Oh boy can this illness make a person sick. That is just a fact. I guess you can change that sentence around- We all get sick and tired of having this illness. One thing I want to do on this blog is to encourage people to keep going and going even when the days are really tough. One good thing about bipolar disorder is that it’s episodic- that means mood swings end. You can get better. Sometimes it takes way longer than expected- but life can be stable.
I tend to talk a lot about depression as that is what I experience the most- some of my friends talk more about the agitated mania or the psychosis they live with, sometimes for a long stretch of time. Sometimes you can have all three at once- dysphoric mania.
Today is a good day because I can get work done- today is a good day becuase I have a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) event tonight.
It’s important to focus on the good stuff during the day when you’re having a hard time- even if it’s only a small thing.
Julie
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Thank you for this short and affirming reminder. Even the little (good) things indeed need to be thought of!
Hey, I would just say that what you’re doing is great! I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 a few month ago, and when i came home i looked it up on the internet and found the videos you have made for healtyplace.com. Me and my partner where looking at them, and i was just “yes, thats right!” Oh my god, i was a bit freaked out, cause it was like you have been in my head and taken all of my thoughts. almost every single word was allready in my head. and i was just like ” what? this is my toughts!” I’m now 20 years old, have suffered whit different psykic disorders from i was 11 years old, and have given up on life so many times. Ive tried a thounds of antipsycotica, but nothing has ever worked. Now i’m on lithuim, and i really hope this will work. I cant say enoug how greatful i am for your videos and everything you have done. You are a real rolemodel, and an example on that its possible to have a life despite bipolar. Im sorry for my englis, im from norway. Hope you have a great day! Love Lise
What I find difficult with BP, even when it is no where near it’s at its worse for me, is KNOWING that it is cyclic, knowing that the bad stuff ends BUT that it will come back again. It’s that treadmill I find very wearing. The other thing is the frequency of the cycles – it seems I’ve got Ultradian BP, and I can cycle inside a day, although it’s more usual across around 10 days. The changes creep up on me so that, one moment I may be in a meeting, talking passionately about some subject (probably hypomanic!) and then … in a moment,I well up with tears! I get too self conscious about this, I know. The psychologist says I have to accept it as part of whom I am … but it’s not ‘normal’ behaviour in the non-BP world and it makes other, non-BP people very uncomfortable, and that makes ME feel uncomfortable. There are many things I can tell people with BP hpw they can cope with some things that happen, or their supporters in terms of their own behaviour towards their loved on with BP, but I can’t find an answer to these flash floods of tears!