Spiritually we see a pattern in the Bible in the book of James that will help us to identify the issue of the up and down feelings that many experience. Look with me in the first chapter and let’s read verses 2-8.
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
Notice a few things about this description. The wavering or double minded person goes up and down without control. They are tossed, the Bible says here, and have no ability to achieve stability on their own. If you have ever been in a boat during a storm, you will understand the picture that is used here. You are subject to the movement of the waves, your boat moves up and down with the movement of the water. This is an interesting description that seems to correspond well with the description of someone who is called bipolar: they are tossed up and down emotionally without the ability to control their emotional condition. It isn’t that they don’t want to have control, it just seems to be beyond their grasp. In a boat, someone may experience sea sickness, a physical condition that is the result of the continual upheaval. You can even take medication to deal with that issue, however the true cure is to get out of the rough water and back to smooth seas. In a sense, this is what happens when a person is taken out of their environment and placed in a secluded one such as a hospital. The turmoil that had you sick is removed and the removal of the stresses of life allow your water to be calmed.
Suffice it to say that the secular approach to treating these ups and downs is to use a combination of medication, hospitalization (for the purpose of isolation), and then counseling therapy. This is not far different than what you might receive if you get sea sick: medication with Dramamine, hospitalization or isolation off of the boat, and then having to be convinced by someone to get back on the boat. Thus, the comparison of bipolar and sea sickness is a very appropriate model.