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Originally Posted by Hoping4aCure
I have been treated for bi polar and PTSD since I was a teenager. For years I was able to work and support myself financially; though I always had trouble with personal relationships. This past year my condition worsened and I became disabled. The loss of my independence has been terrible for me and I am still working part time with hopes of being able to work full time again.
The last couple months I have been under tremendous stress- more than ever before.
The problem is a few weeks ago I started hearing voices and began a relationship with a voice I believed to be my teenage child- though I have no children. I have since realized it was just a voice but am grieving the loss of "my child" and being able to talk with him and watch him grow.
My question is does this happen to people with bi polar? Is this typical? Is this a normal progression of the disease and am I likely to continue to get worse as I have the last year?
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Some get worse over time, others improve, and some don't have as much change in symptom severity. It really varies, depending on a) you/coping strategies, physiology, etc. b) your environmental stressors, and c) your response to medication/other Tx; more treatment resistant (meds don't work) people are obviously less likely to improve. The question of whether bipolar is generally a progressive condition is less well understood. Stress can obviously make symptoms worse, but it's less clear if stress can make people more vulnerable to future episodes (called kindling effect/stress-sensitization). Even less is known about progressive biological changes (e.g., changes in brain function). In the next few decades, scientists will get a clearer understanding of whether bipolar is progressive with longitudinal studies, especially of the brain and physiology - how they change over time.
-No, you're not alone. If you get treated well you'll likely do better. Good luck