"A Day in the Life" of a Person who has Bipolar Disorder - Contest
One of the goals of our web site is to educate people about what living with bipolar disorder is like. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals wants to help you tell that story... and a lucky winner will even win $1000 for their submission!
"A Day in the Life..." is a competition aimed at raising awareness of what it is like to live with bipolar disorder. Submissions are being accepted until September 28, 2007 and can include essays, drawings or paintings, music, video or audio.
Following is a brief description:
A Day in the Life…
Contest Guidelines 2007
WHAT: As part of the 2007 World Mental Health Day observation, AstraZeneca is once again sponsoring a contest among people with bipolar disorder. “A Day in the Life…” is an artistic contest designed to educate on living with bipolar disorder with a goal of providing a deeper understanding of what these diseases are like from the point of view of those who live with them.
Through the entries collected for this contest, and subsequent educational and promotional programs/activities/projects, people will gain a stronger understanding of how these diseases impact individuals in different ways and the range of ways people are coping, surviving and thriving with them.
WHO: This contest is open to U.S. individuals who have been diagnosed with and are living with Bipolar Disorder and to relatives or caregivers of those individuals.
WHEN: Entries are due into AstraZeneca by September 28. Winning entries will receive notification in early October; other entries may not be acknowledged. Award winners may be invited to a special awards presentation and presentation of their winning entry on the AstraZeneca campus. .
WHY: World Mental Health Day (WMHD) occurs during the second week of October each year and is a key activity of the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) to help raise awareness about mental health worldwide. AstraZeneca is supporting WMHD 07 as part of its commitment to promoting mental health awareness among the public.
HOW: Submissions should illustrate what an average day is like living with bipolar disorder. Participants may enter in a variety of ways:
• Write an original 800-1200 word essay, poem, or short story
• Submit a short video, 2 minutes or less (MPEG, avi or wmv formats only)
• Create a painting or drawing (must be no larger than 14 x 16, non-mounted)
• Record an original song, 2 minutes or less (mp3 or MPEG formats only)
Entries will be judged based on how well they are considered to enable someone to understand what a day in the life of someone with one of these diseases is like. Each submission must reflect the entrant’s own original thinking. Entrants may submit only one piece for consideration.
All submissions, including non-winning entries, may be used to promote WHMD and other non-branded AstraZeneca efforts. Entrants’ first names may be displayed with their work but their last name will not be used.
All contestants must sign a written release authorizing AstraZeneca to use their entry in this and future educational and promotional projects. Entries that do not follow submission guidelines or that are not accompanied with the required signed release and entry form will not be considered for the contest. Submissions will not be returned. Please mail completed entries to:
Day in the Life Contest
Attn: Hugo Perez
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
1800 Concord Pike, B2B-517A
Wilmington, DE 19850
Please include a separate 8 ½ x 11 sheet with the following entry information included (please print or type):
First and Last Name
Street Address
Phone number and/or email address
Best time to contact you
Type of entry (written, video, visual art, song)
1-paragraph description of your entry and why you chose to submit your entry in this medium
Also - Print out and include the following document in the letter you send:
Day in the Life: Authorization for Release (PDF File)
Contact information will be used solely to inform winning participants, unless entrants check the box allowing AstraZeneca to contact them about the possibility of using their submission in connection with the future marketing of AstraZeneca products. An entrant’s submission will not be used for these purposes without the entrant’s consent.
A selection committee will judge entries, and the top three will be awarded certificates and cash prizes ($1000/first, $500/second, $250/third). Entries will be judged on how well they are considered to communicate the experience of the individual
Posted by szadmin at September 13, 2007 9:20 PM
More Information on
Bipolar Disorder Education
a day in the life of living with bipolar some people would never make it because it is hard trust me i know i'm 17 and living with it and somedays i dont even think i can make it... thats how hard it is....
Posted by: katherine at September 14, 2007 6:25 AM
My 10 year old son broke down in tears and said, "you don't know what it's like to be me. I'm just very tired and I just want to die". We're on two meds: Trileptal and Vyvanse. Things are looking better, but we still have a long way to go. It's very difficult to be a parent of a bipolar child but it's gotta be harder to be a child living with the illness.
Posted by: jiha at October 15, 2007 2:08 PM
Hello.. It seems since my divorce 12 years ago... my bipolar is even worse esp... given my ex wife doe s not have the slightest ability to understand, she herself has been diagnosed as self centered and an exhibitionist thus keeping kids from me , exacerbating the depression and lonliness
Posted by: charles at October 31, 2007 2:54 PM
Every 3 to 6 weeks my son (now 18, Schizoaffective, bipolar 1 rapid cycling) screams at me that I don't know him and he doesn't even know himself. He wishes he were dead, he hates me, his life and everyone. Then a week or two later I am the "cool mom" and thanks for everything and I am so glad you are here for me.
"A day in the life" in one word......
"Hell"
Posted by: rustysmom at November 1, 2007 6:45 PM
These comments sound very familiar in my life as parenting a bipolar child.
Posted by: Mary Adams at November 13, 2007 10:51 AM
I wake up to a struggle every day, and while I haven't the creativity to write a day in the life, I know it because I live it. There is no grand master plan, just another day of barely scathing by.
Posted by: Rosanna Hunt at January 23, 2008 7:31 PM
You had invited manuscripts for a contest regarding 'Bipolar Disorder' for the year 2007. I wonder whether you have any contests for this year. I had a very nice story written regarding a particular mental condition and unfortunately I missed out on your last year's contest. I live in India.
Posted by: Srijaya char at March 23, 2008 1:34 AM
Here's one for you. Try being bipolar and raising a daughter that is bipolar. I have a ex of 9 years who keeps sicking lawyers on me just because she is wealthy and can do it. She keeps lying to my daughter, coaxing her to move in with her then throws her and all her stuff out in the street leaving my daughter no choice but to move back in with me. Who has time for an essay!?
Posted by: billy, 52 at June 2, 2008 12:41 PM
I was diagnosed as bipolar two years ago after being treated for depression my whole life. Then a year later I found out I had a rare eye disease, there was no cure, most of the vision in my left eye was already gone and the doctor told me to get good long term disability--- I am 27.
Posted by: Chandler at June 3, 2008 11:56 AM
a day in the life of living with bipolar some people would never make it because it is hard trust me i know i'm 17 and living with it and somedays i dont even think i can make it... thats how hard it is....
Posted by: katherine at September 14, 2007 6:25 AM
My 10 year old son broke down in tears and said, "you don't know what it's like to be me. I'm just very tired and I just want to die". We're on two meds: Trileptal and Vyvanse. Things are looking better, but we still have a long way to go. It's very difficult to be a parent of a bipolar child but it's gotta be harder to be a child living with the illness.
Posted by: jiha at October 15, 2007 2:08 PM
Hello.. It seems since my divorce 12 years ago... my bipolar is even worse esp... given my ex wife doe s not have the slightest ability to understand, she herself has been diagnosed as self centered and an exhibitionist thus keeping kids from me , exacerbating the depression and lonliness
Posted by: charles at October 31, 2007 2:54 PM
Every 3 to 6 weeks my son (now 18, Schizoaffective, bipolar 1 rapid cycling) screams at me that I don't know him and he doesn't even know himself. He wishes he were dead, he hates me, his life and everyone. Then a week or two later I am the "cool mom" and thanks for everything and I am so glad you are here for me.
"A day in the life" in one word......
"Hell"
Posted by: rustysmom at November 1, 2007 6:45 PM
These comments sound very familiar in my life as parenting a bipolar child.
Posted by: Mary Adams at November 13, 2007 10:51 AM
I wake up to a struggle every day, and while I haven't the creativity to write a day in the life, I know it because I live it. There is no grand master plan, just another day of barely scathing by.
Posted by: Rosanna Hunt at January 23, 2008 7:31 PM
You had invited manuscripts for a contest regarding 'Bipolar Disorder' for the year 2007. I wonder whether you have any contests for this year. I had a very nice story written regarding a particular mental condition and unfortunately I missed out on your last year's contest. I live in India.
Posted by: Srijaya char at March 23, 2008 1:34 AM
Here's one for you. Try being bipolar and raising a daughter that is bipolar. I have a ex of 9 years who keeps sicking lawyers on me just because she is wealthy and can do it. She keeps lying to my daughter, coaxing her to move in with her then throws her and all her stuff out in the street leaving my daughter no choice but to move back in with me. Who has time for an essay!?
Posted by: billy, 52 at June 2, 2008 12:41 PM
I was diagnosed as bipolar two years ago after being treated for depression my whole life. Then a year later I found out I had a rare eye disease, there was no cure, most of the vision in my left eye was already gone and the doctor told me to get good long term disability--- I am 27.
Posted by: Chandler at June 3, 2008 11:56 AM