With up to 50% of the United States population likely to suffer from a mental health disorder at some point in life, one wonders why there is not a more pronounced subculture of the afflicted. It is most likely that the stigma associated with illness of the mind has rendered its' sufferers mute. In any given year, up to 30% of Americans complain of mental health disorder symptoms. Branding has now entered even this most private aspect of our lives. In 1997, Congress passed legislation allowing drug companies to market directly to consumers. Countless varieties of wellbeing can now be purchased via psychiatric medication.

I have created a series of advertisements to promote the symptoms of a manic episode as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Using the same starting point as a drug company seeking to promote a new medication, I have turned the process on its head by choosing to promote the condition instead of the cure. Perversely, the symptoms (or selling points of the ads) are widely available free of charge if you happen to be bipolar.