Welcome to Polarized Lens!

Polarized Lens

Polarized Lens is a podcast that examines life through the filter of bipolar disorder. Created and hosted by a person living with bipolar disorder, this podcast aims to explore the challenges of that mode of life in this neurotypical world, raise awareness, and help those who want to understand more about bipolar disorder.

Recent Episodes

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Oct. 21, 2023

Stigma of Mental Illness

"Stigma of Mental Illness" touches on the stigma of mental illness in general, while exploring the stigma of bipolar disorder and the stigma of suicide. Ways to combat these stigmas are briefly discussed.

Oct. 8, 2023

Day Hospital

"Day Hospital" wraps up the story started in "Commitment," a three part tale of self-committal in a mental health facility twenty years ago.

Sept. 24, 2023

No Exit

"No Exit" provides a stolen glance through the polarized lens into the walled garden of a private mental hospital. We walk through the pages of a journal written nearly 20 years ago to discover what it means to be voluntaril…

Sept. 10, 2023

Commitment

“Commitment” examines the circumstances surrounding my voluntary admission to a mental health facility as well as the stark reality of the action itself.

Aug. 27, 2023

You Need to See a Psychiatrist

“You Need to See a Psychiatrist” explores the relationship between doctors, trust, and diagnosis when living with bipolar disorder.

Aug. 13, 2023

Bipolar Disorder

This episode of Polarized Lens looks at bipolar disorder with an eye to what it does to those living with it and what it looks like to those living with someone who is living with bipolar disorder.

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Recent Blog Posts

Episode 6: Day Hospital

Episode 6: "Day Hospital" has been released into the wild. This episode wraps up the story started in "Commitment," a three part tale of self-committal in a mental health facility in a large metro area twenty years ago. Next time, in Episode 7, we&…

Episode 5: No Exit

The events described in "No Exit" represent a turning point in my life. It was the end of my old life, and the beginning of a new one. Diagnosed accurately after a decade, I could finally move forward with my life. Very slowly forward. The first ste…

Making Connections

If you enjoy the content of Polarized Lens or just want to discuss something that comes up in one of the episodes, consider joining the Polarized Lens Facebook public page or private group. If Discord is your thing, there is a Polarized Lens server.…

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About the Host

Jennifer Merchán

Polarized Lens is written and hosted by Jennifer Merchan, who has blogged on and off about her life with bipolar disorder on various platforms since 2005. Diagnosed with major depression at 19 and bipolar II disorder at 30, Jennifer hopes that recounting her mental health journey will help others better navigate theirs.