When Zack had his first psychotic break and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in May 2017, his and Elisa's world imploded.  Would mental illness dictate their whole life?  Zack was under water, and Elisa had no way of knowing whether her happy and gregarious partner in crime would ever resurface. 

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One of the hardest parts about those early days was the utter absence of relatable, lived experiences. There didn't seem to be stories out there. Only after Zack's crisis did Elisa discover that three of their closest friends had struggled with their own conditions. How is it possible that mental illness never comes up among the closest of loved ones? Nobody talks about it like you might talk about a new relationship, or a difficult boss. But 1 in 4 Americans experiences a mental health condition in any given year. So why isn't there conversation? 

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This is why we created The Manic Monologues. We want to change the narrative around mental health.

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We want to disrupt stigma.

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