World Bipolar Day: A New Treatment Approach Brings Hope

This day is dedicated to education, reducing stigma, and offering hope to those affected. As we recognize the challenges of bipolar disorder this year, we also celebrate new avenues of treatment—particularly metabolic approaches that are showing promise in transforming mental health care.

What is World Bipolar Day?

World Bipolar Day (WBD) is observed on March 30th in honor of Vincent van Gogh, the famous painter believed to have experienced bipolar disorder. The initiative, supported by the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD), aims to increase awareness, promote understanding, and improve access to resources for those living with bipolar disorder. Events around the world, from online discussions to local gatherings, offer opportunities to engage, learn, and support one another.

Understanding Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is described by the field of psychiatry as a complex mental health condition characterized by extreme mood swings, ranging from elevated, manic states to periods of deep depression. There are several forms of bipolar disorder, including:

• Bipolar I: Characterized by intense manic episodes lasting at least seven days, often requiring hospitalization. Individuals with bipolar I often experience dramatic shifts between mania and deep depression.

• Bipolar II: Marked by less severe mania (hypomania) than bipolar I, bipolar II patients experience prolonged depressive periods with episodes of hypomania mixed in.

• Cyclothymic Disorder: A chronic but milder form of bipolar disorder, marked by frequent mood fluctuations between mild depression and hypomanic states, though not as severe as bipolar I or II.

• Schizoaffective Disorder: A mental health condition characterized by a mix of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions, and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression, mania or hypomania.

Bipolar disorder affects between two and four percent of the population worldwide. Despite being one of the most life-threatening of all serious mental disorders, research remains tragically underfunded compared to other mental health conditions. The Baszucki family funded more than fifty research projects on innovative approaches to treating bipolar disorder in the years after their son, Matt, was diagnosed with Bipolar I. When Matt Baszucki recovered with help from a medical ketogenic diet, they shifted their focus to understanding and treating bipolar disorder as rooted in metabolic dysfunction affecting the brain.

Bipolar can impact everyone differently, but extreme emotional shifts and states can lead to instability in many areas of life—including work, relationships, health, and the ability to take care of oneself. Despite this, those living with bipolar disorder have paradoxically made outsized contributions to science, academia, government, and the arts. Though bipolar disorder is traditionally viewed as a life-long illness, the Baszucki family witnessed first-hand that full recovery is possible using new evidence-based metabolic interventions proven to stabilize brain networks, decrease inflammation, improve mitochondrial function and the gut microbiome, balance neurotransmitters, and more.

Metabolic Psychiatry: A New Frontier for Bipolar Disorder

Traditional treatments for bipolar disorder typically involve a range of psychotropic medications like mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and anti-depressants, as well as psychotherapy. Butan emerging field–Metabolic Psychiatry–is offering new tools in the toolkit by investigating how dysregulated energy metabolism can affect the brain and behavior, and how improving metabolic function improves symptoms. In many cases, metabolic therapies are even sending bipolar disorder into remission.

Metabolic psychiatry is an exciting, rapidly evolving field that is interrogating the connection between neurometabolic function and mental health. With its clear, dramatic shifts in energy, bipolar disorder is a prime candidate for Metabolic Psychiatry to study and treat through the lens of energy metabolism. While bipolar disorder is classified as a mood disorder, it might more accurately be described as an energy disorder which impacts mood, cognition and behavior.   Metabolic psychiatry is providing  a framework for both new understanding and new treatments for bipolar disorder.

The Brain Energy Theory

At the heart of this research is the brain energy theory. This theory, posited by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Christopher Palmer, describes how the commonality underlying  biological factor in various mental illnesses is dysfunctional metabolism affecting the brain. Other pioneering clinician-researchers, notably Dr. Shebani Sethi at Stanford and Harvard-trained Dr. Georgia Ede, and Harvard-trained Dr. Matt Bernstein, have been treating psychiatric patients using metabolic approaches for years.

This breakthrough has sparked a wave of research into metabolic treatments for mood disorders, especially nutritional interventions like a ketogenic diet. Recent studies and clinical observations indicate that a ketogenic diet can help stabilize mood, reduce symptoms of depression and mania, and improve overall brain function.

Ketogenic diet is an evidence-based treatment for epilepsy that has been used successfully for more than a century to stop seizures even when medications fail. Because the fields of psychiatry and neurology have typically been siloed from each other, this intervention was not seriously studied for psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder until now. This is true in spite of the fact that anti-seizure medications are a mainstay of conventional bipolar treatment.

These advancements bring fresh hope for uncovering the root causes of mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions, paving the way for the adoption of metabolic treatments that have already helped thousands of individuals regain control of their lives. Research studies in ketogenic therapy are interrogating biomarkers that can predict who might best respond, setting the stage for precision metabolic medicine in psychiatry. For a comprehensive resource on this topic, check out Metabolic Mind’s Bipolar Disorder Resource Hub, which brings together the latest research, personal stories, and expert guidance. The new hub was designed to make it easier for individuals living with bipolar disorder, and those who care for them, to explore new treatment approaches that are already saving lives.

How to Get Involved

There are several ways to support the World Bipolar Day initiative and the ongoing research and education around metabolic psychiatry:

1. Share Your Story

   Share your experiences of using metabolic therapies for bipolar disorder to inspire others.  Hearing your successes and your struggles willhelp inspire and educate others.

   If you have been using metabolic therapies to improve mental well-being for at least four months,, we welcome you to submit your stories to THINK+SMART. THINK+SMART is our new, free, community-inspiredtool  that provides a metabolic framework for mental health.Your story could be the inspiration someone needs to explore new possibilities and take meaningful steps toward improving their lives.

2. Get Involved

   Consider hosting a World Bipolar Day event. You can submit the details of your event to ISBD’s website, and they can advertise it for you!

3. Share Resources

   Share  Metabolic Mind’s new Bipolar Disorder Resource Hub, to help others explore new treatment possibilities for bipolar disorder and other mental challenges.

4. Use Social Media

   Post a photo or video with the hashtag #WorldBipolarDay or @#WBD2025, and #NewBipolarTreatment to help get this important message trending on social media.

   Make sure to connect with us on YouTube, Instagram, X, & LinkedIn @metabolicmind.

Are you a social media influencer passionate about mental health? Join us in spreading the word about the exploding field of Metabolic Psychiatry.

A Future of Hope

World Bipolar Day is about more than just raising awareness—it's a movement toward a future where individuals who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder have access to a new treatment paradigm that addresses the root cause of symptoms for long-term healing. As metabolic psychiatry gains momentum, there is renewed hope for those seeking alternative paths to recovery. We envision a world in which anybody experiencing mental and emotional distress has access to information about the profound connection between a healthy metabolism and a healthy mind.

Celebrate World Bipolar Day by spreading knowledge, sharing stories, and exploring the potential of ketogenic and other metabolic therapies in mental health care.

FAQ:

1. What is World Bipolar Day?

World Bipolar Day brings awareness that aims to reduce the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder and creates an opportunity for sharing resources for those with this condition.

2. Can a person with bipolar 1 or 2 live a normal life?

With appropriate treatment and a long-term commitment to health, a person with bipolar can live a fulfilling life. Many using metabolic therapies even describe their bipolar disorder as “in remission.”

3. What is the color for bipolar day?

The ribbon to raise awareness for bipolar disorder is black-and-white striped, representing the opposite poles of depression and mania associated with Bipolar Disorder. This is represented in the Bipolar Awareness Ribbon, a symbol for bipolar awareness.

The World Bipolar Day logo, created by the International Bipolar Foundation, is purple.

4. Are there any new treatments for bipolar disorder?

Yes, emerging research is showing compelling evidence for nutritional interventions like ketogenic therapy, along with other methods of improving metabolism that emphasize quality sleep, routine physical activity, and avoidance of toxic substances and situations. Improving underlying systemic metabolic dysfunction may be the most promising new treatment approach for bipolar disorder since the discovery of lithium. This new paradigm for understanding and treating bipolar disorder offers hope for long-term healing of the brain and the body without the side effects often associated with psychotropic medications. For some people diagnosed with bipolar disorder, metabolic therapies alone are sustaining wellness. For others, these interventions are used alongside existing treatments to reduce side effects, potentially lower overall medication load, and improve well-being.