...things that don't help me......

"I hope you get over it soon" *fake pat on the back*

Or from my in-laws "oh, your crazy aunt is in the hospital again" or every sentence involving crazy in it(when talking about my bipolar aunt in law)

And my partner wonders why I have to pretend around them and sometimes lie about things going on in my life.

"Did they (the doctors) tell you why you had it?"

or one of my other favorites:
"No you're not (bipolar)! You're normal! I've never seen you do anything crazy!" ....and that was from my brother-in-law & former legal guardian, who has seen me do more crazy stuff than anyone.

It seems like the people closest to us can be so oblivious to even the most obvious crazy behavior in us. They just forget it completely when it's over and think you're perfectly normal whereas if a random person saw us when were having our worst symptoms they would notice something was wrong right away. It's annoying.

I am depressed now and my mother said, "but I thought you were on new meds?" Now matter that I told her that there is no cure. That these moods still happen.

"You just need to get out in the sunshine more."

Ohmigosh, I've been forgetting to go outside!

We've probably all heard that sunshine is good for depression, and it does help some, but it's not all I need. If it were that simple, I don't think this forum would be busy at all.

How about this one?
If you went to the gym more often you would not
need all of the pills.

Huh?

Or this one?
I was on the Dr. Bernstein diet plan.
The doctor told me that I needed to get off of all of my meds
because I don't need them....my "problem" was cured

Huh?

"You need to get l@id."

You need to relax.
Dude, you need to drink more beer, dude.
You should have more faith.
I knew this about you YEARS ago!
You've always been like this.
I told you it wouldn't work.
You got yourself into this mess.
You have no one to blame but yourself.
I saw this coming a mile away.
You should be more social.
Just deal with it.

OMG I just had this said to me the other day by a co-worker that is a friend, who by the way has several close relatives that have BP. She has said this so many times over the years, I just want to scream at her. I'm trying to come off of Seroquel right now and tell you my moods are swinging, "well everyone has mood changes" AHHH!!!

Just think happy thoughts

You need to choose to be happy
This too shall pass
Stop feeling sorry for yourself
Why are you so sad?
What is wrong?
You need to stop beating yourself up
What are your plans?
I don't know what's gotten into you
You are being antisocial
You are standing in your own way

"You're always going on about your problems! Fix them!"
"If you just spent more time in the Word, (meaning the Bible) you'd really be a lot happier inside."
"Maybe you can just get a job sorting pencils, or copying papers, or something."

"Another problem? You sure have a lot wrong with you don't you?" said sarcastically and implying that I am lying for attention.

Feeling really bad and telling my only friend or my family, and getting either silence or a change of subject. Makes me feel invisible.

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Man, that happens to me too. They don't know what to say so they change the subject...or just sit silently. I hate that...

You weren't sleeping? I have insomnia too... I TOTALLY understand. I have the same problem.

Okay, but do you have it with racing thoughts screaming in your head, universe contemplation, EVERYTHING contemplation and trying to figure out what something means and getting stuck on one thought over and over and OVER again? And not being able to make your mind shut up?

Sigh. They just don't understand.

Things that dont help me -

Exercise. This is a big one, I feel TERRIBLE after exercise, it wipes me out and I literally cannot move if I do this during depression (even light exercise). Dont get me wrong I still exercise (not as fit as I would like to be at the moment) but it DOES NOT lift my mood. Infact makes me worse. So I need to plan before I exercise because I know how terrible I will feel after.

Socialising - this leads to rumination. exhaustion and worse feeling. I am better off with limited socialisation, not too much to exhaust me but enough to make sure Im not a hermit.

Changing my diet - I have tried all sorts of diets, I have a relatively healthy diet (actually extremely healthy compared to the average american) but it doesnt matter what kind of diet I have, there is no impact on my mood.

Less time on the computer/forums/watching shows I enjoy - generally just leads to other "bad" habits, extra naps, procrastination, smoking, eating.

Balancing charkras/spirituality.... I still do it everyday out of habit but it doesnt seem to have any affect on my mood whatsoever.

Time with family - well that just plain makes me depressed.

Positive thinking- well I CBT everyday, how much more positive can you get? Yet I still suffer depression.

Aromatherapy - gives me a headache

Alcohol - a little is ok. It helps in the moment, but I get the booze blues the next few days if I've been on a binge.

homeopathy - does absolutely nothing at all.

Vitamin supplements - ZERO improvement AT ALL.

I could go on and on and on. I have tried so much but there is not a whole lot that works to be honest... And if it does work, its not for long, until the depression comes back.

I finally had to stop telling my sister and brother-in-law anything about my health because they always interrupt and start telling me how much worse they have it, and that my situation isn't that bad because I have medicaid!