Understanding the Mind of Your Bipolar Child

“The Brilliant and At Times Terrifying Imagination of a bipolar 8 y.o. child” (Eric p. 209)

In this drawing in addition to the vivid use of color

• Note the complex and abundant detail. This is an indication of this child’s intelligence as well as his imagination.

• Note his depiction of “spells” being cast by the Wizard on the lower right. His representaion of force exerted at a distance may indicate an awareness of the powerful impact he imagines his anger has on people. The spells are also a representation of the power he wishes to have.

• Note his depiction of small warriors battling huge monsters or dangerous depths (e.g. the tiny figure hanging from the bridge at lower middle of the drawing). These figures are an indication of his sense of himself (small but not intimidated) battling the powerful and dangerous forces that define his world. Those forces arise from within him as well as from the adults around him. The fierceness and courage with which these small figures fight suggest that Eric is NOT depressed. He does not feel helpless or even overpowered. Contrast Eric’s drawing, for example, with that of the black and white drawing of the other eight year old, or even with that of the accomplished artist in her twenties. Both those drawings display passivity and a sense of helplessness.

• Note the variety of figures he uses–swordsmen, archers, skeletons, a wizard, a serpent, a dragon, a sea monster, and a bird of some kind. This variety displays Eric’s complex imaginative life.

[The large realistic—but rather wooden—figure in the middle of the drawing was drawn by me. As I look at Eric's drawing now, his more primitive figures are far more lively and energetic.]

“An Oppositional 8 y.o. pictures himself in the face of authority” (Eric p. 210)

This is the same artist as in the first drawing.

• He represents his anger both with the image of the volcano and with the defiant posture of the small figure in the foreground.
• At the very end of the session, just before he left, Eric put in the giant foot coming down on the volcano. I see this as his representation of the arbitrary authority he faces, an authority that crushes without recognizing or even noticing him. However, as in a dream, a single image can have opposite references: so the foot can also be Eric stamping his foot in defiance.
• Notice also the small palm tree bending over as if to shield itself from the volcano’s fury. That too is a representation of Eric. The flip side of the defiant child is the gentle cowering soul looking for safety.

Originally Eric had been brought to me because of his oppositional behavior. That behavior was, however, his reaction to what had—as in this picture—come down on him.

“A Shy 6 y. o. Depicts her Rejection by Peers” (p. 87)
In this drawing:

• Note the skill with which this very young child conveys the smiling nastiness of her peers. She clearly has a complex sense of another person’s emotional state. At the time she was quite unable to express this complexity in language.
• Note also the absence of hands on her figures may be a sign of this child’s feelings of helplessness. However, despite her depiction of herself as crying, the figures in this drawing fill page and are brightly colored. These features of the drawing suggest that this child is not depressed.

“An Eight Year Old Depicts his Toxic Sense of Self” (p. 56)

This boy was given a choice of colors but chose to use only black.

• He explained the shape in the upper left of the drawing as “fire,” almost always a depiction of anger. The “A” on the figure’s cap is also meant to represent anger. However, the angry figure is defined negatively as a devil. This boy’s accumulated rage is the source of his negative sense of himself.
• Notice also that the boy’s choice of a black outline and a rounded body (re-stated by the arc of the arms) renders a figure with a swollen emptiness–the self as zero.
• In this drawing, as in some of the others, the absence of hands and feet suggests a sense of helplessness, despite the boy’s apparent defiance. This contrasts sharply with the other eight-year old’s portrayal of himself as fighting back in the face of oppression.
• This boy’s use of black also indicates depression. Nonetheless, his talent and intelligence show through in the complexity and the bold statement of his drawing.
• Finally, note the convergence of the figure’s eyes. This convergence is, I believe, this boy’s uncanny representation of the faulty integration of the left and right cerebral hemispheres, in this case the left and right visual fields, commonly seen in bipolar disorder. [Click here: to read "The Sticky Switch" also given in the posting: Accumulating Evidence.]

“A Six Year Old Manic Child” (Klaus p. 10)

In this picture the child’s manic agitation is conveyed by the wildness of his lines in the drawing, including the representation of his face and hair.

• Contrast this wildness with the work of the other six year old in the third drawing.
• However, this child’s drawing is far from crude. Despite his agitation, notice that this child includes: ears, eyes with pupils (not simply dots), and similarly a nose that has a shape to it and is not a mere dot. This complexity is an indication of this child’s developed sense of himself.
• Notice also, however, that despite the complexity of the head this figure also lacks defined hands and feet. Again, a representation of helplessness.
• The drawing also skillfully depicts the child’s overwhelming distress and emotional agitation.

“My Thoughts are all a Case of Knives” (Charlotte, p. 160)

(The words above are a quotation from a poem—“Affliction”—by the 17th century poet, George Herbert. The artist, however, was not acquainted with Herbert’s poem. She later felt, however, that it was a fine title for her painting.)

Here we have a mature artist conveying the agony of mania.

• She does this, as in the previous drawing, with wild lines emanating from the figure.
• There is also, however, (as with the first drawing in this series) a wealth of intricate detail, corresponding to the artist’s intelligence and the complexity of what she means to convey.
• Unbearable anatomical detail collides with agitated lines and an explosion of color beyond to convey her tortured state of mind.
• Again, the lack of body, arms and legs together with the passivity of the figure indicate an intense sense of helplessness.