Quote:
Originally Posted by tentoedsloth
I'm not talking about wondering if you're really a sad person or a happy one; I'm talking about who the H377 you even are, maybe because you change so much (if you do) such as:
what you want to do with your life,
whether you want a lot of people around or want to mostly be left alone,
where you want to live,
whether you want to have pets or hate having to care for them,
whether you want to exercise a lot and eat healthy or you just want to have fun
whether you want a romantic partner or that's more trouble than it's worth
whether you think you have a lot of love to give or that you do people a favor by not getting involved because you KNOW you'll dump them later
Does this happen to anybody else who has bipolar disorder but not borderline personality disorder? I'm always changing. Each time I flipflop it's because I really, clearly see that the other way is all wrong for me and a terrible mistake. I last a few months on my latest "fad" but then, oops, THAT was wrong.
I ask because a while back I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (the last 2 times it's been bipolar) and I wonder if that was true also.
I'm not asking for people here to diagnose me, just whether this has been your experience too.
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i am a 68 yr. old female, diagnosed bp2 (hypomania with no depression) for about 37 years. i feel i am a better person today than say, 30 years ago, as far as having confidence and self-esteem; maybe if i had bouts of depression i may be giving a different response and perspective than what i am offering now, but i have learned everything i could learn about this disorder, and so much so that a therapist asked me to write out everything which i have learned and experienced with this disorder so she could become more familiar when treating other bp patients. i have severed relationships with family members over the years and have had to disconnect from toxic friendships. have been married a 2nd time to a wonderful man for almost 30 years but we have had challenges, as most couples do, and many issues now are not bipolar related (i educate him as often as i can in terms of articulating where i am emotionally on an ongoing daily basis) and i know what my triggers are and what i need and what needs to be eliminated in order to remain stable. many of our ongoing issues are his family members and my relationship or decision to distance myself from them, but i cannot be guilted into doing anything that i believe isn't going to work for me and my stability. i am not afraid to be alone if it comes to that and i feel by merely living a long life that i have learned to be more confident in myself and my choices…years ago i had to conform more while employed, for example, but now that i am retired, i am trying to live my life by being authentic, real and honest with no agenda to hurting others and merely hoping that in my situation, my hubby accepts who i am, just as i have learned to accept him and hoping when we have differences about certain things, that we do not punish each other for having a different perspective on an issue. living life is difficult,regardless of whether you have a mental illness or not.