Bipolar disorder affects more than 2 million people in the United States. Individuals with the disorder experience "cycling," an often rapid and sometimes violent seesaw between episodes of extreme depression and mania. Since those affected are most likely in the depressive stage when they seek help, physicians frequently misdiagnose the illness as clinical depression. Today, increased awareness and innovative treatment options are giving new hope to those who live with the potentially debilitating disorder.

Kristy Worthen's private nightmare began at age 14. Always a shy child, the gentle teen who'd announced in kindergarten that she would be an artist began retreating to her room for days at a time—lethargic and withdrawn. Because this behavior coincided with the onset of puberty, her parents didn't worry much about the "mood swings," as they called them.

"At first I just attributed everything to her age and artistic nature," says Mary Worthen, Kristy's mother. "I thought, well, she's expressing herself. That's what artists do."

But Mary soon realized the dramatic transformations were not harmless symptoms of creativity or teenage angst. Repeated trips to doctors proved futile. Frightened that she would be locked up in a mental hospital, Kristy hid her anxiety and symptoms from the various physicians her mother enlisted.

"Invariably, by the time the appointment rolled around, she would have cycled into one of her good days," Mary adds. "She'd smile at the doctor with her big blue eyes and be sweet Kristy. The doctors would tell me that she was just learning to be independent … and I should relax and let her grow up."

Kristy's teen years remained tumultuous as the manic-depressive cycles continued, unchecked. Still, Kristy graduated from high school on schedule. She then began a series of part-time jobs, as a window dresser and photographer's assistant. In her spare time, she painted.