Bipolar - Manic Depressive

i know a few people that have bi-polar.
my 2nd cousin has been diagnosed for years. she is ok but has some pretty bad times, years back we were woken early hours of the morning (before 5am) to someone sounding like they were screaming in our property- woke up my neighbours too.
we discovered she had walked to our house (quite a long walk) in the dark and was singing to our birds! she was on a high. my neighbours almost called the police cause they thought someone was getting raped she has a lot of highs.


Edited by rachelz4kidz

I had a relationship with a guy who was bi-polar.
He was off and on his meds which made it a bit of a roller coaster with extreme ups and downs. Sometimes the ups would last for days and he would go without sleep for the whole time.
The downs were very nightmarish, they would come on very suddenly and without warning. I would get a call from him saying goodbye and would have to rush around trying to find him and save him from himself.
He really struggled with being bi-polar. He had been mentally ill pretty much since puberty hit and was always trying to find another diagnosis, which was why he wouldn't stay on the meds.
He was awesome on the meds though. Very positive, creative and sensitive and a lot of fun to be with. Without them he was very emotionally manipulative, insecure, controlling and needy.
In the end my family got sick of the toll the relationship was taking on me emotionally and took me out of it. I had an emotional breakdown once I was out of the relationship, I was so worn out and anxious from worrying about him and whether one day I was going to be too late to save him. I had to take a year off and go through counselling.
I know another person who has a milder form of it and who is doing great on medication.
She was nowhere near as extreme as the ex at her highest or lowest, but she did get pretty wacky at times.
She had to try a few different types of meds to find the right one that works for her, but she has been back to normal for a couple of years now.
Hope this helps Kelly!

My hubby has a form of bipolar disorder, called "Bipolar 2 disorder" according to his doctor. He's not as erratic as some people who have it (like my mum's friend who sold their house behind her back and spent all the money on booze ) but it still can get pretty tiring sometimes. Basically his highs last for about 4 months or so, the lows about 4 months, and in between he seems completely normal for a couple of months each side. But whichever zone he's in, he changes his mind a lot, so now I've decided to take things as they come and try not to plan for things, if they happen they happen, if not then oh well!
It can be really hard though, when he's "down" he says he knows he needs to change things about his lifestyle, but when he's "up" he forgets all that because he feels so good and if I try reminding him of what he said before, I'm nagging
He's also not very good with taking medication. He's not taking it at all at the moment. He will take it if he's feeling down, then as soon as he starts feeling better, he stops it! Then goes down again, so starts, stops etc!
But besides all that, I love him to bits and wouldn't be without him

"Emotionally manipulative, insecure, controlling and needy" and on a scale of 1 to 10 for each unmedicated person. I know a couple of people who have Bipolar and their highs are super lovely, happiness oozes out of them but the down time is manic, lots of grumpiness and thumping around and unable to direct it in a safe/practical manner.
Bipolar Wiki has a good layman explanation.
I think the worst thing is when they are not medicating or when Dr's insist that Bipolar is a flu like thing and they are over it and stop medication. You can never stop being mentally ill, there is always a new difficulty to face every day. I have a lot of pity for the people I know that have it.

JadeC wrote: Peace wrote: You can never stop being mentally ill, there is always a new difficulty to face every day. I have a lot of pity for the people I know that have it. Actually, this is incredibly untrue. Recovery is possible for people who experience mental illness, although it doesn't always mean being med/symptom free.

UHM You just saw what you wanted to in what I said and twisted it, there was a sentence before that...

Peace wrote: I think the worst thing is when they are not medicating or when Dr's insist that Bipolar is a flu like thing and they are over it and stop medication.You can never stop being mentally ill, there is always a new difficulty to face every day

I don't think people just magically get better and can come off their medication at all, it is a life illness. Talking about recovery WHILST being medicated is completely different and yes people do recover from being mentally unwell whilst properly being medicated.

Pity for the one that uses it as a weapon, empathy for my other friend who is unwell (still slight pity in empathy though). Sounds harsh but many people who know who I am talking about understand what I mean.

Heya Kelpa, my dad has classic bi polar so I have lived with it my whole life. Its pretty sucky to be honest. He's just recently had another 'episode' and it was incredibly hard going for me. PM me if you have any questions etc. Happy to answer anything I can. There's also a fabulous book my dad recommended I read to get some insight in to what he goes though and it was really great. I will dig up the author and title if you are interested.

JadeC wrote: I still stand by what I said, people can recover, and for some people (especially with bipolar disorder) this involves medication, and for some people it doesn't. Medication is a tool to be used by people who experience mental illness, but it's not the only answer for every person.

I don't get why you are quoting me then as we are talking about 2 completely different things.

You can't recover from classic bi polar. You can manage it with medication (lithium usually) but it is the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain and there is no cure for that.

Its awful. At times more so for the people around the person that suffers from it than the actual person.

Jade totally agree with you 100% and took peace comment as you did. From one who has lived wit ha Mother with personality disorder and also suffered with form's of mental illness mtself you can recover from it. And it is not nessarilly a life long illness.

Edited by ButterflyMum