August 30, 2011
How I Deal With Hypomania? One of the symptoms of my illness is rapid cycling. This means that I can go from a severe depression to hypomania seemingly overnight. Sometimes I will cycle several times in the same day. It all depends on what is going on in my life and I definitely think there are triggers that cause both the depression and the mania. I just haven’t quite figured out exactly what triggers either yet. I was thinking this morning (after a cycle overnight into hypomania) that I should really try to put into words how I handle this cycling and how I use my hypomania to my advantage. To do this, I have to first have a mental handle on the fact that I have become hypomanic. If I notice that I am feeling extremely overwhelmed by the amount of things I need to get done, mentally making [...]
August 29, 2011
Three years, my how time flies. It seems not long ago I took my medical leave of absence. Here it is three years later. A brief background: after taking a medical leave of absence in may of 2008 I was unable to return to work when my time was up so I was told I had to quit my job so that I could return whenever I felt ready (I would be re-hirable). I filed for my disability several months later, realizing I wasn’t going back. Finally after a very long battle of denials & appeals I was awarded my disability. Now here I am three years down the road and I feel that I am ready to try again. It’s not that I haven’t tried before. I tried three times while waiting on my disability to be approved to return to work. All attempts failed within a matter of [...]
August 28, 2011
What Do I Know About Social Security Disability? Accepting that I am truly allowed to receive disability payments because of my bipolar disorder has been a hard thing for me, but I think I finally understand that I don’t receive Social Security disability because I am “entitled.” I am not “getting something for free.” I receive disability payments because I qualify for them. Due to my bipolar disorder, I became unable to hold down a job in 2000. Since I paid into the system for 15 years, I subsequently qualified for disability payments through Social Security. Getting onto Social Security Disability has become much harder since I applied in 2003. A friend of mine who was rejected repeatedly before finally winning her case (she has metastatic breast cancer and severe depression) was told by a lawyer that people are practically guaranteed rejection of the first application. So, if you apply, [...]
August 25, 2011
Is there a link between abuse and mental illness. I’m wondering if the abuse is a trigger. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a great question! I asked this very same question when I was in outpatient hospitalization last spring. The answer my therapist gave me was yes. She had noticed that the majority of the people who come into the outpatient treatment for affective disorders had suffered some kind of abuse, physically, mentally or sexually. I have come to notice the same thing upon my own observations. There was a girl in one of my support groups that also asked a very similar question with the same results.As most of us are aware there is a link between the bipolar illness and genetics. However, what explains the illness in one person and not another, especially twins? There are several case studies where one sibling has the illness but not another. When this [...]
August 23, 2011
How do you determine if your young child is bipolar? Are psych meds safe for children and are there alternative treatments that work for children with bipolar disorder? What therapies are available for children with bipolar disorder? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is not a question to be taken lightly. I don’t think any parent wants their little one tho have bipolar disorder. I know I sure didn’t want to. But unfortunately, it does occur. I know that many people out there today seem to think that way more children today are being diagnosed with bipolar and other mental illnesses than ever before, and then they surmise that this is just a fad and it’s over diagnosed and yada yada yada. But the way I say it is, it’s not that there are more children being diagnosed, it’s that more people are being diagnosed much EARLIER than they used to be. With all [...]
August 21, 2011
School’s out! School’s out! They wait for those words all year long. You make plans and lists of what you’re going to do to keep them busy for a whole 10 weeks, maybe longer depending on where you live. It’s hectic and crazy. Kids running around all day playing and yelling but you wouldn’t have it any other way because this is the time of year that you not only get your quality time but quantity. This is it, all day every day. Well we had a fun summer. We bought a house in may and it came with a big back yard, a big patio, and a SWIMMING POOL….YEA!!!! We were all set for summer. My youngest daughter (Bee) spent every other week with her daddy so she wasn’t here as much, unfortunately. But my oldest daughter (Bug) and I hung out all summer long. We hung out by [...]
August 17, 2011
What is the best way to handle having bipolar in the workplace and who do you tell? How do you tell your boss you have bipolar if you were not up front about it from the beginning but feel that they need to know about it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This seems to be a really hot topic in the last month. I have been seeing articles on many different mental health sites with information on this. I even wrote a post on another blog on my own experience with having bipolar disorder in the workplace and how a few employers responded when they found out. I think so many people struggle with this because of the stigmas attached, and while employers are made aware of the various disabilities within the workplace, I don’t think a lot of training has addressed mental illnesses as disabilities. Because of this, many employers may end up [...]
August 16, 2011
What support groups are available online and how do you find them? How can you find in person support groups in your area for either a person with mental illness or the people who live with them? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With the internet being so widespread and easily accessible, online support groups are popping up everywhere! There are many resources you can use to find online support groups as well as support groups you can attend personally. Everyone has a different comfort zone, so it may take testing a few of the groups out before you find one that you are comfortable with, both online and in person. I was part of a few online support groups before I found Ask A Bipolar. I was quite intimidated by the size of a few of the other ones and found myself at ease right away when I joined Ask A Bipolar (which, I [...]
August 15, 2011
In other words, is there a bipolar disorder that is just mania or does it always come with the depressive side and vice versa? Can you actually JUST have mania? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a really good question and one I had to do a bit of looking around to find the answer. Bipolar Disorder, and others, are all defined in a book known as the DSM. Essentially the DSM contains all the criteria that any given disorder has… a quick search for ‘bipolar DSM criteria’ will give more detailh, but ere is a summation of what I found and my take on it… Is the person you’re speaking about ever depressed? That is a key feature of bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorder Type 1 is essentially at least one manic episode mixed in with depression. So from that criteria I would say that if a person is only manic then they [...]
August 14, 2011
Ever since I started my blog in October of 2010, I have struggled somewhat with what it should be about. A lot of bloggers have themes like reducing debt or chronic illness or parenting. My blog talks a little bit about everything that goes on in my life. A big part of my life has been my diagnosis of bipolar disorder and so I write about that on a fairly regular basis. When Marybeth said I could come on board here to AaB, I was very excited and proud that my writing would get even more exposure. My husband has been extremely supportive of my desire to try to raise awareness of mental illness and to erase the stigma surrounding it. As I am coming to grips with what kind of writer I want to be and how I want to use that talent. My husband acts as my [...]
August 13, 2011
It’s no secret really that’s I’ve been behind and missing and possibly not getting all the posts up on time lately. I do this every year at this time … the end of summer. All the weight of my responsibilities comes crashing down … and then so do I. So, though I know it may not have been the wisest thing to do in terms of potentially falling behind, this year I set those fears aside (at the request of my therapist and this guy who kinda loves me … okay who Really loves me … and I have declared myself on a mental and internetal vacation. I have avoided my inbox as much as possible, limited my facebook to about twice a day, almost completely stopped checking my book stats, and dedicated my time toward my family and taking care of me. So my apologies for any and all [...]
August 11, 2011
What does it mean for you being diagnosed with bipolar disorder? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For me getting my diagnosis came with a big dose of relief and new direction. Let me explain. My life has been one big roller coaster ride with a lot of bumps along the way. I have had disaster after disaster. I grew up with depression and anxiety. Have contemplated suicide more than once, overdosed a couple times and been in train wreck after train wreck of a relationship. I started self medicating at a young age with pills which later turned into alcohol which later turned into hard core drugs. Finally, after my second train wreck of a marriage I was diagnosed bipolar (for the second time). The first time I was diagnosed, I didn’t believe the psychiatrist. I had read a little about bipolar and although I had thought I might be bipolar, hearing someone call [...]
August 9, 2011
How do I get my loved one to go to the hospital when they are suicidal or manic? I’ve tried everything to convince them that they need to be in a safe place like the psychiatric ward, but they either don’t think they need to go or they are too afraid to go. Any suggestions? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well if the situation is as dire as you mention there is one thing to keep in mind and so far as I know this is universal.. if a person is hostile, suicidal, or otherwise a “harm to self or others” then you could call 911 and the person can be detained for 24hrs pending psychiatric evaluation. This, understandably, is not an easy thing to do and can cause social pains in the family… and the thing to keep in mind is that if the person truly is a “harm to self or others” [...]
August 8, 2011
My 14 year old son recently came to me and asked me, “Mom, are you bipolar?” When I said yes, he said, “Mom, what is bipolar?” I stammered and stuttered and couldn’t really come up with a good answer for him. How do you answer this question when your kids start asking about your bipolar diagnosis? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Being a parent can be difficult, and being a parent with bipolar disorder can be even more difficult as it presents its own set of unique challenges. As a parent with bipolar, you may have asked yourself whether you should tell your child/children about your disorder. In my experience in working with children and adolescents I think it is best to tell them. Generally speaking most kids will eventually know that there is something not right with their bipolar parent/s but they often cannot make sense of it. Therefore it is important that [...]
August 6, 2011
I did a radio interview earlier this week (which you can listen to HERE) and was left with mixed emotions. Where as I enjoy sharing my story with others because I know it helps them, it still manages to be uncomfortable. And it’s one thing to put yourself out there on a blog, but its a whole other thing to broadcast it via radio. So that’s where my question comes in … Is it uncomfortable for you to talk about your bipolar disorder? Do you have a question that needs answering? Click here to submit… Tweetdb232d2dd6525b9df707f142b3f9384aLink to this post!
August 5, 2011
We are thinking of having a baby soon,and wanted to the real life experiences of those who have pregnant and diagnosed with bipolar? Was it planned,and what were the biggest obstacles? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First, let me congratulate you on deciding to start a family. Having a baby is a wonderful, rewarding, life changing experience. It can also be overwhelming, frightening, exhausting, and downright frustrating. But I would place more emphasis on the first part of that than the second. I was not diagnosed with bipolar when I was pregnant with any of my three children, but I had been diagnosed with severe depression. I also had severe post-partum depression after my second child was born and was not expecting to find myself pregnant for a third time. We had decided that we were only going to have two children, due to the fact that my second son was so ill during [...]
August 4, 2011
What advice would you give to a person dating someone with a severe case of bipolar disorder, or a group of friends dealing with that one friend who has all the symptoms on a high level? We’re talking mood swings, taking things the wrong way, getting violently angry and vulgar, crying in the middle of a celebration, accusing people of working against them, twisting other people’s normal comments into personal attacks… all of this unpredictability makes it very hard to deal with a person and to plan out events and such with groups of friends. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My first reaction to this is question is automatically, “Is this person getting the proper treatment?” It just seems like with so many symptoms so often, it’s unlikely they are taking their meds and/or the meds aren’t working. But for the sake of my not knowing the situation that closely, let’s say they are [...]
August 2, 2011
I am new to all of this. I have been suffering for years with depression and highs and lows. I am not on medication yet for this as I have to go back to dr. next week. Today was one of the worst days I have ever had. I can’t turn it off. I cry and get so fixated on one thing that really should not be a big issue. I am driving my husband away. I am a proud person and don’t like to let people know how bad I feel. I don’t know what to do. If anyone can offer me some help I would really appreciate it. I suffer from a autoimmune disease which makes life miserable enough then to be depressed is worse. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First, I am so glad that you are trying to find help for these feelings you are having and I am so [...]
August 1, 2011
I have been chatting to a man with bipolar for six months, we met twice and both times he seemed completely normal. The texting varies, he will be sexual and rude, then silent for a couple of days and occasionally hold normal conversation. From this pattern I think he is having an episode although sometimes this may be happening daily. Difficult for me to know what is going on as he doesn’t tell me. If he holds a job he can’t be that bad surely which suggests to me that he may be having me on; and then I read about bipolar and I think differently and have great compassion. How do I know what’s what? I feel I’m going bipolar with him with lots of ups and downs highs and lows. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a very difficult one to answer accurately because we don’t have all the details of [...]
