Is anyone in here bipolar?
Got diagnosed a month ago. Its a weird feeling…like all my issues make sense, but I feel weird about the future.
the future is robots! repent!
Well, I certainly am not. Wait, oh yes I am.
How bad is it?
I grew up with a bi-polar mother and it was hell, she was never given a diagnosis and never wanted one either. My cousin had it bad, she would go from nice girl next door to being a prostitute (seriously).
Medication helped both of them and kept them level, which was not a place either wanted to be so both were very sporadic with the meds.
Cousin died early this year, and my mother has stage 4 cancer because she would not accept anything could have possibly been wrong with her when her symptoms first appeared.
Get support, take your meds and learn as much as you can about your condition and about yourself. Keep a journal and learn to recognize when your behavior is destructive to you or others.
Good Luck, I think you’ve got to be really strong and really honest with yourself to overcome this.
No, I’m not bipolar, but I am curious about it. How old are you, especially with you not knowing you had bipolar up until now?
And… HOW bipolar are you? Like, do you get into the severe manic / depressive bouts like some folks do?
Either way, good luck. Bi-polar can be tricky but with proper meds (as much as I hate to say it) and probably supervision you shouldn’t have much of a problem with it.
So you’re an Eskimo that swings both ways?
I am. You can PM me with questions if you want.
^ U off work today?
I think my brother and mother are bipolar. Me and my dad would just roll our eyes when they would get on each others case or on us,like “Here we go again…”
What form of BPD do you have? Are you using behavioral or chemical therapy to "control it? Or is it even to that stage yet? My fiance is Bi Polar and I have Major Depression…I’ve been diagnosed as Bi Polar by a former therapist…but drug use caused my “mania”. haha
Anyway, yea, I’m here if you have questions…I’ll give you my email addy if you want.
My daughter’s been diagnosed too. I think the diagnosis is sometimes just kind of thrown around if you have the right “symptoms.” Diana’s mom and cousin, that’s the serious stuff. I had a friend back in the day who had it and here is my best advice if you are on meds. When you are feeling good, you may decide you don’t need those meds anymore. She did it ALL the time. We’d find her locked in her house, all lights off, shades drawn, near suicide. I hope you start feeling better.
Oh and ID…lol…you are hilarious
was dx’ed as bipolar 10 years ago. Now I’m just bisexual. But seriously, working out helps, sobriety helps, - and some sort of emotinal structure/ground to stand on. You’re not alone, it can be a struggle. Try the meds see if it helps, educate yourself on triggers/your biochemisty. Appreciate your brain and your personality for it’s uniqueness. All of the bipolar people I know are pretty fucking interesting and intelligent people. Just don’t let it define you or run your life.
The ex-wife is.
Make sure your spouse has their own bank acounts. Get daily and / or weekly spending limits on your cards. Get a daily shedule and stick to it. Give up your “night life”, and make sure your freinds understand so that they can encourage you to stick to it. Get rid of any friends that don’t. Learn your triggers and avoid them like the plague. And whatever you do stay on your meds. The more you THINK you don’t need them, the more you really do. Not only because if you find yourself thinking “I’m cured, I don’t need those” it’s going to be the mania talking, but also because going on and off them will make trigger even more mood swings.
Good luck to you, and your family.
It’s better than heart disease or type 1 diabetes, but worse than asthma. Lol.
[quote]SSC wrote:
No, I’m not bipolar, but I am curious about it. [/quote]
So one could say that you’re bi-curious?
Sorry, couldn’t resist, blame ID, he made an inappropriate joke before me. Please resume.
I’m sorry I dont have anything helpful to add, but I’ll be following the thread as I find it interesting. Best of luck with your diagnosis.
I’m bipolar, I’m not sure how seriously but I do know that I’m different to most people I know. I also know it runs in my family as my Dad has been diagnosed with depression (which recurrs) and my bro is now seeing a psych too. They like to say that it’s genetic, but in reality I’d say if your parents were fucked then your environment is likely a bit screwy and of course you’ll take on board some of their shit.
That aside I did therapy for about six months (ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) with and anti depressants and it worked wonders for me. At the end of it my psych said that she thought I was bipolar but there was no reason to label myself other than to be able to find known courses of action that help bipolar people. Going around saying “Oh, I’m bipolar so …” doesn’t solve anything unless it’s “I’m bipolar and that means that this course of behaviour or engaging in this or that is likely to cause me harm”. It’s not an excuse, it’s a piece of information about yourself.
The best piece of advice I ever got was from my psych. She told me that for bipolar people it’s not the depression that needs to be managed, it’s the manic side of things. The higher you let yourself ride that rollercoaster and the more speed you build up the more likely you are to crash and the lower you’ll dip. Recognising the signs of that ‘up period’ and curbing it is the most important thing I’ve ever done to manage things. I haven’t had any antidepressants for about the last two years and I’ve been what I’d consider fine.
The signs of the up part of the ride are shortening sleep, more energy, trying to control everything (eating way less, exercising way more) and a few other things. Usually I notice the sleep stuff pretty early and I can combat this by going for a few more walks or just trying to engage with people more. Chamomile tea, or herbal sleeping stuff and just forcing myself into a sleeping routine really, really helps combat this stuff too.
Which I guess is another important point and that’s routine is really important during some periods. During down periods my routine really suffers (diet, exercise, work on time etc) and I find if I really concentrate on getting into, or keeping my routine then you can work your way through things much more quickly.
The resounding message though is that it’s not going to be easy. Even with the drugs I took (which helped a lot at the time) they had their own down sides which I hated. Everyone i know that has taken anti depressants has the same story to tell. Either way you need to be prepared to put in the work and not use it as an excuse. Sometimes your life will be harder than other people, but sometimes it will be easier, also I’d recommend reading a book called “The Gifts of Depression” as I found this gave me a fresh perspective on things.
Good luck.
[quote]SSC wrote:
No, I’m not bipolar, but I am curious about it. How old are you, especially with you not knowing you had bipolar up until now?
And… HOW bipolar are you? Like, do you get into the severe manic / depressive bouts like some folks do?
Either way, good luck. Bi-polar can be tricky but with proper meds (as much as I hate to say it) and probably supervision you shouldn’t have much of a problem with it.[/quote]
Well I am bi-polar II which I guess is minor. I have had at least 2 episodes of Mania…but my doctor thinks they were induced by a specific things and not likely to reoccur so she is sticking with type II.
I am 30 years old and it is suspected that I had my first episode when I was 17 or so. I guess I thought I was just a highly strung, anxious person who had periods of ‘the blues’. I have been sent for counselling because of of my high levels of agitation and irritation…but nothing was said of it.
I have also been to school counselors before, and they have associated my actions with being ‘gifted mentally’ and my behavior is normally seen in people with an IQ and gifts like mine.
One month ago I had a major episode (which i dont really want to talk about) that ended up with people dragging me to the doctor
Also I’m on lithium which will reduce the severity and frequency of my episodes
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
What form of BPD do you have? Are you using behavioral or chemical therapy to "control it? Or is it even to that stage yet? My fiance is Bi Polar and I have Major Depression…I’ve been diagnosed as Bi Polar by a former therapist…but drug use caused my “mania”. haha
Anyway, yea, I’m here if you have questions…I’ll give you my email addy if you want.[/quote]
type II. I am on lithium as well as seeing a therapist.
I will PM you
[quote]Broncoandy wrote:
The ex-wife is.
Make sure your spouse has their own bank acounts. Get daily and / or weekly spending limits on your cards. Get a daily shedule and stick to it. Give up your “night life”, and make sure your freinds understand so that they can encourage you to stick to it. Get rid of any friends that don’t. Learn your triggers and avoid them like the plague. And whatever you do stay on your meds. The more you THINK you don’t need them, the more you really do. Not only because if you find yourself thinking “I’m cured, I don’t need those” it’s going to be the mania talking, but also because going on and off them will make trigger even more mood swings.
Good luck to you, and your family.[/quote]
Thanks for your advice and words of wisdom.
Don’t even start on the money stuff! I am in debt a large amount (despite having a well paying job at the time).
I don’t have anything to show for it, and i don’t even know what I spent it on.
Kind of sucks, but I am hoping now I am on meds it will be under control.
They say some get addicted to drugs…it turns out I was addicted to spending money as well as junk food.
I would walk 40min in the rain (I dont drive) just to get cheetos
ozzyaaron,
Bipolar seems to be very different to depression.
From what I understand taking anti-depression meds without mood stabilizers is lethal (you are Australian? that news presenter Charmaine Dragun killed herself, they thought she just had depression, but she actually had bipolar that wasn’t controlled)
I have not been able to control my mania (or hypomania) with anything, until i started lithium.