Great article about bipolar myths

is this wrong place to admit Czechs make rum of POTATOES? (and it's laughing stock of all Europe).

and yeah, it bothers me the bipolar articles are all take yo meds, byotch and drop all the things you enjoy (alcohol, coffee...).

which actually reminds me off joke (hope it's not triggering lol)

Ivanov applied to the Communist Party. The party committee conducts an interview.
“Comrade Ivanov, do you smoke?”
“Yes, I do a little.”
“Do you know that comrade Lenin did not smoke and advised other communists not to smoke?”
“If comrade Lenin said so, I shall cease smoking.”
“Do you drink?”
“Yes, a little.”
“Comrade Lenin strongly condemned drunkenness.”
“Then I shall cease drinking.”
“Comrade Ivanov, what about women?”
“A little….”
“Do you know that comrade Lenin strongly condemned amoral behavior?”
“If comrade Lenin condemned, I shall not love them any longer.”
“Comrade Ivanov, will you be ready to sacrifice your life for the Party?”
“Of course. Who needs such life?”

I think life needs it's "bad" things. They make it fun and worth living lol. Hence "everything i love is illegal, immoral, fattening or highly taxed"



depends on what you define as "work". I post on Icarus project and I hear all kinds of horror psychiatry stories. One woman once complained to her shrink how her husband had heart attack and almost died and she felt nothing-at all and he said it's her meds protecting her... I do believe many people are either overmedicated, or on wrong stuff. Not feeling might be relief after long time of feeling too much, but imho it's a not good way to live.

thanks for sharing the artickle

Good joke about Ivanov, Venus.

Luckily, moderate alcohol consumption and (safe) sex are healthy, so it is just smoking that is a "vice". The amount of smoking in Europe.... I won't even start on that... horrible. And apparently not just in Europe. We have Chinese and Indian people smoking here (pretty much only they use the smoking areas). Not in large numbers, but still.

A friend of mine took her family to Prague recently, for two weeks (she is independently rich so she can afford such long trips). They could not stay in hotel because all eateries have smokers so it is not possible to take kids out to eat. They had to rent an apartment with a kitchen and cook for themselves.

She loved everything about Prague with the exception of smoking.

Somewhere I remember hearing or reading that Lenin had syphilis and died early of its complications, but the Party concealed the real nature of the illness. If that is true, then the women part of the joke is hypocrisy.

I used to drink to excess, but no longer. Alcohol exacerbates my bad behavior, and it doesn't mix well with my meds. And my meds seem to take away any desire I have for a drink.

Works means being effective in treating symptoms without bothersome side effects. To learrn about psychiatry, you are much better off here than on Icarus. Here you will hear about a whole range of experiences with psychiatry, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I would say that looking at people here 10% is about the right figure. On Icarus, you will see a huge, huge self-selection bias, hence all the horror stories. You cannot develop a balanced view of psychiatry from reading Icarus.

I also disagree with lumping together being on meds, not drinking caffeine, and not drinking alcohol. To me, not drinking caffeine and alcohol means deprivation. It subtracts from life as we know it. It deprives bp patients from something other people do eith ease. Medications are an addition rather than subtraction. I will talk about well selected medications only - those that work without bothersome side effects. Those medications are, for sure, a logistical hurdle. You might have to pay for them, you need to remember to take them, you need to remember to refill them every month - that is a bother. That is something a normal person does not need to do. So, sure, it is a problem, but it is an additional problem - it is not deprivation. Plus, one can take medications discreetly - it is not socially visible, whereas abstinence from caffeine and alcohol is socially visible, right?

And why would I want to have balanced view on psychiatry? Just kidding... but I read few pro-psychiatry blogs and eh... they turn one away from psychiatry much more effectivelly then Icarus.

My problem with "works" is that we hear lot crap about "fat and happy" that people accept because they are too down and powerless to tell their doc of (and they end up fat, but not happy). From defenders of meds I read how many side effects are just acceptable because "suicide" is worse then fat, libidoless zombie without any personality.

For me loss of my psychic abilities would be horrible. Though sure many would medicate me if I mentioned ghosts, feeling cat-like when falling asleep, feeling energies (not that this was pleasant only experience, but eh).

ANd there's so much "lack of insight" talk about untreated bipolar, but what if there's medically induced lack of insight (aka "my meds work so well that I would not feel depressed if my house burned down"... or milder version of it. Paulina Porizkova said she felt "happy" on ADs until her friend told her that she because a total doormat).

I have no desire to be on medications that make me fat . Fat and happy .. WTH? My getting fat from taking psych meds is no way for me to be "happy" I will not take a medication that causes weight gain.. Tried a few once and promptly stopped them.