anyone here know about bi-polar?
by orbison11 41 Replies latest jw friends
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KW13
I suffer from bipolar and while the highs are 'amazing' at the tale end you know your heading for a big fall (again). The lows wouldn't be so terrible if it wasn't for the terrific high.
As someone said, you gain confidence and become an all-round 'hero' if you like but afterwards you become unable to function for prolonged periods at a time.
Creativity as Crumpet said becomes natural, if anything its sheer brilliance, if only some of the ideas were possible or within your grasp at those times, extremes of lows and highs can vary and sometimes the latter can be enjoyable.
Anyhoo, Merry Christmas Y'all.
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blondie
Try this website too:
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Mystery
Bipolar can be overwhelming. Learning about it. Being diagnosed with it.
My son was diagnosed at 14 yrs old. My son and I went through 4 doctors before ‘understanding’ what bi-polar is.
Symptoms my son had:
His Highs -
Very energetic
could not sit down for any length of time
his opinion had to be heard - he tried to listen, but his mind was racing to challenge an opinion different from yours. But his logic 99% of the time made perfect sense.
when he was an angel - everyone loved him
he was an aggressive, excellent soccer player
did his homework - excellent grades
in 8th grade he had 12th grade math skillsHis Lows -
he self-medicated drugs/booze mainly painkillers (he is still fighting with the addiction today)
self- distructive he would cut himself (he still has scars)
Nothing mattered but him - he would walk into a store and if someone was walking out he would say they were staring at him. He would walk over and get in a confrontation with them. If they did not walk away usually a fight began, police called, etc...
He would break glass and stab himself with itThere are different stages of bi-polar. My son was stage 3. I was literally in fear of my families life. A friend of mine kept my younger son for a couple of months because I was afraid my son would go over the edge one night and kill all of us.
FIRST - have more than one opinion. Consult several doctors.
SECOND - Talking with a professional helped my son once we found one that 'clicked' with him - get him to find someone that really knows the meaning of bipolar - we can give you our experiences all day long, but our experience can only give you ideas - your son needs to find out exactly what he is dealing with.
THIRD - if he begins taking meds, if they don't suit him change them. The doc told me that my son needed to be on them for 90 days to really determine if they will work - if your son begins taking meds and the side effects are worse than the symptoms take him back for a change of prescription. You know how your body works - you know for example, when you have eaten something that you may not need to eat again - the same with pills, you know how it makes your body feel - give him a pocket calendar tell him to put a smiley face on the good days and a sad face on the bad days.
Crumpet said At the moment for the purposes of research I'm giving all the meds a try - they change them every month which is exasperating, but eventually I think I will just stop taking medication.
If she can handle the highs/lows without meds - this may be what works for her. Please don't let her example, my example, everyone else's example set the tone for you. Research. Just as you did with the 'truth'.
If i were still a JW - I would still be waiting on Jehovah to 'cure' my son. I would have more than likely lost him by now. To death or jail or a mental institute.
My son is 19, it is very hard to get him to do anything - much less give doc's a chance - he is still fighting with self-medicating.
Finally he has (again) found a doc he feels comfortable with - I hope this time he finds his answer..... we can help them, encourage them, listen to them, and never give up on them but we can not make them get help.
I have been on a rollercoaster with him for over 5 years. He can handle the highs and lows - he says - problem is what about the rest of us? What about us that watch him everyday, those of us that wonder what we can say today - will "how did work go today?" send him on a tantrum? send him into depression? Put a smile on his face as he elaborately tells of his days adventure? If we are still 'afraid' of him, if we are still dreading the moment he walks in the door, if we hold our breath until we know the kind of mood he is in - is he in the right frame of mind to decide if he needs or doesn't need his med's.
He feels he doesn't need meds. If he ask me I will ask him to get back on them. He may be able to handle the highs and lows - but with him being stage 3 - after 5 years i don't know how much more i can handle. When he is in a High he is GREAT; when he is in a Low it hurts all of us.
Research. ASK. Research. 2nd and/or 3rd opinions. Research.
And always give him a hug and tell him you love him.
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jgnat
My mom is the kind of bipolar who gets the "high" more than the "low". She is never suicidal, for instance. She has a strong instinct for survival. I give my mom high marks for riding through her life and surviving.
At her highest high, brilliant ideas came so fast she couldn't write them fast enough. She carried a notebook around with her to capture her thoughts. They were unreadable to regular people, however. She would be on to a new thought before the last one finished.
An ugly factor in the "high", which I could never get mom to admit to, was that she became increasingly hostile to anyone who got in her way. To double the insult, she had a remarkably clear memory of every insult or offence against her during her high. Never mind that she was running in to the street to slow down cars; we had the audacity to snatch her out of harm's way! She would carry that offence like a cross for months afterwards, as we tried to pick up the pieces left over from the storm. My experience with my mom is that a bipolar may enjoy her high, but very few of the people close to her do.
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Mystery
jgnat - She would carry that offence like a cross for months afterwards, as we tried to pick up the pieces left over from the storm
My son is the same way. On his high as well as his lows he could remember almost verbatim what had been said to him. He would twist and turn it so that I was the guilty one. It is extremely difficult to carry on year after year after year of my son's highs and lows.
At one point I had went to a lawyer to have him turned over to the state. (I feel really bad admitting this). According to our state legislature my son was 14 yrs old therefore he did not have to seek medical treatment. In my state, a child of 14 has the right to say "No - i will not go to the doctor." And legally the doctor can not treat him. He refused treatment and i did not know what else to do. The lawyer told me that unless he physically hit me that i could not turn him over to the state. But if he hit me to come back and they would make him a ward of the court. Eventually my son found out that i had went and the reason the state would not accept him - so for the next several years he would throw it in my face - "you just want me to hit you don't you....... you just want me to hit you...... he would come at me like he was going to hit me and laugh..... i will never let you put me away, because i will never hit you...... and taunt me over and over and over with this.... He never hit me.
The ones that think they can handle the highs and lows need to ask their family if they can handle the highs and lows. If the family answers is it with honesty or are afraid of the repercussions when the next low hits so they say "its OK" when it isn't?
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blondie
I will say that bipolar varies and is different for each person. One person's experience can be greatly different than anothers. There are many medications out there, some work well for some individuals and not others (assuming they take their meds). Also the ability and knowledge of psychiatrists varies (just as it does with physicians in general).
There are national and local support groups that can be of help too for the person with the illness and family members trying to adjust and deal with the circumstances.
http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=Your_Local_Nami
here is another website of an organization that can educate and help
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bigmouth
Yes. Lots of time spent with bipolar people. There are degrees.
Unfortunately I'm like darkuncle, chronic endogenous depression, dysthymia.
And only been off meds 2 days. They're coming this afternoon I hope.
Not talking much today, sorry.
IMHO, meds AND therapy are required to 'control' many psych. disorders. -
aquagirl
if one is bipolar,1.take your meds,2.enjoy that you are way less boring than most folks,but realize that some times it gets tedious for others to keep up,and 3. be honest about having it...someone said it earlier,wouldnt it be boring if we were all the same?..
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VoidEater
My father is bipolar.
My father's father was perhaps bipolar but undiagnosed, may also have had Asperger's Syndrome.
My father's father's brother (dad's Uncle) was "in and out of mental institutions" all his life. No known diagnosis.
My father's grandfather committed suicide. No known diagnosis.
My father lapses on his meds often. His narcissism becomes pronounced. He has suicidal ideations without the meds.
I went through years of meds with therapy to combat depression and anxiety (diagnosed). These days I am pretty aware of gentle mood swings (usually down, but occasionally manic) that are out of proportion to what's going on in my life, but they have been manageable - I can control the manic part so that the only consequence is a heightened extroversion (I'm normally very introverted). I generally meditate in the evening.
I am fairly sure that without the meds and the therapy I would probably not be alive today.