[Bobbyj]

If you're using mind-altering substances, lots of sugar, lots of processed food, and or any type of addictive behavior. There is a good chance that your brain is giving you problems. Addicts can have BP-like symptoms for a long time while using and after. Unhealthy diets can also be a huge trigger for all sorts of problems. This may seem like common sense to some people, but i see a lot on here and in my life saying they're having these issues, yet they still drink, or do drugs occassionaly, have terible diets, don't exercise, whatever... I'm not saying this will fix people with BP obviously, but if you're not monitoring these things, most likely you will not ever feel stability. You may find you're more "normal" than you think by fixing up your lifestyle.

Also having a MI does not excuse being a terrible person. I try not to think of the diagnosis i have and focus more on the negative aspects of my personality that i'd like to fix. There's a lot of people in my life that just hide behind whatever they have and treat people like garbage just because that's the way they are. This drives me crazy, we all have flaws, at least try to fix them. If you don't even try to stop hurting others then you are just a bad person.

[Victoria'smom]

Moutain dew is my only source of water. I eat processed foods but it's better than starving. I smoke occasionally and feel this adds very little to my mental health issues. Honestly it's because of my mental health issues that I eat like that.

As for mean people irritation can do that people and that is a sign of bp.

[Bobbyj]

I don't know your mental health issues and i'm not a doctor so i can't comment on that. I do know that addiction voices in our heads and unhealthy habits in general will always find a reason to rationalize. It is never even remotely easy to break that cycle because of how it twists our minds, that is why addiction in general even exists. If it didn't work on your brain in complicated ways then it'd be easy to change our habits. I'm not trying to get into addiction too much, that's for another forum... BP and substance abuse seem very intertwined though. Also the habits you described may not be the reason for mental health issues, but they will make it worse.

As far as irritability, i totally understand that. I tend to be an asshole when i'm going through problems. My point is to take responsibility for it and don't always expect others to put up with BS. We should do what we can to try and change for the better.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

"Having a MI does not excuse being a terrible person".

I just need some clarification here...are you saying people with substance abuse issues are terrible people? If so, that is absolutely a horrible thing to say.

Many people with MI also suffer from substance abuse or turn to it in desperate measures to numb the instability they're experiencing, me being one if them. I still have issues but I'm in a far better place than I was a few years ago. And no I'm NOT saying my MI is an excuse. Nothing can excuse the horrible and possibly life threatening decisions I've made in the past.

And I do agree that this behavior and other poor decisions can lead to instability but let's be honest here... I've had ALOT of meds that caused major issues too even when I was stone cold sober.

So I'm a bit confused as to what you're trying to say in the end of your post. Yes I'm an adult and made bad decisions but I'm not a terrible person... All the time lol.

And there's many of us here that have suffered with addiction (many great, caring, supportive people here) and I would say they are NOT terrible people.

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[Bobbyj]

Lol my fault i worded that terribly, they were completely separate thoughts in one post. They were both on my mind so i just did it in one thread. The substance abuse has nothing to do with being a terrible person. I have drug/alcohol problems myself, i just see how much a change in diet, drugs, exercise, etc affects my mood so it's very important to monitor this stuff. I do drugs for pretty much the same reasons as you mentioned, basically better than killing myself. My point with MI is, that it's not okay to treat others like garbage and not take responsibility for it and just blame it on how you are, or blame someone else for making you like that. I only bring it up because people in my life are like that and it's been pissing me off, i don't know if anyone on here is like that or not, but i just wanted to bring it up because it's a terrible trait.