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When Aubrey Good was 12 years old, she was a typical pre-teen, scoring good grades in school. But just days after turning 13, his father was arrested and later sentenced to prison, and for Good, the experience was traumatic.
"I went to being a very good, very good-behaved, to starting to use drugs," Good, 26, such as PEOPLE. I started to abuse alcohol and prescription painkillers. I started to get into trouble at school. I was rebelling against authority. I became extremely hypersexual, and that probably became one of the worst symptoms. "
Around this time, I was misdiagnosed with depression and placed on an antidepressant for the next three years. She also developed insomnia, which often causes her to stay awake until early in the morning.
"My behavior was all over the place, and I was also going through certain periods of apathy and hopelessness," she recalls.
It was not until 18 years ago that the National Guard was an impulsive decision-maker.
Aubrey with her dog, Roo
Courtesy Aubrey Good
Bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive illness of the brain that causes extreme changes in mood and energy levels, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. There are four basic types of the disorder, which are characterized by periods of elation and hyper-activity known as manic episodes, which are followed by depressive stages where the patient experiences feelings of sadness and depression. (When a manic episode is less severe, it's known as a hypomanic phase, which is found in bipolar disorder type II).
Patients will often experience intense emotions and sleep patterns. These periods can last for an extended time – sometimes days or even weeks – with no clear way of predicting. This can cause patients to have difficulty at work, school and maintaining friendships.
Nearly 6 million Americans have some form of disorder. This includes celebrities such as Kanye West and Mariah Carey, who have opened up about their experiences.
RELATED: Mariah Carey: My Battle with Bipolar Disorder
Little known to be in the history of the disease, according to the National Library of Medicine, but the risk of somebody developing it is relative to previously diagnosed.
But environmental factors seem to contribute to the onset of the disease, since the symptoms of such a death, can often trigger symptoms. Looking back, Good says her father's arrest was likely what prompted her illness.
Aubrey Good and her husband
Courtesy Aubrey Good
She says she struggles with accepting her diagnosis and the unfair stigma that came with it.
"I was angry. It did not make sense to me. I did not think that I knew about it, it was crazy about it.
"From the ages of 18 to 21, I completely ignored the disorder, and I refused to stay on medication for it and turned to alcohol to self-medicate and get through life. I just did not think it was possible I was disabled. "
For several years, Good had trouble dating, as she focused on herself and having fun with the needs of those around her, she says. Because of her sometimes erratic behavior, many of her friends simply labeled a "wild child," and did not connect that something more was going on. "They were looking at the individual pieces and the picture," Good explains.
But when she was 24 years old and living in San Diego with her husband.
"I was drinking heavily again just to stay calm. I get very high anxiety, so I was drinking a lot to squash the anxiety, to try to stay calm, to try to go to sleep, "she says. "I was getting really irritable and impulsive all the time. I had to drop out of college because I had to go to bed with a period of depression, and just drop everything, and just stay in bed for a long time. "
RELATED VIDEO: Half Lovato Opens Up About Her Bipolar Disorder
The International Bipolar Foundation has a long history of social responsibility, and it has been inspired by a wide range of social and environmental issues. Today she is now a program coordinator with the foundation and is most stable she has been in years. She wants to inspire others with the disorder to hold on to hope.
"Bipolar disorder may be the diagnosis, but it is as diverse as our personality, as is our genetic makeup, our nationalities. It can affect anybody, "Good says.
"People need to be supported and treated with their own illness. When I started to look at myself and say, 'All right. Stop fighting who you are. Stop fighting what you have and just work with it, 'that really changed how I thought about myself.'
March 10 is World Mental Health Day and this year's theme is "Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World."
Many of those affected by mental health issues, have shared their stories on social media using the hashtag #worldmentalhealthday.
For support regarding bipolar disorder, contact the International Bipolar Foundation at ibpf.org.
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