Has anyone here ever dealt with this condition?? How did you last? How did you make it through? DID YOU....make it through?

I haven't. But someone close to me has, a serious case.

It can be very difficult.

Personally, no, thank goodness, but I have several friends who have...and as long as they stay on their meds they are usually very productive people and live wonderful lives

i don't have it buy my little sister does. but she's just fine. the way she works through it is by talking to me or my other sister or my mother when she's feeling down. she has to take Paxil.

a good friend of mine has it ...

she uses drugs and as long as she sticks with her program she is fine

most times she doesnt though


her life can be hell

My old boss is bi-polar.
A miserable son-of-a-biscuit one day, and a sweetheart the next.

What about the person who is in denial? How do you convince them? Or make them aware?

Strict Behaviorist Psychologists believe that the bi-polar condition, as well as all mental conditions, are not of a result of a standard brain condition, rather that the inbalance is created within the mind of the person by following brain thinking patterns. I tend to believe this. Maybe some people are more sensitive to the processes, however by felling low and then pushing your mind hi only swing back will distablize anyone.

DexMSR said:

you can gently talk about it but you can't make anybody do anything. the person thats in denial has to take that step his or herself. and accept it.

DexMSR said:

it's someone in GD today isnt it ?





( teasin round )

i would try to go the " making them aware " route ...

will this person hear you at all ? would books work ?

DexMSR said:

That would tend to be an illusion or a front. People with the disorder are all to painfully aware there is something "not right".

This is me not cracking a joke for once.

My ex wife is bipolar, and it's no laughing matter.

jerseykrs said:

What did you have to deal with?

DexMSR said:

extreme, and I mean, EXTREME mood swings. Suicidal to frantic. She fucked around too.

jerseykrs said:

And brotha...how did YOU deal with it...before divorcing?

DexMSR said:

I didn't, it nearly gave me a nervous breakdown dude.

jerseykrs said:

Damn...sorry dude.

I did know someone who had a relative with bi-polar, she'd basically learnt to control it, but looking back I get the feeling she was on a knife edge.

brownsugar said:

you can't is right. They need to see it and want help. Many people confus it with everyday life and just issues they are having.

There was a bi polar girl in out class when we started out.

She dropped out.

She was completly normal one day, and then gone the next.

my ex is and ADD .... talk about a double issue.... its a day by day thing.... no drugs bad days ... drugs good days.... do they recall the shit that happens on the bad days... usually not.... its just like anyone that has an addiction they have to want help and help themself... it was 6 yrs of hell.... all U can do is be there if U can... but there really aint much U can do if they are not doing it for themself....

I didn't know what it was until I noticed my baby having way the fuck out mood changes. My son and I were tested. They gave me some questions to ask his father about mood swings and come to find out he has it. That shit was rough and the main reason we broke up. He was extremely paranoid and would take that shit out on me. He knows something is wrong with him. When I told him about my son being tested for a learning disorder I kind of informed him of it. They say it is usually transferred from the male line and hereditary. Freaky. If I would have known he was off his rocker, I would have reported him in the military. They would have made him get it under control.

If the person won't admit it, I say make an appointment and take them there. Don't say what it is about and just go. A therapist will help with all of this. Their delusional thoughts can put a monkey wrench in getting help. There is a test you can take to find out the signs. I've seen the one I took on the internet. I will see if I can find it and orgnote the thing.

purplekisses said:

Whoa....a mind changing channels AND bipolar???

my sister has had it for 14 years but has never found a decent therapist to help her so she struggles alone and in denial for the most part.....that shit ain't no joke either but i'm afraid they label everything these days as bi-polar without really knowing the real problem.....maybe we should ask Tom Cruise.....yeah right

Didn't Kidelrich just recently reveal himself to be a 'bi-poler'?
[Edited 7/12/06 20:15pm]

Yeah I dated a guy that was bi-polar...he was really abusive and I'm so glad I got out of that relationship.

I made friends with a really sweet girl who was bi-polar...when she took her meds she was the coolest girl in the world. Then when she wouldn't she would stay up for days, sometimes a week, and act really odd....I was really understanding of her condition so it didn't really scare me or anything...I know how to deal with people of mental illness, I have alot of experience dealing with them and while it can be frustrating I'm not scared of those people and I treat them with compassion.

But I told her mother once after she had gone on a long hiatus from her meds and sleeping and my friend got all werid with me...like she was pissed at me, she never came out and told me but the way she acted said it all...we kinda lost touch but I still think about her. It's just that she was acting worse and worse that I was worried about her and felt like I had to get someone in her life involved.

Dex I have dated someone, and have estranged family members also friends who are all dealing with this. None will take thier meds, violent moods swings, paraniod, suicdal. I mean a fucking emotional roller coaster. Facotr in that they all either drink or use drugs or both and it goes down hill from there!!

I have read extensively about it but they must help themselves. I have distanted myslef emotional and physically to protect me and my Grandmother. I have suggested couseling through my work and we also have a drug program for a reduced fee. They wont seek help so what more can I do???

The lows are scary and alot of these peeps are in financial trouble because when they are on an emotional high they tend to spend out of control as well!!! It is am chemical imbalance in the brain and you will never come off the meds and changing the diet doesn't help either.

A lot of the homeless are bi-polar. They don't take their meds, or they do alcohol, which is awful, because it acts as a downer, and those people are pretty much lost to the world. Meds are the key, and more research on new drugs, I'd assume.

2freaky4church1 said:

2freaky4church1 said:

What? Have you lost your damned mind. Perhaps I'm just reading your post wrong. That's more than likely the case and if that is the case, my apologies for saying that your mind went wayward. If not, my comment stands.

While I don't have statistics on it, never really cared to look into it, but a lot of the homeless, that I've run across, have had a variety of problems and the vast majority of them had nothing to do with being bipolar. There are many with no mental illnesses at all and there are others who have a mental illness other than being bipolar that landed them where they are and there are some that do suffer with being bipolar. A lot of them? I'm not so sure about that.

I am bi-polar and I do indulge, from time to time, in alcohol, and I also don't take meds. While it is true, statistically, that indulging, as well as over indulging, in alcohol is common among those with the illness, it isn't to say that doing so will send you out of your home and onto the nearest street corner. There is also a fair amount of us that do not take meds to adjust the chemical levels in our brain that can adapt socially and have functional relationships that really aren't that much worse than those that "normal" people experience. A lot of it depends on our friends and family and how willing they are to put up with a lot of what someone suffering with the illness has to dish out.

To answer the question, from my own experience, I will say that it is difficult on the person that has the illness and perhaps even more difficult on those that are close to him/her.

I have lived with manic depression (that's what they called it back then) for over 20 years. I dealt with it very horribly in the beginning, over indulging in alcohol to try and diminish the horror and darkness that rushes over, which, I will agree, does not help one in a depressive state as it is a "downer". Many people, those with the illness, and those suffering from bouts of depression, often look towards alcohol to try and make them feel better and forget. It does not take the pain away nor does it relieve the darkness that is in everything you see. Do I feel it is a bad thing? I don't know. It's harmed me and relieved me.


While medication is not/was not the option for me, I konw that it has helped a vast majority of people go on with their lives. It just doesn't work for me. I've been on Eskalith, (Lithium) and a couple other forms of Lithium and it's not helped. In fact, it made me more suicidal. Then I had the bother of going to the doctor, regularly, to check my liver. I then stopped the Lithium and went several years without medication, until the suicidal tendancies were something I wasn't able to control on my own, which they then prescribed other meds, which also made it worse.

While I was considered a loner I was still able to function along with my peers as I became a very good actress. The shame and fear of what others would think of me brought about my acting skills. I could function normally around those that were able to put up with my moods and, later, I was able to adjust my moods and act my way though so that even those friends that did hang around were oblivious to what I was seeing/feeling. I now think along the lines of that what I am seeing is not what, "DexMSR" is seeing", that my mind is clouded. And I know that, now, after years of doing this, that eventually my world will become overly vibrant again. Sometimes too vibrant and I have to lower my actions to that of a normal person or as close as I can get.

In my own experience what happens is this. I am either high or low. In my low times the world is clouded with grey. It's as if someone placed a giant, grey transparency over the entire world. Everything I see is in shades of grey. Everything looks dirty. Everything. You don't want to get up, you don't want to shower, you don't want to clean your teeth, you could care less about anyone, you hate yourself. I've went over five weeks without cleaning my teeth and combing my hair and I had to have my hair cut off because of it being so snarled. You simply cannot function.

In your high, or in my high, you take everything to the extreme. You talk a bit faster, you shop and shop and often times you buy shit you don't want or need, and I tend to buy bundles of it. This can be a HUGE financial burden as it is easy to drop hundreds, if not thousands, on items just because you think it is a good idea and it's okay. You tend to think you are invinsible. Whatever idea enters your mind is a GREAT idea. You go with it. No one can stop you; no one can bring you down. Then you crash. No longer a good idea. The idea is out of your head. You may go headstrong with something only to the amazement of others find that, you know, well, bad idea, just not into it anymore. Again, that can add up to a huge financial burden. In the high I've found myself taking risks that weren't safe for myself or my family. But you really, truly think it is a good idea at the time. I've organized and re-organized my cupboards and drawers. Over and over and over again. Once I realized it, years ago, I now have the frame of mind to catch myself.

It boils down to this. Anyone with the illness should seek medical counseling. A lot of the homeless are not bipolar. If meds work for you take them and continue taking them. If you can act through it and have friends and family there for you when you hit a real, hard bottom and can get by without them, then do that. I have "on call" people who are there for me when I hit bottom. True friends and my mom. I answer the phone for no one else when I get a down time. I have to answer the phone if my "on call" people call and most times it is just a "hello", and we hang up. They call just to make sure I am still here.

Honesty is a big thing with those that have the illness. Be honest to those close to you. If they are any friends at all they will certainly be there for you and research what the illness is all about and be more compasionate and understanding when you switch back and forth. Understand that this is not easy on them either. Understand that each friend that turns their back is another thing added to the down time when they hit their depression. Also, understand that while they're in their depression, and they don't speak to you, that it's not because they don't want to, but it's because they can't. And, if they do things out of the ordinary, or act a fool, that you can step in and set them straight and put their head back.

Talk to your friend, try and get them to see someone about it... to diagnose. More than that though, be there for them. I think that's the major key to the illness is the person suffering knows that others are there through their ups and downs and that they know you will still be there after their mania or depression subsides. Violence, alcohol dependancy, shopping splurges, sudden disconnection with family/friends, taking risks... they're all signs. It is also known to be hereditary. Mine is.

My 2,000 cents worth. *shrug*

Sorry, 2freaky4church1... not sure how I double quoted you, but it was not intentional. Too lazy to figure it out.