Media and Bipolar Portrayal

Here are two online posts by people with bipolar disorder about the media's portrayal of bipolar people:

I HATE the vryalar commericials! Everytime I see one it gets me all fired up and my husband laughs when one comes on because I am quite comical when I am all fired up. The one where she is shopping all night and buys a ton of cameras and then the camera pans out and she is on a house of cards... then a few days later she is surrounded by packages and there's multiple cameras and equipment surrounding her... another one where she is outside yelling at someone and then inside scrounging through papers crying... AND in that one presumably when she is on vryalar her mom his helping her clean up the mess.. another CAMERA! Wtf is it with bipolar and cameras?!
These ads are sexist and exaggerating. They demean mental illnesses like bipolar. They perpetuate the myth that bipolar is exclusively a women's problem-one that makes us irrational and wacky and the "typical" hysterical woman. It takes a piece of what bipolar is and makes it look nutty. It takes a piece of what mania is and makes it the defining piece of bipolar. There is no depiction of hypomania or the irritation and depression that makes you stay in bed all day with the curtains closed. There are no men in these commercials. I'm surprised they havent made a commercial with a women who sleeps around or gambles her life away-further perpetuating yet another myth about women being sl**s- since they are so interested in what they think mania is. The risk taking behaviors of bipolar when you read about it highlight sex, shopping, sleeplessness, etc. But if the people who market this crap would ever read beyond page one of a google search they would actually be able to possibly understand bipolar beyond those stereotypes and be more sensitive and show more compassion. I tell you, I dont care if this medication would completely heal everything in one dose- I refuse to even consider it after seeing these ads. SEE? All fired up!-- 

found on an online bipolar forum.  Here is another on the same topic:

I haven't had a TV subscription in years, so thankfully I don't see any ads. I do have netflix, and even without ads I get annoyed with the stereotypes in movies, series, jokes by comedians, etc. For some reason a lot of them seem to link bipolar to homicidal maniacs and the like. Another thing I regularly see is "psychotic" being confused with "psychopathic." Also, anxiety is made into a horrible caricature where it seems like all people who suffer from anxiety are weak and incapable of keeping their own life together. There's plenty more and it annoys me to no end. This public perception is one of the reasons why I keep my issues to myself, as hard as that often is.