I've been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder

[rubytuesday]

When I read this I immediately thought of a documentary called The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive which was really informative for someone who doesn't know too much about it, it'd be great for showing people who are close to you. You should watch it. They have it all seperated into parts on youtube and here's the first part:

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by rubytuesday

When I read this I immediately thought of a documentary called The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive which was really informative for someone who doesn't know too much about it, it'd be great for showing people who are close to you. You should watch it. They have it all seperated into parts on youtube and here's the first part:

That was utterly fascinating. thank you so much!

[rubytuesday]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

That was utterly fascinating. thank you so much!

Did you get to watch all the parts? It's quite lengthy but definitely worthwhile. Hope it helps a little.

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by rubytuesday

Did you get to watch all the parts? It's quite lengthy but definitely worthwhile. Hope it helps a little.

Very insightful. I can definitely relate.

[Steviefan49]

Hey David..

I have a really sweet friend of mine who was just diagnosed with this as well, in the DC metro area. He was telling me a little about it, and I SOOO know that with a LOT of strength, you will do just fine! My heart is with you in your quest to get better my friend!

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Ok, I know at times my behavior here has been unusual to downright rude at times, and I recently discovered what I think may be the cause. My mood swings relating to depression have been getting worse, me flipping out of friends, (friends I've subsequently lost) and I finally decided that enough was enough. I went and got tested by mental health professionals and have discovered I have Bi-Polar disorder. I know, that probably freaks some people out, but I wanted to talk about it because when the doctors told me, I was really freaked out, like I'd found out I have cancer or something like that. I mean I know some people think that people dealing with this are completely nuts and belong in a padded room 24/7. But I wanted to get some input from people here that might know someone or have a loved one dealing with this so I can understand it better. I want to make it clear that I AM NOT ASKING FOR PEOPLE TO FEEL SORRY FOR ME. I just want to get a handle on this so I can stop treating people the way I do sometimes.



Thank you for listening,
David

Hey David,

my friend Kim is bipolar. I found this out about a year after having met her. I would've never have known. Then again, I dont see her at home...just a work associate. Apparently she just takes some meds and she's ok. I hope the same can be said for you. You obviously have been able to deal with this problem. But the good thing is you went to get help. Losing friends and people in your life due to such a thing has to be rough. I pray for the best for you my friend!

[kathy1]

how are you doing? i hope that everything is ok with you.

[DavidMn]

Thank you once again everyone! It's not easy but like I said, its always better for me to get things like this out there so I can recieve helpful information and support.

[blackroses]

I believe most of us are somewhat "bipolar". It's the new term for moodiness. Every decade they come up with some new way of diagnosing fairly normal human reactions and behavior. Almost everyone I know would probably be diagnosed with this if they put themselves in the position of being analyzed by some psychiatrist or health care professional. Yes, many people have extreme moodiness which interferes with their life and should be treated, but it's only a matter of degree. Honestly, anyone who can live in this crazy world and not be moody or somewhat "bipolar" is probably a corpse (and yes, we do have some of those walking amongst us too ). But all the creative geniuses...musicians, artists, poets, and so on, most likely have some degree of this. Not to worry David. You're in good company.

My best friend is a clinical psychologist who works with one of the most well-known psychiatrists in the country. They believe this is just another one of the latest diagnosis fads. Not cancer by a long shot. Just normal human reactions to life, and they do not believe it should necessarily be termed a "disorder" unless the behavior is highly disabling and bizarre. Anyway, just another perspective to consider.

[rubytuesday]

Originally Posted by blackroses

I believe most of us are somewhat "bipolar". It's the new term for moodiness. Every decade they come up with some new way of diagnosing fairly normal human reactions and behavior. Almost everyone I know would probably be diagnosed with this if they put themselves in the position of being analyzed by some psychiatrist or health care professional. Yes, many people have extreme moodiness which interferes with their life and should be treated, but it's only a matter of degree. Honestly, anyone who can live in this crazy world and not be moody or somewhat "bipolar" is probably a corpse (and yes, we do have some of those walking amongst us too ). But all the creative geniuses...musicians, artists, poets, and so on, most likely have some degree of this. Not to worry David. You're in good company.

My best friend is a clinical psychologist who works with one of the most well-known psychiatrists in the country. They believe this is just another one of the latest diagnosis fads. Not cancer by a long shot. Just normal human reactions to life, and they do not believe it should necessarily be termed a "disorder" unless the behavior is highly disabling and bizarre. Anyway, just another perspective to consider.

Sure, there are fads when it comes to children and teenagers (ADHD was the previous one) but that could be taken the wrong way. Like ADHD is a real illness and not just a lack of attention span or a hissyfit, bipolar is not just feeling down one day and feeling happy the next, it's a very serious illness and one that has a very lengthy recovery, if at all. It's usually something people live with for life and is not really a case of just a normal response to today's hectic lifestle.

You should watch that documentary I posted for David a few posts above. It's very insightful into the extremes of what bipolar is for a sufferer on a day to day basis. The suicide rate for sufferers is sadly relatively high so a proper diagnosis of it is nothing to talk down as being no more than what everyone deals with in today's fast-paced society.

[David]

Originally Posted by blackroses

My best friend is a clinical psychologist who works with one of the most well-known psychiatrists in the country. They believe this is just another one of the latest diagnosis fads.

I don't agree with your friend that the disorder itself is a fad, but I believe it's diagnosed . . . let us say overabundantly out there. But I suppose that's true of many psychiatric disorders.

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by David

I don't agree with your friend that the disorder itself is a fad, but I believe it's diagnosed . . . let us say overabundantly out there. But I suppose that's true of many psychiatric disorders.

this is what I was going to say.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by blackroses

I believe most of us are somewhat "bipolar". It's the new term for moodiness. Every decade they come up with some new way of diagnosing fairly normal human reactions and behavior. Almost everyone I know would probably be diagnosed with this if they put themselves in the position of being analyzed by some psychiatrist or health care professional. Yes, many people have extreme moodiness which interferes with their life and should be treated, but it's only a matter of degree. Honestly, anyone who can live in this crazy world and not be moody or somewhat "bipolar" is probably a corpse (and yes, we do have some of those walking amongst us too ). But all the creative geniuses...musicians, artists, poets, and so on, most likely have some degree of this. Not to worry David. You're in good company.

My best friend is a clinical psychologist who works with one of the most well-known psychiatrists in the country. They believe this is just another one of the latest diagnosis fads. Not cancer by a long shot. Just normal human reactions to life, and they do not believe it should necessarily be termed a "disorder" unless the behavior is highly disabling and bizarre. Anyway, just another perspective to consider.

I worked psych nursing for several years, and I see what you're saying - to a point. While I do agree that there is a problem with overdiagnosis (whether it be by a clinician trying to put a simple label on someone, or by a person reading symptoms on WebMD & thinking "hey, I have that!"), bipolar is a very real mental illness.

There are several psych diagnoses that, IMO, are ridiculous(personality disorder comes to mind - the patient is basically manipulative & attention-seeking). But bipolar can actually be caused by a chemical imbalance - it's depression along with manic phases. Some people may use this as an excuse to "misbahave" or as a way to explain away their behaviors ("well, I couldn't help it, cuz I'm bipolar") but for many people it is real & can really affect their lives negatively.

Is it as serious & debilitating as paranoid schizophrenia? No way. But that doesn't mean it's a fake diagnosis. Does everyone who has similar symptoms have it? No. But that doesn't mean that nobody has it.

[blackroses]

I don't disagree with what any of you are saying at all. I was certainly not saying that this is not real, but I try to keep an open mind. I don't know if I agree with my friend either. It's just a different way of looking at it from some people who are experts in the field who do not entirely agree with the mainstream. It seems that in every field, the experts never all agree. It definitely seems to be over-diagnosed, and not all cases that are diagnosed are to the extreme that it cannot be managed, and I'm sure it's possible there are some that are diagnosed that may not necessarily fall into a true bipolar category.

I know it's not considered to be just simple day to day moodiness, and that it's related to chemical imbalances, but where do we draw line...at which point does it become a disorder? I think they have pretty much nailed that down to how much it disrupts a person's life. But then the question is ~ what came first, the chicken or the egg? There are those who believe that there is no way to determine whether the emotions themselves are causing the chemicals to become imbalanced and therefore escalate the reaction, or whether the chemicals alone are causing the emotional reactions to be excessive...or a combination of both, and there is no evidence either way. These are the things I have to listen to my friend talk about constantly, so that is why I wanted to respond to this topic.

There are so many variations in human behavior and countless variables. It does seem a bit unfortunate when people so easily get labeled with a disorder, as if they are abnormal. I guess the question in my mind is how we decide what is "normal". Maybe the people with static moods and emotions are the abnormal ones. These conditions may certainly be debilitating or cause some degree of dysfunction, but does that make a person abnormal? As my friend would say, strong emotions or moods manifest differently in every individual ~ one person may get physical pain or illness, another may develop bipolar or depression, another may have some other form of psychosis, and some may not react much all. Just some food for thought. Certainly debilitating reactions should be treated whenever possible. No one should live with uncontrollable discomfort.

I think this is all interesting to wonder about it, but I'm not sure anyone has perfect answers, and I certainly haven't formed any conclusions on the matter. It's natural for us to want answers and cures for things that make us uncomfortable, and we seek it from those who are supposed to have those answers, but the field of psychology as always been prone to error on occasion (although I'm not saying that is the case with this...I simply just don't know), so it's good to keep an open mind. Keep in mind that psychiatry once considered homosexuality to be a serious psychological abnormality too. The very best to you David.

[petep9000]

None of this makes me feel any better, when I'm in a depressed state and the entire bottle of Ativan in my cabinet starts looking mighty good, or when I'm so manic that my heart is going to explode and I break out in a rash and I can't sit still.

but, maybe it's just a fad I'm going through.