Although October 11th is Bipolar Awareness Day, this is an illness that many Americans live with on a daily basis, seeing their psychiatrists and psychotherapists, and taking their medications.

Eliminating the shame and stigma of mental illness is critical and we can't be silent. More and more young people are being diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses, and we have to educate Americans now to understand what it is like to struggle with and treat these invisible diseases.

An astonishing 20 percent of Americans suffer from some type of mental illness, and getting the word out is critical to help raise awareness and promote tolerance. As a community, we need to pressure the media into fairly representing bipolar disorder -- this is not just an illness of "killers" that we hear about on the evening news or see represented by murderers on Law and Order,, and we must all become advocates for patient rights.

The myth that every person who has bipolar disorder is a genius, or a raving psychopath, or suicidal, is just that: a myth.

The Bush administration spends $100,000 every minute on a war halfway around the world, but in this country I've seen mental health advocates redeem soda cans to pay for support group expenses and suicide prevention programs to reach people who are suffering.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness highlighted by alternating episodes of mania and depression -- euphoric highs and desperate lows. It's an emotional disorder which is frequently overlooked by the patient, his or her friends and family, and sometimes even by mental health professionals who are prone to misdiagnosis. And perhaps the most frightening fact is that the suicide rate during a manic depressive episode is higher than it is for any other mental illness.

More than 2.3 million Americans suffer from bipolar disorder, and these are just the people who are diagnosed -- there are as many as 5 million more who may not be currently diagnosed. Bipolar disorder is an invisible illness, and sometimes the stigma of having it is almost as bad as the disorder itself.

We have to find a way for people who deal with lifelong mental illnesses to be treated like other members of society -- the way those who are diagnosed with diabetes or epilepsy are. Please find some small way to raise your voice in support during this day of recognizing those with bipolar disorder.

While Hollywood is making his memoir into a major motion picture, Electroboy author Andy Behrman is on a one-man crusade to eliminate the stigma of mental illness. Behrman has been crisscrossing the country, speaking to hundreds of mental health support groups, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, nurses, college audiences and book clubs for more than five years. Visit his website at www.electroboy.com.

Bipolar Awareness Day is part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, which was established by Congress in 1990. Bipolar Awareness Day was created by NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) and Abbott Laboratories "to increase awareness of bipolar disorder, promote early detection and accurate diagnosis, reduce stigma, and minimize the devastating impact on the 2.3 million Americans presently affected by the disorder."