This bipolar life

[Kazzl]

Are your moods are like an elevator with no control buttons? Mine are.

Ground floor ... I feel normal, content, just quietly getting on with ordinary, everyday life, loving my family and friends. This is as it should be. And maybe there's nothing wrong with me after all. Live.

Going up, top floor. Oh look! There's a shiny thing! I want to sing! Let's go buy stuff! Let's have a big party and invite the world! What could possibly go wrong! Woooooo hoooooooo! Play.

Going up (a different day) top floor. What do you mean you don't agree with me! I'm right! Why don't you think like me? Keep up! How can you be so illogical? I'll f-ing shred you if you don't do what I want! Rage.

Going down, lower ground floor. Flat, listless, can't be bothered. Can still function but it's a drag. Cope

Going down, basement. I'm never getting out of bed again. I'm useless, worthless. Total idiot, how could I ever imagine I could do anything, nothing ever goes right because I'm wrong. I'm a burden to everyone. Hide.

Welcome to my bipolar world. It's always been my world, but it's only recently I've seen it for what it is. About 15 years ago I was diagnosed with clinical depression during one of my 'basement' times. I had a lot of lower ground floor times too, on and off, and I kept out of the basement (so I thought) with alcohol. Until that took me into the blackest ever basement with only one obvious way out. Having survived doing something very dangerous I realised I had to stop drinking or I really would die.

I never took much notice of the playful times or the anger, that was just me, I was fun sometimes, and sometimes I was a devastating bitch. Ha! Deal with it people!

Well, yes, but in time the elevator started going up and down too quickly and, as I became more aware and more knowledgeable about mental health I realised this wasn't good. Doctor. Diagnosis. Bipolar 2. Lithium.

So, I've started this thread in the hope that other bipolar folks will join me, to share experiences and strategies. In my 'beginners' understanding, we are different from other fellow travellers of the back dog. While we experience depression as many others on this site do, the hypomanic or manic ups and, for some the rapid cycling that can happen, are experiences unto themselves.

I want to learn more, and I want to share with others. I hope my fellow elevators will join me here.
BTW, it's a ground floor day in my head today! Yay!

Love

Kaz

[wringer]

Hello Leisa, I hope your medication change is transitioning smoothly and I am glad that you were able to choose to avoid admission, your Dr. must be terrific.

My experience in hospital for psychiatric treatment was not voluntary so much off my experience is tainted by that. One thing I did find awful was that the sexes are not separated and women are harassed in the ward.

On a brighter note, the Ghan travels through the dirt town I live in, out here it is custom to stop, get out the car and wave at the train and it's passengers. Bye

[quirkywords]

I once got the Ghan from Darwin to Alice Springs and it stopped fir a few hrs in middle of night.
leisa my memory is so bad I don’t remember writing about hospital but I write loads here that I would forget half,!

i do know that the everyone including Drs ignored my physical symptoms of hardly breathing or moving for two days and said depression. At hospital I was whisked to casualty where dr said I had worst case of pneumonia he had ever seen.

i have had this through my life, dr reads bipolar and disregards any physical symptoms.
Anyone had that happen.?

[Leisa68]

Hi, wringer,

Thanks for your reply I appreciate it. I am lucky with my Psych, he generally seems to care. That's terrible about the males in the psych ward, I have actually seen it when I was a student nurse in a psych ward.

That's so interesting about the Ghan stopping near you, does the train blow its whistle as it arrives? My friends are catching the train on Monday, I am so envious! It is still so wet where I am, all I could do today was food shop and more study.

I hope you have had a lovely day

Leisa

[asdff]

Leisa, I need a change in meds if it helps with irritability. I am ready to yell at multiple people. Small things still set me off. Mostly the girl child. Wringer that book sounds perfect.

[velvetfaerie]

I've only ever been to hospital due to serious infections or elective surgeries.

I have been quiet as I have been SICK!! I'm ok, just wiped out. Suspect is 1 celebrity virus!!!

Awaiting results of second PCR. First was negative. I have textbook omicron symptoms and am among a cluster. Actually I work among one and live among another. I also entertain myself by catching serious pathogens. It's an ongoing joke at work and among my freinds. I'm really just a hepafilter. The canary in the coal mine.

I joked the other day this thing crawled across my front lawn. Yeh. It has. The school over the road is chock full of it!!!!

Hope you are all OK. The world's gone nuts.

I need sleep.

[asdff]

Oh bloody Nora Velvet. You poor thing. Feel better soon, even if it’s not the treading virus.

[quirkywords]

Velvet,

hope you are ok.

a few Family and friends have had symptoms but are positive while others have all the symptoms and are negative.

[Leisa68]

Hi everyone,

Velvet, I hope you will be okay. I'm told it lays you low for a couple of days and then you start to get better, but slowly. Fingers crossed. Thanks, everyone for answering my question. The change of meds can be brutal hey! But I'm getting there. The rain here has been relentless and everything has been soaked. The school has been canceled tomorrow so will have to entertain my boy. Scrabble anyone? I have just received another warning from the BOM that we are in for more rain and heavy rain. We are not flooded where I am, but there are parts of the city that are flooded and the river is rising.

I'm sitting here listening to Led Zepplin, studying and planning out my week. A bit of the old Zep does make things a little more tolerable. I hope you are all well.

Leisa

[velvetfaerie]

I'm OK. Just wiped. Two negative pcr tests. Same symptoms as the positives. Many cases have been recorded of negative pcr yet they find the antibodies in serology.

Yet pcr isn't 100%. They're not interested in running serology. Or pcr on alternate samples.

WHAT. EVER. THEN!!

My big aim is to be productive tomorrow. Hahaha. I've been a potato for a week. I hate it.

Hope everyone's ok over East!! Those FLOODS MAN!!!!

[wringer]

Hi group, it was with sadness that I read Quirkywords had pneumonia and was overlooked, what a lazy Dr. she scored. Hopefully, now Qld will get the funding needed for flood prevention infrastructure. Velvetfaeries my husband has been a potato for a week and yes it is horrid.

Last night I hardly slept, yesterday my husband was told he has Gout so suddenly he will be a lite drinker. Most people would think great but I remember who he becomes when he does not drink and it is way worse. I am not hungry and filled with adrenalin because I am uncertain and scared. I am hanging on to the hope that he may have had a change of heart and softened. bye