I've been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder

[shackin'up]

Bi-polar disorder is something that really is disturbing in one's life, but no cancer sweety. Be happy with it. It's something one can live with and work with, so it gets more "controlable", maybe with some relatively harmless medication, I bet you can handle this. On the other hand, without the disorder you possibly wouldn't have gotten on the obsessive FM/LB-high that brought you to more liveshows and artist-contacts any other fan dream of.

I don't want to ridicule it, david, it's a bitter pill to take, but please look at it in perspective.

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

Bi-polar disorder is something that really is disturbing in one's life, but no cancer sweety. Be happy with it. It's something one can live with and work with, so it gets more "controlable", maybe with some relatively harmless medication, I bet you can handle this. On the other hand, without the disorder you possibly wouldn't have gotten on the obsessive FM/LB-high that brought you to more liveshows and artist-contacts any other fan dream of.

I don't want to ridicule it, david, it's a bitter pill to take, but please look at it in perspective.

You know, I dont take it that way at all Gerald. I sincerely appreciate what you have to say, thank you for your input.

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

Bi-polar disorder is something that really is disturbing in one's life, but no cancer sweety. Be happy with it. It's something one can live with and work with, so it gets more "controlable", maybe with some relatively harmless medication, I bet you can handle this. On the other hand, without the disorder you possibly wouldn't have gotten on the obsessive FM/LB-high that brought you to more liveshows and artist-contacts any other fan dream of.

I don't want to ridicule it, david, it's a bitter pill to take, but please look at it in perspective.

But you know whats funny about the FM/LB obsession thing? I mean I knew back in the day that If I was ever lucky enough to come into contact with any of the band members I felt I would act in a civil polite manner. It's like the focus has ALWAYS been on the music for me. THe whole meeting the people in the band thing I've always taken as a bonus, NEVER as some kind of right I may or may not have because of how many concerts I've seen. That's how I find that balance I think.

[shackin'up]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

THe whole meeting the people in the band thing I've always taken as a bonus, NEVER as some kind of right I may or may not have because of how many concerts I've seen. That's how I find that balance I think.

Oh I'm sure David, that that mindset is THE ONLY way to succeed in meeting legends: If you want it too much, it nearly ever happens. Your "natural" approach has helped you in that, I'm sure. But look at it that way: it's a quality you've got "in spite of" , or maybe even "thanks to" your disorder.

[bretonbanquet]

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that a diagnosis like this is a step along the way to learning to live with your moods, and a bit of confirmation that you were right in your suspicions. It's confirmation that you weren't going crazy. Hopefully you can use it as a foundation for figuring out the best way to handle it - surely knowing what the problem is and being willing to learn about it are great ways towards dealing with it. As people have said, no-one's going to magically fix it for you, but being able to label it will help you to fight it. Good luck, dude

[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.

[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.

[Standback383]

I have a good friend who was diagnosed with the same, and I most certainly have NEVER viewed anyone who is dealing with bipolar disorder as being "nuts"; I applaud you for seeking help and obtaining a diagnosis and getting to the bottom of everything.......

Good luck, take care, and have a good week ~