What’s your opinion of bipolar people?

Exactly, its all bullshit.

As soon as suddenly something comes up thats very important to them, suddenly the are able to cope and are motivated.

 

It is not "bullshit..created by psychiatry and big pharma" when you want to harm yourself or others (when they've done nothing to you). Or you cannot stop racing thoughts to perform a job, finish school, keep a decent relationship, prevent yourself from killing yourself... Suicide is sometimes the last stop of severe depression and despair, the flip side of mania. People need work and good relationships with others to live in this world. Some enjoy educating themselves. Most natural instincts are good. Only 1.1% of people worldwide suffer from bipolar disorder. So there is no conspiracy from big pharma and psychiatrists to enrich themselves from this sliver of people. But some "natural" states of mind in a minority of people do not help them or those they interact with to function within a broadly "normal" range. Once in my life I had a severe clinical depression where I wanted to commit suicide. There was no reason for it. My life was fine. I told a friend, who asked that I get help. At that point in my life my natural instinct was to kill myself. I'm glad I got help to suppress that urge, because it was temporary, and not a response to anything real going on in my life. Sometimes your brain gets out of whack. It gets broken, damaged or bruised and needs help healing exactly like a bone. Some people's behavior is not quirky, charming or within bounds... so much so that they end up being arrested and/or being hospitalized. These people, bipolar or not, can benefit from a little help. I'm glad I got it. My depression was not a response to an insane world. If I would've embraced death, I would've left my 1 year old son motherless. There is nothing enjoyable about being depressed and in despair. Some symptoms mean something is out of kilter and needs attending to!

 

I agree with some of what you say, and was playing devil's advocate just a little in my post. I just want to add the flipside to the debate.. There were no mental health definitions before the mid-nineteenth century or something. They arose with the advent of the industrial revolution and the need to classify and order people into compliant and manageable citizens. Prior to that oddballs and eccentrics were just accepted by society and were allowed to be. There was no such stigma and dogma attached to being mad, and people just integrated. Depressed states are normal, and a part of being human. But we're constantly being told we have to be 'happy', and that there is something wrong with us if we are not. This only goes to intensify the depression. I also dispute your figures. The combined income for big pharma for medications for those suffering from "mental illness" must be huge. Just sayin'

 

Maybe nobody knew any better though? Maybe it only took until the 19th century for the world to become so populated that trends started to stick out and become noticed?

 

Less people were "noticed". Society existed for the most part in isolated micro-states and communities that were more socially cohesive. Sure there were rules and social standards, but there was less of society telling you how to be or behave. If you wanted you could live under the radar and mind your own business. Now we have Governments monitoring us, big brother watching us, the media telling us what a good person must be like and do to be accepted. All of this is enough to make people ill as it is. I'm not having romantic delusions about some golden age in the past, but I imagine in some aspects the quality of life, as it was directly felt, must have been much freer in some respects.

 

Oh sure, when your life expectancy was like 27 or less you were living golden bro. I wish I could have that I'd be dead already

 

I love how Hip Forums' posters know more about mental health than mental health professionals

 

People who suffered with crippling mental illnesses were always noticed, but in small communities where they were well known and had family and networks to support them, of course there were more attempts to aid them. However, when people move to more populous areas where their networks are not family-based, or their illnesses are more complex and problematic, they are unlikely to "fly under the radar and mind their own business." This is when outside personnel, such as mental health agencies, and/or the police are brought in. I think you have both dystopic and romantic ideas of the present and past. You say you "imagine," in some aspects, the quality of life must have been much freer in some respects. Since you did not live in the past, how could you know this? And I only think the government is monitoring whether I pay my taxes, or I'm caught on CCTV, occasionally, or get a photo speeding ticket. But since I'm usually not doing anything illegal, these aspects of modern life are fairly unintrusive. My parents explained to me what a good person was, how to be a good friend and citizen, and how good manners usually lead to social acceptance. They also showed me how fulfilling work, volunteerism and other activities enrich life, and that I determine my happiness. Sometimes you need help to get there, sometimes you can make it on your own. In general, I think we all need a little help now and then.

 

And what magical secret information is their that makes it incomprehensible to everyone but an "expert", and where is this secret information?

Bipolar affective disorder, like every other mental illness is diagnozed by a classfication of vague or broad symptoms, like every other mental illness the underlying biological mechanism that causes it is unknown, like every other mental illness, there is no known cure.

That is, no one has a clue, not just non mental health professionals.

Psychiatry is just where medicine was 400 years ago, bloodletting used to be a common practice to cure many bodily ailments when doctors didnt know shit but pretended to.

The mind is a mass of neurons, no one has the ability to map out all those neurons, see whats really going on, where its going on and why.

We humans are collectively just not clever enough yet

 

I have bipolar disorder, and I’m the first to agree that relationships with bipolar individuals can be a challenge. It's important to know when to disengage and care for your own well-being. There is no cure for bipolar disorder, but with the proper medications symptoms can be controlled. The best thing you can do for a relationship is to encourage bipolar individuals to stay on their medications

 

Individuals with bipolar disorder are experiencing positive results with an approach called dialectic behavioral therapy.

 

Which is just cognitive behavioral therapy with and added little module of distress tolerance

Achieving better results than anything previously is a good thing


But you will notice that all segments are basically just saying, wake up to yourself, be aware of what your behaviour looks like to everyone else

That is, dont be such a self involved so and so

 

I do not doubt that some people have "problems in living"; gee, more likely, almost all of us do. I am however troubled by the ease w/ which some people throw about these labels; labels that are mainly for convenience. "Bipolar" is one: a metaphor for a problem in living characterized by manic & depressive episodes: this was once known as "manic-depressive disorder." Maybe the folks at the DSM thought "bipolar" was kinder, gentler; but it's still metaphorical ... & mechanistic.

The earth is bipolar: one north, one south. But that's not what people mean, is it: bipolar really means anything having two poles or extremities. Magnets have two poles (physics): but we'd be laughed at if we said, "My magnet is bipolar."

We speak of mental disorders; meaning disorders of the mind. But "mind" is a metaphor for "brain." We have brains: they have cells, dendrites, synapses. Minds are our metaphor to explain how the brains work w/ the rest of us. Sometimes I wonder whether one can be driven crazy by this bipolarity of our language.

 

But that's sorta what the disorder does. It's like saying to depressive people oh just go outside and have some fun. The problem isn't that they won't or they aren't going outside for fun, they can't, that's the disorder.

So if you tell me to just concentrate on something, that's all well and good and will probably be the solution, but I'm not programmed like how you think. Too erratic, too forgetful, too inspired. If it doesn't come naturally and have to rewire my whole personality to remind myself to concentrate you know that's the disease. Just can't do it. So the pills are the middle man filler and they help break those boundaries so that we /can/ concentrate and break those downfall cycles.

I've gained a whole new perspective and understanding in these things the last few years. I used to be like you. Yeah and I may even joke a little here and there too also. I just know it's not that simple as just snapping fingers and concentrating or having fun outdoors

I think kids are being exposed to so much now and there's a real identity crisis going on and families fall apart so ouch more frequently in this era and these kids can't cope mentally. Drugs ruining parents they see that shit. Sexual assault and rape through the roof now. I don't think there's a coincidence between that and not being mentally sound in one way or another. They're akin.

 

Well being bipolar is a real “chore.” I was diagnosed with it when I was a young adult; I always knew something was “wrong” with me and self medicated with alcohol and narcotics for a few years until I got tired of that and went to see a Psychiatrist. After experimenting with several different prescription cocktails of meds for a long time, the mix I have now works quite well. I take Abilify, Lamictal (at night), Zoloft, and Adderall for my ADD. I also have been diagnosed with PTSD. I know I can be a challenge to deal with sometimes due to my mood swings, etc. but I know overall I am a good person. If you have someone in your life who has bipolar disorder and they are actively seeking treatment and are med compliant, then please try and be understanding. We unfortunately go through a lot emotionally, and it is not always easy to live with this disorder. There is no cure, but it IS possible to live a decent life if the person takes care of themself. If the bipolar person is neglectful of their mental health condition, then their quality of life can only get worse. A good diet, counseling, a good psychiatrist, exercise, positive, caring friends and family, etc. will equal a good quality of life for the person. If I don’t take care of myself, then I start to go downhill fast; I know myself quite well. Life can be challenging for us, and I am grateful for everyone in my life who loves and supports me unconditionally

 

After my wife passed away I dated a woman who over time found out was Bi-polar . She seemed fine. But tended to be restless after a while if she was not moving around or doing something. IE: she could not sit through a full movie. Or a TV show if it was longer then 45/ 50 minutes. I made personal adjustments to match her needs or moods. We dated for close to a year when unknown to me she decided to go off of her meds. Her mood was fine. Nothing seemed abnormal all day till she went into the bathroom. When she came out she was a totally different person. Screaming , yelling. Swinging her hands and arms around. She was standing in my kitchen area. And with my knife block right there on the counter, Started throwing the knives at me. I was able to grab a pillow and knock them down to the floor.. When she emptied the knife block she stormed out of the house , Ran to her car and sped out of the driveway. Kicking stones up like crazy. That was the last that I ever saw her. I tried calling her a few times to find out what the heck was going on. Finally I called her sister ( who would not have anything to do with her ) and explained what transpired.
She then proceeded to tell me that this person had a long history of doing this same thing over and over with every person that she ever dated. That it was not anything that I did. But the fact that she stopped taking her meds ( first time that I found out about it ) again. And like normal went off of the deep end. And that she will blame me for everything that happened that day. Her sister told me that the best thing that I could do is just walk away and forget about her. Because now even if she was back on her meds I would still be the devil . So I took her sisters advice and never looked back. per say. When I did I realized how much I gave up my freedom and my life to try and please this person. And was it worth it ? Now I can honestly say No , It wasn't I learned a hard lesson that day.

 

Easy to say it's all just BS. Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

I don't like to be judgemental of people who have this mental health condition.
Just from reading some of the comments here i can see that it's affected them.

 

I am bipolar. Part human, part polar bear.

 

I like to have sex with both of them

 

We gather at the equator .