My 22-year-old brother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 17. Nobody in the family knew what was happening to him when he started having delusions, laughing at nothing, and staying up all night. He thought there were computers in his brain controlling his thoughts. My mother had to "baby-sit" him for a week until a bed was available at the local hospital. It was the toughest time in my family's life. My mother and father would break down crying uncontrollably and talk about killing themselves because they couldn't cope with the pain. I had to come to their rescue and comfort them, at the age of 18, and I had no one to comfort me or educate me on what was happening.

Since my brother’s diagnosis, it has been an emotional roller-coaster for our family, and he has been hospitalized three times. I was in complete denial for years about his problem and couldn't bear visiting him in the hospital because I couldn't stand seeing him in so much mental anguish. Today, he continues to take a mood stabilizer and an anti-psychotic in an attempt to control his symptoms. His disorder is severe, and he does not leave the house. However, he is 80% better than when he first got sick and our family has learned so much about him and the illness since then.

My brother’s illness has made me so much more aware of mental illness and as a journalist, I hope to one day write more about this devastating condition in hopes of reaching a broader public and help to eliminate the stigma attached to mental illness. I also want to say to any family members coping with a severely affected loved one, never give up hope. My brother continues to have ups and downs and there are days when my Dad wants to give up, but I've learned that as long as my beloved brother is alive and I see a smile on his face in his rare moments of pleasure, then I'm satisfied. There are times in life when we can't ask for anything more and have to settle with what we are given, and submitting to that principle can bring tremendous insight and peace to human beings. I understand your pain, but love and understanding can conquer it once and for all. God bless everyone out there.