Bipolars.. How do you deal with your illness

Question

I guess mine isn't as bad as some people's but belive me it does play up! I was diagnosed when I was 17 and 13 yrs later I'm still managing it with antidepressents. I suffer with more depression than the highs but I LOVE the highs.. Anyway, I have mood swings througout the day like any other bipolar but I was wondering how you manage yours? I was on a mood stabilizer when I was first diagnosed but it didn't agree w/ me at all. I was allergic to it.

I work full-time and I fuction OK but I still have days where my mind is fuzzy and I really wonder what's going on. Do you think like this too? Also, I tend to get paranoid :( I wish I didn't feel like that.

Answer 1

For me difficult as I don't take any meds but its not server ie: type 1, but it does fustrate me as my head can I feel like mush at times and it gets extrmley fustrating and at the moment I dont have a job which DOSNT help matters at all, I can be good because I have an interview and then either feel p**p because I dont get It or don go as I dont think Ill  get it, and the option of suicide is in my head alot more. I have a lot of self blame and hatred everyday but I have found a great guy who will always make me smile. x

Answer 2

  I go through life in a daze, going through the motions and feeling like I'm not really living at all.  Honestly I don't deal with it very well.  I've been diagnosed for five years and I'm still pissed that I have to do so much extra just to approach a normal emotional standard of living.  I don't do as much as I should because it all sounds like too much work.  I take my meds, which makes the biggest difference for me, and try to get enough sleep.  I have a fairly low-stress job, so I can work full time, but I still have some days I'd rather not get out of bed.  I don't know if my mind is fuzzy because of the bipolar or as a side effect of the meds, but I've adjusted to it.  Although I still find it intensely irritating at times.

Answer 3

Medication is not the answer to this illness. State of mind is very much a part of this problem (as will certain types of slight depression). People that I know that have this illness deal with it alone (without drugs which cause them to feed dopey etc.). They busy themselves and surround themselves with the ones they love. There are plenty of exercises out there now that help with this problem. Bypolar is NOT manic depression and so suffers do not need to go to the extremes as they do when dealing with a mental illness. Everyone is different though and deal with problems in different ways.

Answer 4

I was diagnosed when i was 17 too. Ive been on all kinds of medications ( seroquel, lamicatal, prozac, abilify ).. my symtoms actually all went away after i stopped taking the medication. I also used to have a drug problem so i think i might have been misdiagnosed, but i really thought i was bipolar because i had all of the symtoms and i was actually very suicidal at the time. After i stopped using drugs, i felt better so i eventually stopped taking the medication and i feel very good now. Everybody has mood swings and everybody gets depressed. Just remember that and just try to enjoy life. Try to cut down on the medications and see how you feel.  

Answer 5

When I am feeling low, I force myself to shutdown my brain not to think anything. Especially something I need to do but I can't at the moment and tell myself nothing is really absolutely has to be done now. So I don't let stress worsen my feeling low.

I try to calm myself without any thinking. Some times I take a nap.

wait for energy to get build up inside of me.

Try to exercise regularly too. I always try to leave enough time for myself for each day, like doing my favorite hobby.

And I might eat some chocolate or drink a cup of coffee or cola.

I try to focus on all the good things I have and appreciate and not to compare to others and not to think about things I don't have.

I try to live modest and humble life thinking always others are better than myself to respect others and don't expect too much of myself but I always try to do my best whatever I do.

It took me a long time to develop a stable state of mind and I am still working on it.