiration porn was invented to make normals feel good about people with disabilities. They don’t want to see our suffering or challenges or admit that not all stories end happily. They want to use us as lessons instead of admitting our incredibly difficult realities.
Inspirational porn is harmful because:
- It dehumanizes people.
- It centers around the comfort of the observer,
- It minimizes the brutality of disabilities like bipolar disorder.
- It creates pressure to recover or inspire at all times.
- It erases anger, sadness, disability, and complexity—all the real elements of what it’s like to have bipolar disorder.
Not to mention the fact that viewing people with bipolar disorder or other disabilities as a shiny object doesn’t actually provide the accommodations in society that we need and deserve. This means they actively harm those they think they admire.
Inspiration is not bad. Pain minimization is
The truth is, many people find me an inspiration. If you’ve ever been to one of my talks, I hope you left feeling pretty inspired, actually. This is not inherently negative.
The downside is also not acknowledging the ugliness that comes with being shiny. And I guarantee, if you’ve seen me speak, you’ll definitely see this too. Living with bipolar disorder (and, in my case, other chronic illnesses as well) is horrible. I’m not sugarcoating this. I don’t know I just turned that frown upside down. I talk thoroughly about the pain I live with every day. This pain is a crucial aspect of my experience as a human being. I cannot hide my suffering, and if I have anything to say about it, neither can you.
What to recognize instead of inspiration porn
If you’re inspired by people with difficult life circumstances, that’s great! You just need to fill in the picture.
When you see a person with bipolar disorder or another disability who inspires you, also remember:
- Hear authentic accounts of experiences.
- Respect all the way of lived experience, the good, the bad and the ugly.
- Support our rights, treatments, dignity and accommodation.
- Remember that we are full, three-dimensional people, just like you. We have good days, bad days and sometimes we can be crazy, just like you.
- Stop turning survival into a morality tale.
- Accept us when we don’t “inspire” as you would anyone else.
In short, people with bipolar disorder do not exist to make others feel grateful, inspired, or emotionally moved. We exist to live as full people.
