If you could press a button...

If you could press a button and be cured of your bipolar illness, would you do it?
I'm not sure what I would do.

Explain your choice here if you want to! Include your diagnosis too, if you're comfortable with that. I'm interested in seeing if there is any agreement and if there are differences in the answers or explanations given by people in different bipolar groups.

(I searched the forums and couldn't find a similar thread, but I'm sure it's been asked before, sorry if I missed it)

I'm not sure what I do. I do hate the roller coaster that BP 1 is , but I can get very creative on both the down hill and up hill sides, and the energy I have when I'm up can be addictive.

I feel almost exactly like Jeffro1972. The roller coaster is all i know...I think "normal" might bore me, although it may be a relief, too. My creative energy is at its highest on the upside and downside. I experience almost nothing when in the middle, and what I DO create lacks depth and insight. I don't know what I would do. I think my family and friends would probley want me to hit the button though since i am high maintenance emotionally. : )

If I were able to go back in time and I could take my current knowledge back with me then I would want to be cured. You see then I would know while I was young that I suffer a mental illness and so many mistakes from impulsive decision making could have been avoided. The awful thought patterns that plague those of us with bipolar disorder would not have been an issue. But if I were to be cured from today forward then I have to say no, because at this point in my life I have the experience and medication I need to manage better. I am still plagued by thought patterns that need to be altered to have a healthier point of view but, I am working on it. I do have to say though that through the years I have also enjoyed the creative bursts that often occur with an episode of mania or depression. I've also enjoyed the high times. It's nice to feel THAT good. So if I had a do over I would wish to have been cured. If I had the opportunity to be cured today well I think I'd stay the same. I'm used to who I am now, I've become comfortable in my own skin and anything else would seem oddly foreign to me I think.

(Am not voting in the poll as I'm not diagnosed with anything yet!)

I don't know if I would change anything about myself. It's me. If nothing else, it's a huge part of who I am... and would I still be me if it went away entirely? When I'm not currently in a depressed state, I'm grateful for having experienced it in a weird way... because I can relate to others pain, even if they can't relate to mine. I like knowing that I am supportive and understanding.

And I like the periods of massive energy. I don't typically act on my dumb ideas or do anything that's really risky (I'm a pretty cautious person normally, so when I do get risky it might not be that bad in comparison to other people!)

I tend to have a lot of nightmares as one of my sleep habits - they terrify me and disrupt my sleep, but once I've woken up I usually enjoy looking back on them because I enjoy the horror genre. Sometimes they're right funny and I can't figure out why it was so scary for me. If I go too long without having nightmares.... I start to miss them and wonder what's wrong and why I'm not having them anymore. It's a love/hate thing.

This is a rather hard question to answer! haha.

You can choose "Other bipolar", or whichever one you feel fits you better. I don't think it would make the poll much better if only people with a pdoc stamped bipolar label were allowed to vote, so everyone should just go ahead and vote as they like.
Edit: Or not vote at all of course, if you don't want to.

Aww thanks!

I put it in as BP 2: No.

I'm not certain if I would get rid of it or not. When I think about my identity, it feels like so much a part of me, that I wonder who would be left without this huge part of myself.

Thinking of that I want to thank you for this question. I struggle with this idea of "you are/have bipolar". I have generally thought of that label as being something I didn't want. While I still reject stereotypes about the label this question helps me to remember the goodness of it, accept it and myself more, if that makes sense.

The reason I say I am not sure if I would get rid of it is because I think about the impact it has possibly had on others. While again I know those are not my story, I feel bad when I read about someone with a spouse, friend or relative with Bipolar and the struggles they themselves face because of it.

This is all I know, as much as makes alot of you uncomfortable to think this, its a part of me, a part of who I am, its helped shape the woman I am today. Meds came very close to making me normal, and I probably would have died of boredom had I stayed medicated. Ok no, normalcy drove me a different kind of crazy, suddenly unrecognizable and lost... I would never choose it to go away in reality, I would choose "perfect" coping skills to manage it tho.

I would have to say unsure to Bipolar II. It took me a while to even know the difference between the two!

I enjoyed the experiences even though they were destructive to me. The HIGH of the mania was toxic and I experienced things and went places in my brain that were beyond this universe, and I would never take those memories away.

But I am unsure because now, my life is so mundane and boring. There is no more high. The meds make sure of that. I wish I could force myself to be more exciting and take more risks. I get very paranoid and scared of even going to a new place.

I am bit afraid normal might come with sudden urge to cut my hair in lawyer cut, get corporate job and stop caring about the Syria and the fact that minerals for cellphones are mined by children in Congo. That normality might mean I would start desperatelly chasing men in order to marry one, never feel the earth turning and never feel history under my feet again. That I would never ever want to visit another troubled place cause I felt attracted to it and instead I would argue with fat German tourists over my spot on beach in some resort in Croatia (and would not care about history of that country). That my spirits that hang out with me would never talk to me again. That I would never get really excited about anything again. That I would watch sad movie and not cry. That I would never feel spiritual connection to other human beings and to animals. That I would never do anything spontangeous again. That I would accept the fact Franz Kafka is dead and stopped chasing him in down town Prague.

Who knows. Some would see these as symptoms. What if they are? But what would be left of me then?

Would I have to return my diploma too, cause I chose my thesis topic when manic and worked on it like only crazy chick would? Would I un-meet my friends whom I met or got close to through... being a crazy chick?

The poll does not fit me at all .

I would gladly keep my Bipolar ..... If I could get rid of Fibromyalgia.

I have bipolar 1 and I voted yes. In a heartbeat. I function very well a good portion of the time, but when I hit a manic or depressive episode, life completely goes haywire. That is not who I really am. I would love to be able to live my life without falling into suicidal depressions or mania landing me repeatedly in the hospital. The true me is the me that I am when I am stable. Give me that person full-time and I'd be thrilled.

No, I wouldn't change my makeup solely for the reason that I'd be afraid I would lose
my sensitivity to beauty, art, creativity, and spirituality. I can't imagine life without those things.

Diet and medications make the rest of it bearable.

I'd change it in a second. I'm BP 2 and I have devastating depressions but only fairly annoying hypomanias (not so much euphoria, more agitation). More of the unfun stuff, I guess. For me, I don't think it is part of or enhances my personality or who I am. It dampens down my personality and creativity.

Now where can I find this button?

EJ

It is who I am. And I have come to accept it. Its like a part of me, who I am and my potential for further use of it. No I do not like the lows at all. But I am intelligent enough to admit the hypomania is very addicting. But it is me, just another part. Like my children are a walking part of who I am. This is a part that only I can truly see.

I just don't trust what "the cure" would be... Would likely have side effects... Or cause some future disease they didn't know about. So I said Not Sure.

I'd like a magic wand type cure "make me feel better as needed in the moment at my discretion". Something just for the unbearable times.

If I could press a button and be the only person left on the planet I'd be cured. Does that count?

YES!! PLEASE!
Cure for bipolar 1 sounds amazing. I'm so tired of fighting my emotions I'm just tired of it. It takes all of my energy. I'm sure many others here feel the same way.

i've said i'm not sure.

i don't like some asspects- and to be honest, it's taken a lot away from my life.. a lot of experiences i might have had otherwiss- so their is that side.

but on th flip side.... if it was gone all together, i'm not sure what i'd do with myself!. i've now lived with it for 14 years, and it's become a part of my life.. all be it not a pleasant part

and hey... i'd probably miss the amazing ups as well- specially when they are really needed

I'm Bipolar NOS and I don't know if I'd want to be cured all of a sudden like that. I have always been like this and learning to accept myself is a big part of my journey in this life. I don't know if I could handle it suddenly having to accept another me all over again. It has taken me a lot of hard work to get where I am.

But, I also think that people without mental illness have their own challenges and problems. I also think I'd rather have bipolar than cancer (which I could get anyway since it is in my family.) I don't believe there are "normal" people. Life is hard in general and we all have our journey and obsticals.

He'll yes! I could be med free and drink again and have fun without anyone asking me if I an hypo anymore!!!!!

I would gladly keep my Bipolar ..... If I could get rid of Fibromyalgia.

Dear Christina,
Your quote is so clever. I would do the same if it would be possible.

I'd get rid of it in a heartbeat. BP1 here. Can we also go back in time and let me grow up without it?

Bipolar nos My introduction to the world of bi polar was very dramatic by being hospitalized.. I never knew anything was wrong, my memory of before is unclear. I sometimes feel what am I being treated for. I did not ever see a problem. but I am told on every dr visit just how sick I am and how lucky I am to be being treated. I guess my biggest complaint is the meds..side effects especially. Randy

I guess my answer would be no change, not sure why, guess I believe in destiny.