[lenjan]

So, I'm trying to adjust to my new adventure in mental illness. I'm not liking it much.

I'm used to being depressed. I can handle depressed. Depressed is socially acceptable these days. People understand it (or at least more than they used to). Depression is called the "common cold" of mental illness because so many people come down with it.

But bipolar -- well, let me just say my experiences with bipolar people IRL have been largely unpleasant. Comparatively speaking, not that many people are bipolar. I think it scares folks on the "outside" way more than depression does. It scares ME! I'm not used to these new feelings and sensations. I don't want them. I'd rather they went away and left me alone. But now I'm stuck with them. I just remember interacting with the unmedicated bipolars (of which I essentially am one at the moment, until stuff kicks in) while I was inpatient and thinking, "GOD, these people are NUTS." And now I am one. Somehow bipolar seems more seriously mentally ill than depression. I have spent most of my life trying to become more than my mental illness, and now I feel defined by it again.

How do you learn to live with it?

Candy

[JonB]

LOL...when I was an inpatient, I often looked at the other patients and thought the same thing - These people are nuts...absolutely insane...I cannot have the same thing these people have. Of course, everyone has their own way of being nuts. And sometimes, when I'm at work, I think about how amazingly similar it is to the hospital. Crazy people everywhere.

Anyway, good luck getting used to being bipolar. Let me know if you figure out how. I'm still on the seesaw but now a little closer to the middle so I don't swing quite so far in either direction. Still swinging though...so to speak.

[biplol]

{{{{{Candy}}}}} I feel for you my friend, I found myself thinking about my illnes almost daily and sometimes I just hate it.
I knew there was something odd about myself, never couldn't figured it out until recently and now everything make sense, that doesn't mean that it's easy.
WhenI'm depressed, like right now, I just can't take it anymore, but when I have my good days, I joke around about my symptoms with the 2 people closer to me, my hubby and my sis.
PM me anytime, you know I'm here, and if you think you are a nutjob, mmmm, we need to find a definition for me, lol.
Tons of hugs~

[PlanningtoLive]

{{{{{{{Candy}}}}}}}}} it used to drive me crazy as well - the sleepless nights, the high energy, talking so fast no one could understand me, and worst of all, the creepy feeling like you're crawling out of your own skin. When you get on meds, you'll be okay. You'll still have some bad days but nothing like now, guaranteed. You just need to find the right combination of meds that will work for you.

Keep us updated and hang in there.........no one is "normal" so don't let that upset you too much........lol.

[Pughead]

I dunno what to say. When my primary care doc put my on depakote for BP 7-8 weeks ago, I was shocked. However, I noticed that the depakote seemed to be really stabilizing me and thought, "Hey, I can cope with his, I can make it just fine."

Then my first meeting with the pdoc yesterday got me all screwed up again. I don't know what to think anymore....I'm starting to think I'm crazy enough that no diagnosis fits me. After all, I took the MMPI2 and it came back as inconclusive!

Oh well, if the meds work, who cares about the rest right?