Quote:
Originally Posted by Travelinglady
PlatinumHeart, please don't wallow in all of these negative thoughts. The main thing is to keep working with our mental-health professionals so we can be as stable as possible.
Of all things, it was years after my hubby and I were married that we both got diagnosed with bipolar. He told me when we were dating that he had noticed he could be very busy and active for awhile, but then he would just crash. And he did have one down spell during our dating time. But I didn't put it all together. We have been married over 25 years, both see psychiatrists and therapists, and are hanging in here.
My opinion is that your diagnosis isn't something you need to spring on a date too early in the relationship. Let him see your good qualities and then see if it looks like things might get serious. Other folks might think differently, though. This issue might be something to talk to a therapist about.
I think my math is right, so if 4.4% of people are bipolar, then that means just a little over 4 people in a hundred. Is that right, other folks?
Hang in here, dear one. Life as a bipolar isn't anything I would wish on anyone, but it can be managed and doesn't have to ruin our lives.  |
Yup, your math is right. If it's 4.4%, that's a little over 4 out of 100. But according to Epocrates, the lifetime prevalence is 0.5% in men, and 1% in women. That's a pretty reliable source, so I think it's more like 1 out of 100. Regardless, it's not a lot of people.
I am also doing the online dating and trying to navigate when or if to tell people. I have decided not to tell people unless things are becoming serious. I feel that it's a secret that I am keeping, which I don't like, but at the same time it's nobody's business and I don't want them to make assumptions about me without knowing me first. I only want to be with someone who accepts me with bipolar, but that's not the first thing I want them to know about me. It's hard not to tell people though because it is such a big part of how I relate in the world. I try to sense whether they at least have an understanding of depression or adversity, because if they have never been through anything in their lives I don't think we can relate. But that's hard to figure out too, because I can't just ask somebody if they understand despair on the first date, lol. So I'm still trying to figure it out, and dating a lot, but still single. It's frustrating and I don't have any answers.