Megan Hosfield, 25, is a graduate student in UB’s sociology department studying bipolar disorder. But for her, the research is deeply personal—she has the disorder herself.
Born and raised in San Diego, Hosfield described herself as a “happy kid.” But as she transitioned into adolescence, she began experiencing depression.
“I was just so depressed for, like, no real reason. And my family couldn’t really explain why I was dealing with depression, and I couldn’t explain it either,” Hosfield said.
Attending school was a daily challenge.
“There were times when I would get so depressed that I would just stay in bed and couldn’t leave my bed,” she said. “I had issues with that, and there were times when I couldn’t sleep. There were times when I couldn’t sleep for three days, and my head hurt so much that I couldn’t go to school.”
When manic, individuals often have difficulty sleeping and are more likely to engage in impulsive behavior.
One night, while pulling an all-nighter, Hosfield suddenly went outside and ran a mile.
“Now that I think about that, I’m like, oh my gosh, something was definitely up when I was in high school,” she said.
After graduating from high school, Hosfield attended college in Oregon but had to drop out after experiencing her first manic episode.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by shifts between episodes of depression and mania (or hypomania in bipolar II). During mania, individuals set very high expectations for themselves, and can go months in an elevated state—just as they can remain in depressive episodes for long stretches.
She was officially diagnosed at age 18. But she felt unprepared, struggling to conceptualize what it meant.
“There are not really movies or TV shows that talk about bipolar disorder,” Hosfield said.
After being diagnosed, she moved back home to San Diego.
In 2022, she earned two associate degrees from San Diego Mesa College in sociology and psychology. At Mesa, she was vice president of the Disability Support Programs and Services Honor Society.
After applying to 23 different universities, Hosfield committed to the University at Buffalo. She explained her situation to an administrator in the sociology department and was met with unexpected understanding.
“That was really validating … because not a lot of people are understanding of that,” Hosfield said.
Hosfield is just beginning her graduate thesis, where she wants to study how socioeconomic status and educational attainment impact accessibility for individuals with bipolar disorder.
Coming from a middle-class background, she recognizes that many people face greater difficulties obtaining treatment. She wants to study how accessibility works for patients in the United States and compare it to Canada’s universal single-payer healthcare system.
The idea for her research was sparked by her experience working as a counselor between the ages of 21 and 23. While working at a recovery program where patients lived in the facility, she helped individuals obtain disability benefits, employment, and housing.
“I always noticed that there was an issue with helping individuals of lower socioeconomic status get connected to resources,” Hosfield said.
She has faced a lot of adversity in her life and is proud of how far she has come.
“I kind of forgot that I had a disability. But then I think that each time you have a [manic] episode, it kind of knocks you down,” Hosfield said.
However, since it’s been a year since she has had any sort of episode, she is regaining confidence.
“It’s kind of hard when you’re in the midst of everything to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Hosfield said. “So it was really validating to let individuals know that even though you have this disability, and even though you’re going to have it for the rest of your life, it’s going to be okay.”
Hosfield is set to complete her Master’s thesis within the next year.
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Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Wikimedia Commons
