History

• The symbol of the black yin and white yang flowing together within the confines of a circle---each encompassing a small element of the other color---dates back to the 14th century B.C., according to the "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Long before a diagnosis of bipolar disorder was possible, ancient Chinese thinkers recognized a stark duality pervading natural phenomena such as day and night, as well as such ideas as harmony and balance between opposing elements of human nature, which they used the yin-yang symbol to represent.
  
  

Features

• The National Institute of Mental Health states that people with bipolar disorder experience distinct mood episodes, or "mood swings." These opposing moods shift from mania (a highly excited, often ecstatic state of mind) to deep depression in what is medically termed a "cycle." The A Silver Lining website claims that the yin and yang represent the two extremes in mood that exist within one person---similar to how the both black and white exist within the confines of the yin yang's circular boundary.
  
  

Significance

• The mood cycles of bipolar disorder often last for months at a time, often causing the person suffering from the disorder to seem to other people to be possessed by two personalities. However, bipolar disorder is not a problem of shifting personalities, but of opposing moods. The individual with bipolar remains aware of his identity and illness even as his moods cycle between mania and depression.
  
  

Considerations

• Classic Chinese philosophers, according to Dr. Yong Ping Jiang of Acupuncture Today, recognized the two phases of bipolar disorder individually, using the word "kuang" to refer to mania and "dian" to depression. However, the two conditions were not recognized as two sides of a single mental disorder. Dr. Jiang speculates that this is due to the fact that mania was more destructive in the way it manifested itself in people than depression.
  
  

Expert Insight

• Correlations between the yin and yang and depression were indeed made by ancient Chinese philosophers. According to Acupuncture Today, the Qing dynasty thinker Ye Tian Shi equated depression with a deficiency of the "qi" (energy) of a person's yang, causing the darker side to dominate the white yin, leading to decreased energy and other symptoms of depression.