Have you explicitly expressed your needs to friends/family?

Have you said, "I know you can't understand but I need you to just be present for me when I'm struggling", or something similar but equally detailed?

The reason I ask is this, people can't smell eachother's needs, and when there's an especially complex issue, its hard to try and figure out just how to be supportive.

If you have expressed your needs and you're still hearing "I'm sorry Idk what to say to you" then I think its time you rethink your supportive cast members...

Of course people are readily supportive when we're doing well, a pat on the back is appropriate and easy to hand out, but when they're dealing with things that are out of their depth, they need a push in the right direction and some readily available information.

Many of us deal with this beast alone, I too suffered in silence for years, until I learned to recognise and identify the type of support I was actually getting, and until I learned I need to ask for specific types of help.

But when I want someone who actually gets what I'm saying and can relay how they coped in the same shoes, that's when I come here.

Here are lots of friendly, knowledgable and supportive folks on the Bipolar Express with you

I'm sorry you're having such a scary episode, you can post about it here if you like, maybe get some feedback?