Newly diagnosed & have some questions

Hi all

I was diagnosed last month with bipolar I, which brings a certain relief that all my previous diagnoses were in fact different stages in the cycle of bipolar, and that I might have some better success with treating one disorder instead of a multitude of poorly defined "symptoms". Very nice.

Started on a mood stabilizer (Lamictal) and on Celexa--no "switch" from Celexa, been on just over a month, and currently in therapy that seems based on CBT to an extent, which I learned can be very effective for bipolar. I am feeling quite stable at the moment. It's weird, and great.

So my questions are
1) Is this feeling I have, this feeling of "calm", of "okay", not racing to find something, anything, to MAKE everything okay, no inner restlessness, no desperation that I can't define but really really hurts....is this....what it feels like to be "properly treated"? I can't recall feeling this "okay" in years!

2) anyone with any experience with CBT? or other psychotherapy? and what do you find helpful for the cognitive part of the disorder?

Thanks for any advice/experiences.
Spyder

First, let me say welcome to PC, and I'm glad you're feeling better.

Yes, if your sense is that you are feeling calm and what you would call "okay", then it sounds like the meds are working well for you. That's great that they were able to hit it on the first med try. Sometimes it can take a long time to begin to feel stable.

As for the CBT, yes, it can be very helpful. Now that you're feeling more in control of your emotions, you can look at how they have affected you in the past and use the CBT to work on certain false or harmful beliefs or thoughts you had about yourself or your situation.

Another important piece of the therapy in bipolar disorder is becoming aware of what bipolar "looks like" for you. We all have different warning signs or triggers for mood episodes. What does it look like when you start to get depressed or manic? What concrete things can you put on paper to help you monitor yourself? When depressed, do you isolate, sleep more, try to sleep but can't, changes in eating habits, etc...when manic, do you not want to sleep at all, spend more, drive fast, feel more like drinking or having sex, do you get hyperreligious or start new business plans...etc, etc. ? All these details can help you catch an episode before you get whisked away into a florid, dangerous mania or depression. It may be helpful for you to start mood charting if you don't already. There are many pre-made mood charts available online. Tailor it to fit your situation. Your therapist can also help you identify your support system. Who can you call when you feel yourself getting sick? Do they know how to help you?

Managing bipolar disorder is much like managing any chronic illness. We need to watch what we eat, how much we sleep, daily stressors, changes in the seasons, travel...all of these things, and others, can cause instability, much like flare-ups in lupus or fibromyalgia or sugar fluctuations in diabetes. Your therapist can help you make the lifestyle changes you might need to stay well.

There are other therapies out there, depending on what other issues you may be dealing with. DBT can help with distress and frustration tolerance, EMDR can help with trauma, regular "psychodynamic" therapy can help with all of those insidious "mother issues" we tend to wind up with, etc, etc. But it sounds like you're on a good path with the CBT, so I would give this a try first. CBT can touch on all of these issues to some degree.

I hope you continue to do well and find PC to be a good support for you.

Awesome answer, thanks so much!

I'm hoping this is the meds working....that would be wonderful. I guess the way to find out is just go with it. I've had partial responses to antidepressants and antipsychotics in the past, when we didn't know exactly what I was dealing with, so it would be great to get a "full" response.

I'm really into researching and finding out as much as I can about, well, everything---so finding out what other people do to help manage their bipolar is really interesting to me. I really don't want to lose anymore time of my life to this illness if I don't have to .

Welcome to PC Spyder ! I hope that you find this place as a warm friendly place full of wise kind people always ready to offer support

thank you

I felt the same way when I started taking Lamictal. I had no idea what normal felt like and I truly kept waiting for something to happen to take it all away. But it didn't.
I am still learning what this calm, no racing thoughts feels like.
But it's pretty cool.

Hi Rosie thanks for the response.

It's so strange to think...that this might be "normal" when I didnt really understand that what I was feeling before was "abnormal", ya know? I mean I knew I got depressed, and quick to get aggressive, sometimes slutty and justreallyhappyfornoreasonbutitneverlasted, and a lot of times on edge/anxious...but I just kinda thought I hated everything. It's a paradigm shift for sure!

I've found it very helpful to keep a journal, either on paper or online (there are some good ones, like MedHelp). I use these tools to track my moods, symptoms, and sleep. When something strange happens, I make sure to make a note so I can talk to my pdoc about it during our next session. Plus, you'll see your response to medication adjustments and changes. I can't recommend it enough.

Before lamictal the waves were tsunami, now it is just like a lake. I go up and get pulled into the undertow sometimes but, I'm not destructive or exciting. Sometimes I get bored or feel like I'm just way too relaxed and want to be all over the place again but, no.

Since you are new to bipolar, I would suggest that you get the book "Bipolar for Dummies". It starts with the basics and covers most topics very well. And, it is not expensive, somewhere around $20. It is my favorite bipolar instructional book.