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#1
Apr 14, 2012, 09:12 PM
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A few months ago I had pancreatitis and had to be hospitalized. When I called to tell my mom, I said "I'm in the hospital" to which she replied, "Is it your thing again?" Yes, bipolar is my thing.
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 moremi, notz
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#2
Apr 14, 2012, 09:18 PM
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I have an "IT"
"has she lost it again" guess it could be a thing. lol
__________________
Crystal  Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe become simple.  Bipolar 1 OCD BPD Anxiety with panic disorder Agorophobia viibryd |
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#3
Apr 14, 2012, 09:19 PM
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Ouch, sounds like a party trick
 . Mine is how do we say? The elephant in the room? That's with the older folk tho, mom and siblings. My nieces and daughter, they just call a spade a spade 
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#4
Apr 14, 2012, 09:23 PM
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Families are such fun, aren't they? I guess she could have phrased it a lot worse, tho. My family tends to use the older, more derogatory, words for mental illness, so I think you are getting off easy with Bipolar being just your "thing". Still, the automatic assumption that it's your thing, is frustrating. Why can't we get the benefit of the doubt? Just because we're MI doesn't mean the rest of our bodies are in perfect shape! A suggestion to avoid this in the future: "I'm in the physical hospital."
__________________
 That which does not kill me makes me stronger. |
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#5
Apr 14, 2012, 09:28 PM
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Most of my family does not know. The ones that do know they are not to reveal it to anyone without my permission. I'm a private person and my family is full of gossip and backstabbing. Probably why I don't talk to most of them!
__________________
Bipolar Disorder I, PTSD, GAD When it is darkest, we can see the stars. –Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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#6
Apr 14, 2012, 09:34 PM
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Ugh. Okay this isn't funny but I would have replied with " my mestruration cycle? " because that's what I think of when I hear " your thing". My family has referred to bipolar as my thing too. It's not catching if you just say the word.
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#7
Apr 15, 2012, 12:22 AM
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I remember once crying telling my dad how depressed and ashamed I was of bipolar and he responded like it was just any other chronic illness, which was cool. He told me I had nothing to be ashamed about and compared it to a physical illness.
Other than that time when it had to be faced like that, we don't talk about it. Why would we? I might have bipolar but, I don't identify as bipolar and my family doesn't view me as any different. Heck, when I told my sister about my diagnosis she said, "Yes, I know about that and?" Haha, no surprises there! I just said, "well why didn't you tell me before I had to find out the hard way?" Both those reactions had a lot to do with my overcoming stigma about it. I used to hate myself so much and for what? |
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#8
Apr 15, 2012, 10:11 AM
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My parents have back-tracked and neither believe I'm bipolar. In fact, neither believe bipolar even exists.
I thought it would help when my old p-doc confirmed I'm bipolar, but it didn't help at all.
__________________
age: 23 dx: bipolar I, ADHD-C, tourette's syndrome, OCD, trichotillomania, GAD, Social Phobia, BPD, RLS current meds: depakote (divalproex sodium) 1000mg, abilify (aripiprazole) 4mg, cymbalta (duloxetine) 60mg, dexedrine (dexamphetamine) 35mg, ativan (lorazepam) 1mg prn, iron supplements past meds: ritalin, adderall, risperdal, geodon, paxil, celexa, zoloft other: individual talk therapy, CBT, group therapy, couple's therapy, hypnosis |
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#9
Apr 15, 2012, 12:44 PM
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LOL....mine isnt a thing.....but it causes my mom and dad to all of a sudden drop to a whisper on the phone when they call and ask how Im feeling...lol....and according to my mom, anyone who takes all of these pills its no wonder you dont feel good sweetie.....Gotta love them though....they are both amazing parents and trying to understand something that I dont fully understand myself....
__________________
Diagnosed Bi-Polar II and Awesome in 2011 Currently take 50mg of Topamax, 30mg of Celexa, 100mg Provigil, 2mg of Cyproheptadine, and .5mg of Xanax as needed.... Pour contents in blender, add ice.....enjoy..... |
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#10
Apr 15, 2012, 02:12 PM
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I'm just starting to tell people and the reaction I'm getting is 'no you've not got that!!' It's making me ashamed and doubting myself and psychiatrist now! I don't know how to react when people say that. I just want to crawl down a hole!!
 And it's only close friends and family I've told so far! I'm dreading telling my Dad because he probably won't believe it! Maybe my psychiatrist has got it wrong!!!! 
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#11
Apr 15, 2012, 04:58 PM
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My oldest son, who happens to be the one out of my four kids that's probably got BP too, didn't handle my dx well at first.......in fact, he didn't talk to me for a month after I told him. Maybe the truth hurt?? At any rate, he called yesterday and started peppering me with questions about what I went through during my mixed episode---wanted to know if I'd had trouble eating and sleeping, been super irritable and hair-trigger tempered, wanted to crawl out of my own body because I couldn't stand myself etc. Ummmmmm......yep! He immediately agreed to go see a pdoc ASAP, so if he IS bipolar, maybe he won't have to go through 30 years of crap like I did.
As for the rest of my family, they were all like, "Yeah, we knew that, glad YOU finally found out". They might not have had the right word for it, but they knew I was screwed up. 
__________________
DX: Bipolar 1 Anxiety Tardive dyskinesia Mild cognitive impairment RX: Celexa 20 mg Gabapentin 1200 mg Geodon 40 mg AM, 60 mg PM Klonopin 0.5 mg PRN Lamictal 500 mg Levothyroxine 125 mcg (rx'd for depression) Trazodone 150 mg Zyprexa 7.5 mg Please come visit me @ http://bpnurse.com |
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#12
Apr 15, 2012, 08:36 PM
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My family has always been pretty supportive, but it took them a while to figure out that my bipolar was different from my parents' depressions. Sometimes the trigger was not an external event or the cognitive response to it and sometimes I didn't have a clue what triggered (that one took a long time to convey and pdoc had to help.) I didn't talk to my brother about it for years and I know he doesn't understand it, but loves me anyway. With friends, they're supportive but I generally only mention it in passing i.e. depression is high today. With people who I've met recently, they often say I don't look bipolar. "That's because my meds work!" is my reply.
__________________
It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction! ---"Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society". Abraham Lincoln Online. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. September 30, 1859. |
| BipolaRNurse
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#13
Apr 16, 2012, 12:14 PM
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My boyfriend has bipolar and I see it as an illness just as any other. If he were diabetic, I would support him to take his medication just as bipolar can be managed with medication. Society sucks because they are ignorant. I suggest encouraging your family members to read books and get educated. This illness should not have a stigma attached to it. I view my boyfriend as one of the greatest hearts I have ever had the pleasure to know. Just be forgiving ... Im sure she didnt mean to sound negative but sometimes people are not so great with words.
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#14
Apr 16, 2012, 02:29 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, & Wisdom to know the difference. To live is to suffer, and to survive is to find meaning in that suffering |
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#15
Apr 16, 2012, 02:31 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, & Wisdom to know the difference. To live is to suffer, and to survive is to find meaning in that suffering |
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#16
Apr 16, 2012, 02:34 PM
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My parents don't treat me any differently, but we're very open to communicating and monitoring my health: they'll tell me when I'm acting "normal" and when i'm seeming manic.
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#17
Apr 16, 2012, 02:35 PM
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Quote:
You not knowing how to handle life's stress? I've only told two people. My dad, and my bf. Boyfriend thinks it's all in my head WHICH is enough for me to keep my mouth shut and not tell anyone else. My dad believes me...We don't really talk about it though...I tell him how I feel, and he listens and offers support. I can't say the words out loud so how can anyone else?
__________________
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, & Wisdom to know the difference. To live is to suffer, and to survive is to find meaning in that suffering |
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#18
Apr 16, 2012, 04:05 PM
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Well tonight my partner said 'Well I'd give you last rolo (trivial for this example) ...if you'll start behaving yourself and stop being manic!!!
This is typical of what he says for different situations! I'm trying as hard as I can! I can't do any more- I don't like the way I feel and behave at the moment and I sure as hell don't choose to do!!!
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