So This Is Bipolar

[JRFOXIE]

My psychiatrist diagnosed me with Bipolar Affective Disorder but he didn't actually tell me until I had to get him to fill out an official form where he had to write my diagnosis and medications. It was a shock but after that settled it began to make sense. For 30yrs I have suffered from depression. I stopped taking my medications suddenly years ago and experienced a manic episode that lasted a week followed by a deep suicidal depression. I've experienced psychosis on occasion too. I thought it was psychotic depression but obviously it wasn't.

Right now I'm confused. It's like four seasons in one day. I wake after only a few hours sleep wired and feeling euphoric , next my usual self followed by depressed then euphoric again and unable to wind down until the early hours of the morning. This has never happened before. It's been going on for two weeks now.

[Nurse_Jenn]

Hi JRFOXIE

Welcome to the forum. Wow! What a big thing to occur. Getting a diagnosis of Bipolar Affective Disorder or any new diagnosis can be a big change. It is great to see you reaching out here on the forum to get some support. There are many people here who are going through an initial or new diagnosis and can cause worry. Sometimes it can take a while to process new information about our health. I wonder if you have someone who you talk to on a regular basis like a counsellor or close friend?

When we are digesting new information about a health condition, it can be expected that we might be thinking a lot about it. It is normal to require some extra time with health professionals during this time. I might suggest that you go back to your psychiatrist or GP and talk about your diagnosis further.

Another suggestion would be to keep track of your mood and symptoms each day over a period of time. I wonder if you have just started having these new symptoms with any change in medication which would be important to discuss with your psychiatrist.

You are not alone in your experiences. The forum is a safe and supportive place to talk and reach out about how your are feeling. We are listening.

Sending you strength ,

Nurse Jenn

[white knight]

Hi, welcome

Being diagnosed with bipolar can rock your foundations.

The best way I can describe my bipolar is sitting alone on a swing. Swing up and you become hypomanic where you talk faster, more clumsy, spend more money and can’t dleep. The down swing is depression, sadness, ultra sensitivity and lack of motivation. Between swings is normality, close to it anyway.

what medication achieves is to limit the extent the swing - swings! The extremies become less so you spend more time in the normal zone and while this is good we still get reminders of how abrasive our behaviour can be for others trying to tolerate us.

Its common for us to feel alone. Most people don’t place our swinging behaviour as a mental illness, they see it as poor behaviour. Hence forums like this where birds of a feather flock together is a good place to fill the void between psych visits.

Thete isn’t much room to move in terms of creating a balance against such a severe MI. But over a long time I discovered that positivity does help. Attending motivation lectures, maintaining relaxation sessions and most importantly progressing towards full acceptance of your disorder can all help.

Please place the following in the search bar

30 minutes can change your life

is acceptance our biggest challenge?

Meditation- He helped me for 25 years- Maharaji

A good nights deep sleep

This bipolar life

They just won’t understand- why?

TonyWK

[Michelle34]

I thought up moods had to last for more than a week and down moods the same? I ask because I'm pretty much losing my shit right now my mood swings are extreme and I can't control them, I get angry outbursts, depressed then on high alert and extremely anxious. My psychologist says it's because it's because of past trauma but it seems to be getting worse as I get older and I am getting less functional. I'm not asking for a diagnosis just your own experience, as I know it takes a long time for people with bipolar to get diagnosed.

[JRFOXIE]

Hi Michelle34,

My only previous manic episode was in 2004. All my other episodes have been depression since 2001. I saw my psychiatrist on Monday and he said I was too elevated so he doubled my antipsychotic medication. Nothing has changed. I am still feeling high and only sleeping for a few hours and seeing and hearing things. I'm seeing him again next Monday.