I feel in recovery from both but I still feel the pangs of the ptsd sometimes. Lots of trauma in my past. My psychosis had some of it in it. That's why it was so hard to come out of I think. Idk... anybody have PTSD with bipolar?

My doctor brought it up but no official DX. I do believe I have it. I'm sorry you are struggling with this.

Thank you Elsa. I'm just amazed I made it out alive. Started when I was 14 ended when I was about 26. All kinds of stuff. The hardest to deal with was the emotional/mental part. But I did make it through it.

Sorry you have to deal with it too.

[Nammu]

I was diagnosed first with PTSD then c-PTSD then BP. It took years but once I delt with the PTSD the BP has been much easier to deal with, still have moments where I feel intense fear and panic.

[Blaire]

I have PTSD with bipolar. Mine is primarily from the violent loss of a family member when I was a teen. I also have some from a natural disaster that occurred here last year, but it isn't nearly as bad as that first one.

I've taken a class/group thing for PTSD that was DBT-based and somewhat helpful. I'm currently doing EMDR to try to neutralize it a bit. I can't tell whether it's helping yet.

I wonder if having BP makes us more vulnerable to PTSD. I'm sure I don't recover from stressful events as easily as others, and I experience emotions more intensely. I find that my proclivity for drastic mood swings makes PTSD treatment hard because dredging up those memories causes bad episodes for me.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I do from childhood abuse.

[Wander]

I have bipolar and PTSD(from severe child abuse). They feed off each other a lot of the time making both worse. It is difficult to treat too, as my doctor says. Sometimes I wonder if I will make it out alive as they can form into a perfect storm at times, leaving me very agitated, anxious, low mood, SI, and flashbacks, along with other difficult experiences. It is hard to treat but my doctor is confident he can help me find my feet and get along in this crazy world. It is wonderful to have his support and encouragement. This helps immensely.

[~Christina]

I do from csa .. It does indeed make BP worse at times and often is what triggers a mood shift in me.

I do from CSA also. Working through the PTSD history actually was the big work in therapy and probably why I am pretty stable now. I really the the PTSD was much more prominent in setting of my depression and hypervigilance, etc. than BP ever was. Once the PTSD symptoms were manageable, the BP symptoms were also much, much more manageable. The two together are difficult.

[lindamine]

I do too. I too have found that once I did the work on my PTSD my bipolar was much more manageable. Medications are also a part of my recovery and stability.

[Yoda]

My ptsd was my initial problem and then I was diagnosed later with bipolar. Though I do believe that I was high functioning bipolar until the ptsd wiped me out. Both have improved in the sixteen years of therapy and psych Rx.

[MBM17]

Mine is from my son's colic from hell, beyond anything imaginable to 99% of the people I've ever talked to about colic. More than two years later, I still can't hold babies. Like Blaire, I'm doing EMDR to try to reduce sensitivity.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I have both. I did a very intensive exposure therapy a few years ago and while that was incredibly hard it did vastly improve the PTSD and now I have few PTSD symptoms which makes life easier.

[UpDownMiddleGround]

I was diagnosed with PTSD prior to being diagnosed with Bipolar I. Bipolar is much more manageable for me when I am not having an episode. My episodes bring about some pretty extreme mood shifts making it very difficult to work through.

[Th3reandback]

Sorry to hear everyone's struggles.

I have severe PTSD from my first manic episode/psychosis last year. Was physically and emotionally abused by the jail guards. Tazers and stun guns included. Not the best way to experience my first psychotic episode.

I try to see it as a blessing in disguise. I have a much different view on the world now. I am very much thankful to be able to walk, talk, and lay down wherever and just be safe. I can go outside and see the sunlight every day. I even lay down in random patches of grass sometimes to just appreciate the fact that I can, no matter how weird I'll look.

The world goes around and people have no idea the type of suffering that is out there. I have a whole new respect and compassion for people who have gone through and are currently going through anything similar. I'd say there's nothing worse than being a prisoner.

[Nammu]

Seems to be a consensus that if you can get the PTSD under control then the BP is easier to manage. So important to get the right therapy!