A Start

Well I just couldn't stand to see this thing empty anymore, so I figured I'd kick things off. Though I wouldn't call any of my story a sucess I do have one.

Out of college I worked for a father and son hay making business. The boy I had known from college, but I did not know his family. In the beginning, I lived with the father, wife, and daughter who was home from college at the farmstead.

One day in the cab of the tractor trailer we were discussing bills and insurance. I had mentioned that I had to take daily medication. He asked why I needed the medication. When I told him, he got a wide grin on his face and said, "Hey, I got that too." He proceeded to tell me his story of being diagnosed, the effects of when he got "whacked out", his treatments, changes in medication etc. Much like me, he was dx'd as a young man attempting to go to college. When mania set in and he was hospitalized he had to drop out of college and would never return. Keep in mind, this was the 70's during which little was known about "Manic Depression", its causes, or how to treat it.

So he went back home and tried his hand at farming. He had a "crazy" idea one day: "What if I go around asking people to bale their hay for free, no matter what the condition, and sell it direct to these up-and-coming mushroom farms" (for use in the making of mushroom soil). His idea was a sucess. He began Windybush Hay Farms. The revenues from this operation allowed him to raise of family of 3 sucessful children, buy a farm of his own, and expand his business to include mulch, mushroom soil, and topsoil sales. His business has seemingly enough potential to continue to thrive, that after completing college, his son came back to the farm and became a partner in the business.

He was on Lithium for over 20 years, but in an effort to save his organs from any long term damage, his doctors changed his medications. He switched a few times since then, but when I worked there in the summer of 2010 he had been medication free for over 4 years. During that time, one of his hired hands was killed in a tragic farming accident, but he made it through with seemingly no major changes.

If that isn't a Bipolar Success Story, I don't know what is

Pretty impressive!

When I get around to graduating one of these days, we can call it chapter 1 of a success story.

I'm not super-successful in a business sense. But I consider graduating from college and holding down my job as a nurse a HUGE success (for me). I never thought it would be possible. Also, I'm in a relationship with a "normal" person for 3 years now, also I've been abuse free for about four years!! GO ME!!!!!

Everyday I make a healthy choice for myself is a big success for me.

THANK YOU DocJohn for adding this section! Glad to see that my earlier thread had some influence. Looking forward to seeing more success stories.

Bipolar folks come up with the greatest ideas. My father had bipolar, trouble with regular school etc., but ended up starting several successful businesses. Maybe i'll share more in a new thread another time, but right now i'll start crying cuz i miss him.

Thanks for sharing Guys. I really like to hear about everyone and I'm learning to feel like it's ok that I have bipolar.

If we're taking baby steps here than my sucess story would be that I graduated college even though the social workers in the hosptial said i needed to drop out of college and go to rehab

what is with those godawful advices. I been adviced to drop out of Uni as well (was not told alternative how to make ends meet... so I walked out, never turned back).

For some reason, this makes an Amy Winehouse song start playing in my head...

Good for you on graduating! When I think of how often bipolar people are highlighted for their awesome contributions to humankind (particularly for creative masterpieces) it completely amazes me that they would be told to give up on their dreams.

What did you major in? Just curious, you don't have to answer.

I was actually kindly asked to "please do not graduate" after school found out I had been hospitalized. It was three weeks before graduation, my grades were fine. I had never gotten in trouble. But since I was in the nursing program they deemed me "unfit to work with patients." I took a semester online and went back a year later. Apparently bipolar goes away after a year?

I don't think anyone has the right to tell me that I cannot pursue a career. I know at one point a hospital pdoc told me that I should withdraw from a term and spend a month in the hospital (after an accidental overdose,) but my pdoc convinced him to cancel the certificates. It may be necessary to go on leave at times, but the decision should always be mine.

I don't get it either... when I was hospitalized my last year as a full-time student, I was put under an enormous amount of pressure to withdraw from the teaching program "because we don't want to be responsible if 'something' happens." I did and I'm still kicking myself for it, because part of me thinks that the powers that be just didn't want me to be around children. It's not the first time I've heard a misinformed opinion like that from educators.

Speaking of which, my big thing is that I went back to school and graduated despite everyone telling me it probably wouldn't happen.

Good for you Nacht!!!! you made it happen

If we're sharing baby step success stories, here's one of mine. I'm a 58yo college student, majoring in Psychology. I am Bipolar 1 and Borderline. I struggle for every B and C in school because as we all know the meds we take to keep us sane tend to cause side effects that can affect memory and ability to concentrate. I needed to take Statistics of Psychology to graduate; this semester was my third try at passing this course. I just received notification online a few minutes ago that I not only passed the final with one of the highest marks in the class, but my final grade for the semester is a B. So I am celebrating a small victory over my bipolarity today!

Congrats Towanda!!

Bipolar people have an advantage. They can put mania to good use and work their tails off in ways other people don't have the energy for. We can be OCD about stuff, but it also pays off if we direct it properly. So... we're not so dumb they think we are.
Great story Manicminer!