‘Bipolar Boy’ balances comedy, mental illness

Kellen Jenkins / The Bulletin

Paul Jones, “Bipolar Boy,” speaks to a crowd of approximately 200 in the Kanza Room in Memorial Union Tuesday. Jones, who suffers from bipolar disorder, has been touring the country over the past three years in an effort to educate people about mental disorders and offer advice and hope to those suffering from bipolar disorder.

Paul “Bipolar Boy” Jones spoke last Tuesday night in the Kanza Room to a crowd of about 200 people. Jones’ presentation combined his experience as a stand up comedian with his advice as a professional motivational speaker and author who has lived with a mental illness for most of his life.

“Every city I go to, every single one, and this is not an exaggeration, I will have either somebody come up to me or I will have an e-mail from a young person saying they will not kill themselves,” Jones said. “I’m only after one, and I will get my one.”

Jones advocates the spread of awareness of mental illness, estimating that one-fourth of the student body has some sort of mental problem.

“1,525 of your peers are having issues,” Jones said.

He recommended taking action immediately if one thought they might have a mental illness. Jones said that one must “stick to the program” for results or they will have a tough time.

He also said that the first step to mental health is realizing and accepting your illness.

After that, work can be made in the ways of proper diet and exercise, which means not eating what he calls “McCrap” in addition to working with your doctor, taking medication regularly, and a heavy dose of patience.

According to Jones, these steps, combined with good help and hope, will work wonders.

The primary thing Jones fights against is suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is one suicide for every 100-200 attempts among people between 15 and 24 years of age. It is also the eighth leading cause of death for men and the 17th leading cause of death for women.

At one point during the presentation, Jones asked everyone in the audience who knew someone that had committed suicide to raise their hands. He said that the key to stopping suicide lies within the individual and those close to them. Jones also said that sometimes the only thing that people need is to be reminded of human kindness.

Jones also brought up the dangers of sex, saying that it was the number one thing for both women and men that causes a loss of mental stability.

“I had a young man come up to me last night and he had isolated himself,” Jones said. “He had isolated himself from the rest of the campus because he felt as though he has to participate in the drinking and sex.”

Jones also used his personal life experiences as examples for the audience.

“Being bipolar did not make me cheat on my wife twice,” Jones said. “I did that. You know why I did it? Because I was searching for something that wasn’t there. All I needed to do was reach out and find out the reason I couldn’t get past it and the reason I was always in depression was because I was sick, but unfortunately I was blaming other things.”

Jones also considers drinking and doing drugs, or what he calls, “self medication,” to be empty and meaningless. On his web site, www.bipolarboy.com, Jones states, “Know that drugs and alcohol are 100 percent poison to anyone with a mental illness. It is like shoving grease down your throat when you have a bad heart.”

Jones used comedy as a transition between his informative speeches, which some felt helped keep the audience engaged.

“His comedy and his mental illness are one and the same – just because he has a mental illness doesn’t debilitate him,” said Nathan Hawley, freshman secondary chemistry education major. “It actually made him what he was.”

Jones has CDs and his book, “The Up and Down Life,” for sale on his web site. He also has a guide for those with bipolar disorder, tips for kids who might have a mental illness and an e-mail link to contact him. The presentation was sponsored by the Department of Student Wellness, the counseling center and an Academic Enhancement Grant.

When asked about how he feels at the end of his presentations, Jones said, “This is my therapy. Someone asked me the other day, ‘when do you go to therapy?’ and I said, ‘I just did.’”