[valcat]

I was recently diagnosed with being bipolar, although I suffer more from depression than mania.

Lately, I get so overwhelmed and frustrated and the smallest thing will set me off and then I find myself throwing things or self-injuring. I am seeing a pdoc and taking my meds as I should and I will discuss this with him, but I also wanted feedback from any of you.

I am just so overwhelmed. I look at dishes to be washed and I feel overwhelmed and get just so angry.

doesn't make any sense to me...

Help!!!

Thanks-
valerie

[Pughead]

valcat,

It makes PERFECT sense to me. You describe pretty much what I've been going through the past few years; BP, more downs than ups, and boiling over when little things go wrong.

Believe me, what you said makes sense to me and a lot of people here.

What meds are you on?

[valcat]

Thanks for the response. I am so glad to know that it is not just me that feels like this. It is overwhelming at times.

I am currently on Lamictal 75mg (going up very slowly, since I developed a rash at first), Lithium 450mg , Abilify 10mg, Klonopin (0.5 twice a day or as needed), ambien 10mg

[Pughead]

Do you attend therapy too? My T has me going through cognitive therapy. And the goal is to get me to replace irrational thoughts with rational ones during times of stress. At first it really helped, but then I sort of forgot about it and found myself getting snappy again. So, I really have to remember to think about that.

Also, I am on Depakote ER (last 10 weeks). It's the first time I've been on a mood stabilizer, but it has really seemed to help. How long have you been on Lithium?

[valcat]

I actually do attend therapy. I need to work on my cognitive distortions, most definitely. I really like my therapist but honestly I don't know if he's the best person to help me. I've been seeing him for four years and here I am...

[Soidhonia]

Hello Valcat. I hope things get better for you soon. Have you tried to do a schedule for yourself so you do the same things daily? A schedule that meets someones needs is not as overwhelming as unstructured chaos. I have to keep a schedule and it works wonders for me since I know I do the SAME thing usually everyday. There is no chaos and the oveerwhelmed feeling is taken over by things getting done instead. A timer is a good thinga s well even if you set the timer for 10 minutes of work you can generally get dishes done in 10 minutes and see productivity. This goes along with the schedule and then the time is accounted for and helps to retrain priorities as well. You may like to talk to your therapist about getting a case manager to elp you for a bit until you can get restructured with your time and medication. There is nothing wrong wiht needing help unitl you feel better. I hope things get better for you soon. Take care Soidhonia