people who think they are bipolar

desolate · Jul 24, 2011, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmilingMask

I found an interesting statement on a website "bipolarcaregivers.com" and I can't quote it exactly but basically this is how I described my illness to my husband when he was questioning my illness:
People with bipolar can't control their moods. When I am "down" I can go to work and come home and he can ask me to list 5 good things that happened to me today and I will say nothing and want to just go to bed; BUT he could call my boss and ask her the same question and she could say "oh my, she had a great day; I gave her a raise and praised her for being such a great employee". On the flip side, when I am "up", I could lose my job and come home and it would be like "the sky is blue". That analogy made sense to him. This website stated that most people can do things to help their "bad days" or rejoice in their good days. We cannot.....ice cream does not cheer us up; drinks after work does not release a rough day at work and when we are up, we don't usually rejoice in anything except how fabulous we are!

you just hit the nail on the head!

desolate · Jul 24, 2011, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livelaughlove17

So I find it funny (and I mean this in a non-comical haha kind of way) that last night I found this thread/posted and today while I am waiting tables, I brought a table drinks and then asked them if they wanted appetizers. The 10 year old at the table was the only one who wanted something. When his dad said he didn't want it, the boy said, "you're bipolar. You never know what you want?" Really?! Did this just happen? The family then continued to make jokes by calling each other bipolar and whatnot.
This really bothered me. Even if the dad was truly bipolar (you never know, so I won't assume), I couldn't believe that the term was thrown around so loosely and joked about and by a 10 and 13 year old! And the parents didn't correct them or anything. In my head I was thinking, "Shut up or I'll show you what bipolar really is!"
I just couldn't believe it and thought it was funny they were sticking there feet in their mouths and didn't even know it.

i think honestly if it where me in that situation i wouldnt have been able to keep my mouth shut i probably wouldve lost my job but then i am not a people person

mgran · Jul 24, 2011, 01:49 PM

Some kid at school said to my son, "you're bipolar," and, given that he has autism, he took it rather literally, and worried, since he knows there's a hereditary component, and he's in the third (or possibly even fourth or fifth) generation of maniacs on my side of the family. Today I told him not to worry, the chances of his being both on the autistic spectrum and the bipolar/schizo spectrum was very small. Unfortunately he then pointed out that I was diagnosed autistic as a child, and if I could hit the "crackpot" like that, then surely he could too.

I still think the other kid was just using it as a term of abuse, because my son is obviously different, rather than describing a reality.

Jul 24, 2011, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragonfly2

Personally, I think we should go back to calling the illness "manic depression". At least that's a little more of an accurate description and you don't typically hear people calling nonsense like the weather "manic depressive"...

I used to think this was kind of an issue of semantics, and didn't really see the point. I've come to see the point over time, and totally agree now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgran

...Also, I must admit that I cackled with evil laughter at the thought of breaking people's legs, and saying, "come on, you're not trying... of course you can walk..." I am of course evil. Thanks for tempting my inner evil!...

My evil? Though I really wouldn't wish it on anyone, I secretly kind of do -- for all ignoramuses to actually personally experience it. Even if for only one really bad day, because I seriously think they would then STFU, and realize they had no idea what they were talking about. And if they don't get it in one day, I'd be more than happy to see them go for as long as it takes to get through their skulls. Like I said, evil, but there you have it.

bipolarrr10 · Jun 13, 2013, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desolate

i am legitimately diagnosed with bipolar and it pisses me off when people i know say they think they are bipolar cause they are having a bad day or are upset about something that happened.I cant control when and why i get angry and go right from that to depressed. when i am laughing and hanging out with my friend i could be in a great mood and for no reason i just become miserable without warning. anger is a natural human response to certain situations. just because you get angry at something DOES NOT MAKE U BIPOLAR!

Yes thank you. Real bipolar disorder is rare. and more education needs to happen to help the people who really need it . Not victims with personality disorders

bunnifoo · Jun 14, 2013, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoenix_1

Three weeks ago my friend was sad about something her daughter did and said to me on the phone: "Oh, I'm so depressed". So I told her I was at the hospital every day for 7 weeks being treated for depression by a doctor and RPN's. She changed her tune. Now she's only "upset".

People don't have a clue how they sound or what they say. The use psych terms out of context and it's because they don't have a clue what those terms actually mean. Some people even think they're funny when they use them - stay well clear of them. They have a psych problem themselves and it's not bipolar.

And someone rationalizing your situation - stay well clear of them too. I went to a woman's shelter in 1981 because my husband was extremely emotionally abusive and I couldn't take it any more - I was a wreck. And they told me, he doesn't hit me, so I should be ok. Not true. Rationalization doesn't help, it hurts.

You know there people can be depressed without being clinically depressed. Like if someone loses a job or has problems with their kids they can be depressed and then the depression goes away with the situation changes. So you're friend may have legitimately been depressed but a different kind of depression that what we deal with.

I had some stuff happen and I got depressed, but my therapist told me it was normal depression and we just had to see if it triggered a depressive episode (which it did), but if I didn't have bipolar disorder I would have been deprssed and then felt better later.

venusss · Jun 14, 2013, 08:46 AM

Yeah, normal people can feel pretty depressed too. If only 7 week hospitalization gave you right to call yourself depressed, then good 70% of this board is not depressed.

and please, go back calling it manic depression. Bipolar is if you have two countries wanting to kill each other, but they can't, so they fight proxy wars and everybody lives under thread. Bipolar should remain in domain of politics.

Jun 14, 2013, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragonfly2

Personally, I think we should go back to calling the illness "manic depression". At least that's a little more of an accurate description and you don't typically hear people calling nonsense like the weather "manic depressive".

While I agree with you that "manic depression" is a better term for it, in other languages that might not translate so well. We used to call it "manic depressive illness" in Norway (manisk-depressiv lidelse) but that's just way to long, and "manic depressive" in Norwegian sounds like you just have a minor fault with your personality, like it's a trait. "Manic depression" in Norwegian sounds like one hell of a mixed episode, because of the intonation of "manisk". And while this is not a great reason to use a possibly misleading term in English, I think there are some benefits of using the same international terms for the same concepts.

faerie_moon_x · Jun 14, 2013, 11:57 AM

The term I want removed is "mood disorder." I hate that. I've become a lot more aware over the past 1.5 years and I've realized that my problems are cognitive, not mood. But, when my cognition is doing poorly, my moods fluctuate a lot more. I wa always able to handle my mood swings fine. It's when my functioning dropped that things got bad for me.

Jun 14, 2013, 09:00 PM

You know, I think the reason it upsets us so is that we have too high expectations of
others. Not knowing the illness, they have no way of knowing what it's like to be a victim of bipolar illness.

Try to lower your expectations of others. That helps a lot. It isn't that they mean to
be "catty"; they just don't know any better.

Hope this helps.

ultramar · Jun 14, 2013, 09:07 PM

As someone mentioned, I think it would be helpful if people knew just how rare this disorder is. I think it's occurrence is a little over 1%. This means that some 98-99% of the population does not have it and sometimes I feel like screaming this statistic from the rooftops.

Being 'moody' is part of the human experience. Sometimes people are down, sometimes up, sometimes irritable, sometimes angry, sometimes anxious, etc... and some people experience their moods more intensely than others. But as far as I'm concerned, none of this has anything to do with bipolar disorder.

I think part of this whole phenomenon that people are talking about on this thread of everyone and their grandmother claiming bipolar or saying someone else is has a lot to do with feeling uncomfortable with not having a rational, concrete reason behind emotions and moods and seeking this out. On the other hand, there can be a lot of shame surrounding mood and behavior and I think this can also lead people to diagnose themselves (and others): in some ways (despite the stigma), such a diagnose may lead to less shame, there's a 'reason' for it, it's the brain, not my fault, etc. And the criteria, it all depends on how you interpret it, and how you (want?) to interpret your own experiences and behavior (or that of others).

I think at the end of the day, there is a great deal of ambiguity when it comes to the human experience, and ambiguity can be hard to tolerate --maybe it's in part cultural, I don't know. And/or this particular point in history. Often times, there just aren't any hard and fast answers. And that's one of the reasons why the DSM gets transformed into a bible, even if different mental health professionals (not to mention patients and others) interpret it in so many different ways...

~Christina · Jun 14, 2013, 09:26 PM

Everyone has a pet peeve or 3 about Bipolar.
Personally I just do not expect everyone around me to learn every single thing about my personal unique Bipolar. Support and compassion is great... but the reality remains I still have to figure out ways to have a healthy happy life, some days are better than others but then again ... anyone that has a chronic illness faces the same challenges on some level.

sheltielover2013 · Jun 16, 2013, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgran

I was initially with psychotic depression, then bipolar, finally schizoaffective. I hate it when people laugh around and say, "oh, he's psycho" or "she's schizo". It's just not true!

People don't understand what these mental illnesses are like unless they've direct experience, either as a sufferer, or because a family member has it. People think depression is feeling blue, bipolar is simply mood swings, and schizophrenia et al are someone acting a bit erratically. Of course bipolar and schizo diseases are also used as a term of abuse, as is psychotic.

It's a huge pity that the world is so ill educated.

I've had both psychotic depressions and psychotic manic episodes during episodes of my bipolar I disorder. People who say they feel "a little bipolar" have never been involuntarily committed, restrained, forcibly sedated or had themselves peeled off of bridges by the police because they thought that unseen enemies were commanding them to act. Bipolar disorder is not funny. It's deadly. I wish the uneducated public would understand that. We do not choose this disease it chooses us. All we can do is our part in trying to manage it. That doesn't mean we whine. It means we understand our disorder, its symptoms, its treatment, and we take active responsibility for our role in managing it.

Kristiemarie · Jun 16, 2013, 02:56 PM

Personally, I don't care anymore what it is I have or don't have. Give me things to manage and cope with it and I'll call it a day!

newtus · Jun 17, 2013, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ultramar

As someone mentioned, I think it would be helpful if people knew just how rare this disorder is. I think it's occurrence is a little over 1%. This means that some 98-99% of the population does not have it and sometimes I feel like screaming this statistic from the rooftops..

there was no way i could believe this. because schizophrenia is about 1%

i went to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) website and it says bipolar is 2.6% or 5.7mil people which seems to be pretty consistent on the web.

newtus · Jun 17, 2013, 09:01 AM

i found this.
thought every liked to see this from Bipolar Disorder Statistics | Statistic Brain

people who think they are bipolar

Nessa213 · Jun 17, 2013, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtus

i found this.
thought every liked to see this from Bipolar Disorder Statistics | Statistic Brain

That one part of average reduced life span: 9.2 years is kind of terrifying.

Also, I think there should be a statistic of "percentage who ATTEMPT suicide". I'd imagine that percentage is damn near 100%.

The "percentage of curing with Lithium" part was a little annoying... just the word "curing" seems misleading. "Treating" or "successfully controlling"... sure. But curing makes it sound like it will go away completely and permanently.

faerie_moon_x · Jun 17, 2013, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nessa213

That one part of average reduced life span: 9.2 years is kind of terrifying.

Also, I think there should be a statistic of "percentage who ATTEMPT suicide". I'd imagine that percentage is damn near 100%.

The "percentage of curing with Lithium" part was a little annoying... just the word "curing" seems misleading. "Treating" or "successfully controlling"... sure. But curing makes it sound like it will go away completely and permanently.

I agree with you. Using the word "curing" is very misleading.

I think it's just like autism or other things, even diabetes, the more something is understood the more it will be diagnosed. Even though diabetes is "rampant" now, it's possible it was just as rampant even 20/30 years ago and before, but the awareness was low even among doctors.

I do thing there are cases where people "fake" even just to get the attention of their doctor. But, I think people who fake it even to the doctor do have some sort of mental health issues even if it isn't bipolar.

The_little_didgee · Jun 17, 2013, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dark_heart_x

I do thing there are cases where people "fake" even just to get the attention of their doctor. But, I think people who fake it even to the doctor do have some sort of mental health issues even if it isn't bipolar.

This is common.

I used to know a lady who claimed to have bipolar (schizoaffective) disorder. It appeared to be a very convenient illness, because she always ended up in the hospital at Christmas time. One would think flare ups would be completely random.

Some people love nothing more than to be admitted to hospital.

comicgeek007 · Jun 17, 2013, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_little_didgee

This is common.

I used to know a lady who claimed to have bipolar (schizoaffective) disorder. It appeared to be a very convenient illness, because she always ended up in the hospital at Christmas time. One would think flare ups would be completely random.

Some people love nothing more than to be admitted to hospital.

This I can't understand. Unless your home is vastly worse than a hospital, WHY? Why would you put yourself into the hospital all the time? My experiences have been varying degrees of traumatic.

The_little_didgee · Jun 17, 2013, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comicgeek007

This I can't understand. Unless your home is vastly worse than a hospital, WHY? Why would you put yourself into the hospital all the time? My experiences have been varying degrees of traumatic.

I don't get it, either.

Almost all my hospitalizations have been traumatic, too. It is not a place I want to go back to.

Nessa213 · Jun 17, 2013, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comicgeek007

This I can't understand. Unless your home is vastly worse than a hospital, WHY? Why would you put yourself into the hospital all the time? My experiences have been varying degrees of traumatic.

I've never been in the hospital, but the thought of going kind of gives me a panic attack. Why someone would fake it JUST to go to the hospital is baffling.

Like those people that fake being suicidal just to get some kind of sick attention. Makes my stomach churn. Literally.

faerie_moon_x · Jun 17, 2013, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comicgeek007

This I can't understand. Unless your home is vastly worse than a hospital, WHY? Why would you put yourself into the hospital all the time? My experiences have been varying degrees of traumatic.

This is what I mean by people who do this have some sort of problem, but not because they have bipolar. Something is wrong with you to fake something that causes people to discriminate against you just doesn't make sense.

Also, the same with suicide. I've never had anyone in my life who takes talking about suicide, and that includes my mother-in-law who ahs bipolar and has talked about suicide!

That whole "if you talk about it you're not serious" stigma is huge. And there should be some sort of heavy penalty if you're found out to be faking it.

Nessa213 · Jun 17, 2013, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dark_heart_x

This is what I mean by people who do this have some sort of problem, but not because they have bipolar. Something is wrong with you to fake something that causes people to discriminate against you just doesn't make sense.

Also, the same with suicide. I've never had anyone in my life who takes talking about suicide, and that includes my mother-in-law who ahs bipolar and has talked about suicide!

That whole "if you talk about it you're not serious" stigma is huge. And there should be some sort of heavy penalty if you're found out to be faking it.

I knew someone who had claimed they had taken a bunch of pills in a suicide attempt, so naturally they were taken to the hospital. Only to find out they hadn't taken a damn thing. I know it shouldn't have, but it actually made me legitimately angry.

I don't believe at ALL that if you talk about it you're "not really serious". If someone tells me that they are I take it VERY seriously because I know what it's like. I've been there. But when I find out they're lying about it I just feel used and taken advantage of.

faerie_moon_x · Jun 17, 2013, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nessa213

I knew someone who had claimed they had taken a bunch of pills in a suicide attempt, so naturally they were taken to the hospital. Only to find out they hadn't taken a damn thing. I know it shouldn't have, but it actually made me legitimately angry.

I don't believe at ALL that if you talk about it you're "not really serious". If someone tells me that they are I take it VERY seriously because I know what it's like. I've been there. But when I find out they're lying about it I just feel used and taken advantage of.

I think you are justified in being legitimately angry at someone for doing that. I think that if anyone did that to me, I would never speak to them again. It would therefore backfire because then they have huge ER bill and no more friend.

If someone in your life is faking suicide attempts for attention, they don't deserve your time or anything ever again. Because those of us who have been there and can't get any help at all have therefore only survived by chance.... (like me.)

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