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My fictional character is Ian Gallagher from the TV show Shameless. Ian Gallagher is one of six children and is the third oldest. The six children are raising themselves with occasional appearances from a drunk father and bipolar mother. Throughout the 10 seasons of the show, Ian is shown as caring, well-adjusted compared to his siblings, and a tad mischievous as a teen. Ian experiences depressive episodes after realizing a certain career path isn't for him. He eventually is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorders include depressive and manic episodes as well. Bipolar disorder is episodes of mood swings, ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. Manic episodes are periods when a person at least once a week is extremely high-spirited or irritable. Depressive episodes can occur before or after manic episodes as well. The first example of Ian's bipolar disorder is during a manic episode he has and he appears to be in a really good mood that grows increasingly throughout an episode. He is carefree, optimistic, and cheerful until he realizes the army isn't the career choice for him and everything begins to spiral for him from there. Another example is right after Ian finds out the army isn't for him he also gets broken up with days later. He steals a helicopter from the military. Then Ian decides to leave town and find another job all at the age of 15. When Ian returns home he is extremely unlike himself and acts erratically and impulsively. Another example of Ian's bipolar disorder is Ian not seeing the damage he is causing to his loved ones by acting out and being impulsive. Ian steals his ex-boyfriend's baby and drives to Florida to get his revenge on him and doesn't not realize how his actions are affecting others. At this point Ian has already been diagnosed bipolar as Ian is driving we see him laughing and talking to himself. In the next scene, the police apprehend him and he is immediately checked into the psychiatric facility to receive proper care.

References

Ian Gallagher from Shameless. (n.d.). CharacTour. Retrieved November 15, 2023, from https://www.charactour.com/hub/characters/view/Ian-Gallagher.Shameless

O'Donovan, C., & Alda, M. (2020, June 11). Depression Preceding Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder - PMC. NCBI. Retrieved November 15, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7300293/

Purse, M. (2022, November 8). Mania: Symptoms, Treatment, and Coping With Manic Episodes. Verywell Mind. Retrieved November 15, 2023, from https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-recognize-a-manic-or-hypomanic-episode-380316