I find it all to easy to get caught up on the negatives of the illness, my manic episodes are not particularly enjoyable. What are some of your favorite parts about having bipolar? I am still thinking about mine, but I guess I would go with creativity for now, and maybe intensity in personality. And being able to function off no sleep for nearly a week at a time.

Curious what you will all pick..

[manicminer]

I enjoy using hypermania to my advantage. It lets me work long, extremely productive hours, without the need for sleep. I'm lucky that I work the night shift alone and don't have people around to see all the "crazy" things I do here at night. But every morning when the boss comes in and sees what I've accomplished, I always seem to meet or exceed his expectations and get commended for it. This makes it all seem worthwhile.

[venusss]

I am able to feel emotions. Bad or good... they are beautiful. As long as I don't go too up or too down, it's great.

I also tend to go hypomanic quite often and I learned to make good of my downs... so well, at this point I consider it a gift...with strings attached.

[SunReach]

Hmm...What springs to mind right now is the bright colours when I get manic...Oh the colours!! Like if I touch something I'll get fresh paint on my fingers

[SunAngel]

It would have to be my creativity, empathey, passion and compassion.

[GreenIvy]

My favorite things about being bipolar is my creativity, my resourcefulness, and how quickly my mind works. I also love how I feel when I am hypomanic. I am on top of the world and I can do anything I set my mind to. I have a ton of self-confidence. I am happy and full of life. It is an incredible feeling.

[zbmom]

I love being hypomanic, it just doesn't happen very often

[Miss Laura]

Just the feeling of being Hypo-Manic is enough to make me feel so good. The way life seems to be so much better/brighter/lighter and a lot more laughter is spread throughout the duration

[Merlin]

I never take life and it's vicissitudes for granted.

[BNLsMOM]

The thing I like best is when I have a touch of hypomania, just enough to enjoy myself and get things done, but not so much that I go mixed. Mixed is scary. Hypo is fun.

[rjaimz]

I love the creativity, I love how my personality comes alive. I love the intensity.

[moxycrayon]

I love how sometimes everything is just so freakin awesome! Everything is going to work out and I can do anything!

[Merlin]

Now you guys have got me missing the hypomania. Oh well, stability is the goal.

[SunAngel]

Merlin, I will pass a little bit on over to you if you would like.

[roads]

Is it that we ARE bipolar? Or that we HAVE bipolar?

My favorite aspect of bipolar disorder is the ability to bubble up creative ideas, choose a few, and develop them fully over whatever time period without the ordinary need for food and rest.

By choosing this, though, I'm saying I prefer a Heightened Reality to ordinary reality, a Super-Me to an ordinary me. And of course I do. Which extends in part perhaps to why I'm an alcoholic.

So what's in it for me to take my medication as prescribed? It's prescribed so as to make me normal. Ordinary. Dear god, save me from being ordinary!

Being bi-polar saved me.

(oh, gee, just how sicko am I?)

[FuriousGeorge]

I have nothing good to say about being manic depressive. It has ruined my life, plain and simple. Glamorizing it is a coping mechanism.

[astone131]

I enjoy ( sometimes ) being manic. I dont need sleep or food so that way I lose weight But being bipolar hasnt always exactly been good to me over the years

[CjnGyrl74]

Each month I have those Few days of hypo....where everything comes to me so easily, I remember the important stuff, Like my mind and everything around me is "in tune".
But the most important part of it....I SMILE.

I don't think it's done anything positive for me. Though I've always been this way, I cannot correlate anything positive to bipolar that isn't a part of my own personality aside from the affliction.
If anything, it has made me more confused & weak. Though hypomania can sometimes result in higher creativity, productivity, & clear thinking... More often than not I just get thoughts that won't stop racing long enough to put a poem together, undirected motivation that leads to destruction vs. productivity, & muddled thinking that often leaves me frozen. And depression completely contradicts who I am as an individual, confident & optimistic & active, so I don't think I need to go into that. Psychosis is also a whole 'nother ballgame.
I'm not trying to act like it is some giant, unmanageable curse... But I also don't think it is a "super-me". Yes, every facet of my mood & behaviour is elevated, but often to a point where it is nothing but a nuisance. So in that way, it is definitely "super" but it's nothing I would feel comfortable glamourizing.
I would rather come to terms with myself without being burdened by an extra load of psychological complexity that takes up more time than necessary. I'd be perfectly happy to be as complex as everyone else, without any extra weight, & be able to devote that extra energy to something more useful or enjoyable.
But since I don't have that choice, I use it as a learning experience & a test of my patience. But there's nothing I would deem is my "favourite" about it. Just my two cents. :P

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by FuriousGeorge

I have nothing good to say about being manic depressive. It has ruined my life, plain and simple. Glamorizing it is a coping mechanism.

I don't think looking at the positives is necessarily glamorizing, though admittedly, in some cases it can be. I would in no way wish bipolar on anyone, and if a cure was offered I would take it. I think, however, having come to the other side of it intact, I can appreciate what I have learned from it.

thanks for all your replies. I enjoyed reading each of them... Some good points brought up too. I mean I don't think I was trying to make bipolar glamourous , cope tho yes. I do need a way to cope, or many ways to cope, and if that makes me weak, which I suspect it might. What else can I do, I can't let it swallow me whole, I have three small people counting on me. Sometimes I wish I could just lay down and let is wash over me and carry me away. But that is in my past. Coping is my future. Tired worn out future. Can the future be tired?

[popeye]

Being hypo is not bad ....I am always in a good mood and I am there most of the time. Been hypomanic for months now. Not working is pretty cool too ...sometimes. I retired almost 14 years ago

[Fresia]

I concur with many of the the positives that have been said as the favorite things. This thread surprisingly was slightly triggering for me but in a good way as it is easy to discount the positives of an illness when dealing with certain aspects of it. It has been and still is an interesting road. Sometimes it is difficult to see the entire picture, especially in certain moods and at the various levels, causing a very one-sided outlook in these moments for me. It is a very good reminder, that came at an excellent time.

Thank you for this thread Anika, and for everyone's feedback and reminders!

[charlene323]

I don't like the feeling of hypo- because I usually tend to go mixed, however I like that I can get tons of stuff done, so I don't feel guilt when I come down.

[nushi]

I was so glad to find this thread... Thanks for bringing this up

Actually, I'm a bit down finding everything over the internet, even the psychiatrist iI went to dealing with hypermania as if it's a bad thing.

I googled "hypermania genius", & I found this thread. I was for the whole of my life suffering from OCD & depression, until I traveled last year through a boat across the mediterranean, that's when I became hypomanic/manic & discovered my other ide. Well, I'll tell you what, the journey ended up with me in a mental hospital in Italy. But nevertheless, I've never been SO HAPPY IN MY LIFE GOD, I've never even felt the existence of God as I did during this journey.

When I turned back to Egypt, I returned to my hateful depression But sometimes, I turn hypomanic, some beautiful blessed sweet times ^_^

I wanted to find out how to KEEP MYSELF HYPOMANIC!!! But the psychiatrist I went to wouldn't help me. I'm really off finding everybody over the internet trying to get rid of hypomania, but isn't hypomania the thing that God has blessed us with & made us unique from other people with?!

One other Q; I really wanna be a genius Since I was a child I loved watching movies & reading short stories of genius people. But isn't possible that being hypomanic means one's a genius? Seriously?! 'Cause, if I just have the confidence in myself, that I'm a genius, I could just turn all the creative ideas I get into SOMETHING & really change the world Or is this just some over-realistic imagination?!