The End of Bipolar Disorder Depression Isolation

The following is an excerpt from latest blog on Bp Magazine.

by Julie A. Fast

I used to think that being alone was a strength. I grew up with the very 1980s and 1990s idea that we have to ‘learn to be alone in order to really be with another person.’

That might make sense if you are stable and life is going well.

For people with bipolar disorder, alone-ness and learning to be by yourself before you can really succeed can be dangerous if taken out of context.

I have found that accepting people into my life when I am depressed is far more difficult than being alone. Depression makes me isolate. It makes me see the phone as an instrument of torture. It makes me turn to social media instead of reaching out to live human beings.

Many depression episodes are the personification of loneliness in that our brains tell us that being alone is all we deserve and that life is a lonely path we have to travel without support or love.

Does this sound familiar:

I’m depressed. I need contact, but I can’t reach out. I’m lying in my bed watching another British mystery when there are three messages from friends on my phone. I have the thought, ‘No one cares about me which is why no one is calling me.’ I am destined to be alone- lying on a bed in a dark room instead of getting out in the world. This is my life and it’s horrible.

Good heavens Julie! What is wrong with this picture?

Maybe you an spot the huge inconsistency between reality and what my brain is saying……..

Click here to read the rest of the article on the Bp Magazine website.