There is a band called Social Distortion. There is distortion in engineering and music, photography and video. And then there is #bipolar distortion? Do you suffer from bipolar distortion?
I do! I have a bad case of this nasty condition.
1. I truly believe that no one loves me when I’m depressed.
2. I feel left out and pushed aside in life when I am depressed.
3. I hear things differently- the words I hear are actually distorted by my brain. “I’m busy this week Julie.” turns into, “I no longer find you interesting as a person.”
WTF! WTH! Really!
4. I believe that I’m a bad person and no one wants to be with me, so what is the point of trying to be a good person. I will always fail.
5. I believe that the world is having fun and I’m not. I’m left out. I don’t belong.
Distortion is dangerous.
When I’m stable, I don’t have these kinds of thoughts. My Depression Health Card and my Paranoid Health Card taught me that this is the illness thinking. I use my Health Cards to get myself through these nasty, distorted episodes. You need a plan as well. It’s hard to fight your own brain.
When I was a kid, we played telephone. Sit in a circle and one person says a phrase and the next person then repeats the phrase as it goes around the circle. It is always distorted! What started as
Julie is a good and kind person…
becomes
Julie reprimands and demands too much from people!
Bipolar is our personal telephone game. It distorts our thinking. We have to fight this and know who we are when stable so that we can counter act the distorted thoughts.
I have friends. I have a social life. I am a real person with hopes and dreams. I am not a speck of dirt on the street of life. I am not an insignificant ant. I want to live and I want to be happy. This is normal thinking.
Do you have #bipolar distortion?
