title: Clouds and silver linings: positive experiences associated with primary affective disorders.
abstract: Clinical psychiatry has focused almost entirely on the psychopathology of the affective disorders. The authors studied responses of 61 patients (35 bipolar. 26 unipolar) to questions about perceived short- and long-term benefits (increased sensitivity, sexuality, productivity, creativity, and social outgoingness) they attributed to their affective illness. Bipolar patients strongly indicated positive experiences associated with manic-depressive illness; few unipolar patients perceived their disorder in such a way. Significant sex differences emerged in the attributions made by bipolar patients.
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D001143:Arousal; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D003405:Creativity; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012917:Social Adjustment