Bi-Polar bear
- Started
- Last post
- 105 Responses
- ********0
it's weird though. i am most likely one of the few who has had a lot of serious problems but never drug related. in fact i do not ever discredit other people for using drugs, but reality is, i hardly ever use any. but in a sense that is a choice which is in a way tied to the issues..
- blaw0
dude, take your meds. there's more to it than just you.
- dirtydesign0
Can i have your pills if you're not gonna eat em?
- foreign0
it's weird though. i am most likely one of the few who has had a lot of serious problems but never drug related. in fact i do not ever discredit other people for using drugs, but reality is, i hardly ever use any. but in a sense that is a choice which is in a way tied to the issues..
Crouwel
(Sep 29 06, 12:50)there's propably 2 ways of looking at it: either drug use leads to the problems, or the drugs just trigger the problems that's already there and would've emerged some time anyway.
- ********0
exactly.
- Jaline0
I'm not a big believer in taking big drugs like that either but sometimes it's manageable so that you don't hurt other people.
Of course it's good if you can be yourself AND not hurt others around you.
- kidswift-0
Thanks all for the dam fine advice. Especially to you Rob and to Foreign. I was expecting this thread to get all stoopid with jokes about mania an self medication. It's nice to know theres some others out there living a life with a finger raised to this condition and taking life into there hands and living a life they choose to rather than one that is at the beck and call of this dark gift. I still respect the fact that for all those Bi-polar I have met only one has ever told me she would let it go and led a "normal life" if she was given the option. I would by lying If I said that part of me leaving the meds behind wasn't largely because I missed riding the highs of mania. Just the waking up and feeling like your heart is going to explode with all the beauty of everything on this crazy planet, the greatly elevated levels of creativity and ability to work with an insane output without thinking about sleep. Though with the highs come the dirty lows and I sure as hell don't miss the darkness that they bring. I think I will def look into meditation thanks Rob and try and get back to Kung fu as that used to balance me out no end. Thanks all for sharing. Those with and those without. One of the biggest things for me is people without it making an effort to try and understand it. It sure as hell makes it easier on us with it not feeling like you have to forever apologise for the way you are sometimes.
- bolus0
i just saw a nice documentary about bipolar disorder on the bbc last week, stephen fry (one of my heroes btw) took a closer look at the phenomenon (he has it himself) i learned a lot about the pros and cons of taking medication (lithium etc)
- kidswift-0
Yup watched half of the first one was in a dark mood that night and turned it off when one lady was recounting putting a powerdrill to her head. But really impressed that Stephen Fry portrayed such a raw and unashamadly upfront portrayl and delving insight into it. Carrey Fisher was amazing to watch on the first episode as she was totally manic as they spoke, really good to see.
- jaylarson0
i would second the meditation and kung fu. and I would also add a good yoga routine as well. the draw back with these is they can often take more time than one may originally think.
meditation is best done daily, twice daily if possible. take some time here and look around at different techniques and teachers. one doesn't need to be a buddhist to meditate.
i have found the best meditation comes from first balancing out the body as much as possible. when i was a teenager when I would go to a psychiatrist, i was taught relaxation techniques. flexing certain muscles and then relaxing. this is based on evidence not hooey.
and this is the trickiest thing about meditation and yoga today, becareful of where and who you learn from. opportunity cost is real and homeopathics (an aside I know) show no better results than placebos. medication may best be slowly removed from one's life rather than quickly.
take your time on this one kidswift-, remember to breathe.
peace,
j
- ********0
Why did they call it bipolar disorder? I thought it was called manic depression.
- kidswift-0
Thanx J,
will def look into starting some meditation. I know these things are quite time consuming hence why Kung fu took the hit for my working late nights and weekends. I definitely look for somewhere I am comfortable to begin with. Anyone know of a good place in London to start?
As to Moths question I think Bi-Polar is perhaps a more PC term rather than Manic depressive which often draws more negative conotations. Bi-Polar because your literally swing between the poles of Mania and depression...
- ********0
PC? You've got to be kidding.
So now no one knows what the hell you're talking about! It's like renaming countries and not telling anyone.Anyway, good luck with it. Seems there's some good advice in here.
- kidswift-0
Bro I am def not saying i agree with it and yeah your right half the time I tell people they are like your what?? I just end up saying I am Manic depressive.
- ********0
Hendrix made it cool.
When I was 16 I wanted to be manically depressed.
- paraselene0
even back in the day when my granddad was still alive we called it bi-polar disorder in the states.
but all of my family members who have it still refer to it as manic depression 50% of the time, partially because i think they relate to it as regards their manic phases.
my granddad was always really against using the meds at all, but he didn't self-manage very well and it was detrimental to the whole family.
i have one cousin who is on a variety of meds, but her condition is naturally a lot more intense than his was, and i think she doesn't really have much of a choice, as the alternative is experiencing some manifestations that are surprisingly similar to paranoid schizophrenia.
another cousin of mine has only just had her break and she's 36! again, she manifests with a lot of hallucinations and other schizophrenia-like symptoms, so the decision she's making right now vis-a-vis the meds is a really difficult one. especially because she has two young children and is fearful for their safety if she's not medicated.
however, she's also fearful for them having to grow up without a mother if she medicates herself into the oblivion of her personality.
it's a huge decision. best of luck with it.
- kidswift-0
Ha funny you say that as I totally remember thinking the same thing. In my face years later when I inherit this same gift and hmm it ain't quite so cool anymore..... still good to see life has a sense of humour!
- jaylarson0
yeah, i got hooked on that hendrix album....
i had a professor at Iowa in Introduction to Special Education. I remember him addressing the switch from manic depression to bi-polar, and he didn't like it either. he thought that manic aptly described the situation better. he used a person who like to be productive as an example.
either way, it is good kidswift- that you are aware of both titles and their meanings. i would also recommend staying away from recreational drugs.
i dug them for a while, and still pine for them, but even with grass, i found myself feeling down after I had run out. i also don't like to be dependent on externals to remain balanced.
unfortuneatly, i am addicted to caffeine. if I go a day and a half without, i get knocked out with headaches.
hopefully i too will be more ardent in developing an excercise routine that enables me to remain alert w/o caffeine.
in time....
good luck all parties involved,
peace.
j
- kidswift-0
Cheers J,
yup I am exactly the same totally addicted to caffiene. Though no longer do the class A's I still drink maybe a little to much and too often and after big nights the depression the next day can be crippling. Occasionally have the weed and annoyingly swing from it making me feel really up and relaxed or a little paranoid.
As a side me and my boss did a big two week detox and both were crippled for two days with headaches found out later is was our bodies perging all the caffiene out of you... urgh nasty though was straight back onto the short blacks and lattes a day after the de-tox was complete. Guess we all gotta have our vices!!
- Peter0
Hey Swift,
Out of curiousity, how long timespan is it between the manic and depressive periods? Guess it varies from person to person, but on avarage?