Jane Pauley Speaks Out About Bipolar Disorder

Jane Pauley gave the keynote at the annual Foundation for Mental Health’s luncheon and talked about struggling with bipolar disorder. What was noteworthy was not just an increased social awareness of mental illnesses including bipolar disorder, but to put personal experiences into words.

Pauley said that “society is on the verge of a ‘tipping point,’” where those who suffer from mental illness won’t have to hide, and used the analogy of how cancer patients used to suffer social ostracism. In the past, society viewed cancer as a character weakness, and would quarantine patients in “cancer houses”, viewing them as having done something wrong to deserve the cancer.

I’m always encouraged when celebrities or visible personalities speak frankly about their experiences with mental illness. It not only takes the edge of social stigma, but gives hope to those who live with the illness that some level of normalcy and hope are possible.