Questions: Bipolar Version 2

Totally out of the blue... was a complete shock.

What is your favourite thing about the Summer?

Not scraping ice and snow off my car!

What's your current favorite music album?
(Mine is Adele 25)

Ed Sheeran's Divide album AMAZING

What's your favourite Disney film?

The Lion King

Do you trust your intuition about treatment?

Yes and no. Through the VA, not so much. But my insurance provided by my insurance allowed me to choose a provider that is not only near me, but I like her.

What are you doing this weekend?

Going to see Beauty and the Beast again at the cinema on Saturday and Sunday we are having a family meal for Easter.

What kind of exercise do you do to keep the weight off which is caused by the meds?

Walking but it isn't enough. We don't have anywhere like a Y to swim here but I think the state park a few miles away will let you swim for a fee. Once I'm out of credit card debt soon I'm going to try swimming 3x/week to see if that helps. It's only a little more expensive than Curves and the driving distance helps level that out (unless they've increased their swimming fee).

Do you feel you know your body well in terms of how it reacts to meds?

Somewhat. I've been thrown some curve balls over the past few months when going up and down different doses.

How has your energy level been lately?

Pretty high. Don't sleep much but still have lots of energy. Get bored studying cause it is difficult to keep still and concentrate.

Have anti-depressants, while on a mood stabiliser, made you hypo/manic?

no

what other languages can you speak?

I know some American sign language. I used to know a lot more but use it or lose it and it's been 20 years. I took german in high school but only remember a few words. And my German teacher was Danish so I only spoke German with a Danish AND American accent combined.

What is the hardest household chore for you and why?

vacuming, I guess.

because I live alone and just don't see the need to do it (plus I have a bit of a phobia of vacumed rooms)

how did you spend easter sunday

home alone.

cooked way too much, and ended up throwing away most of it

where do you see yourself in 1 year from now?

stable, happy, working a full time job, and buying a new home.

What is your strangest delusion or hallucination?

hmm well I had a lot of wierd one's. mostly the episode where the tv was talking to and about me. let's just say I can never look at jeopardy the same. my most dangerous one however was in that episode I thought my stepfather was a child molester and for the first and only time I became homicidal. I was literally going to kill him. i thank god to this day some kind of light from above filled me and I immediatly relaxed and that delusion fell away.

what was your most dangerous delusion?

When I thought a star was talking to me and I was walking all over Manhattan following it. I mean in the street, in traffic, bumping into people. It was quite dangerous.

Do you know when you are becoming manic?

I know when I am becoming hypomanic but manic hits me like a train and i tend to lose insight and think I am fine.

What are your signs of hypomania?

The big one is no sleep. That one is like a freight train telling me that there is something off.

When was the last time you had a depressive episode?

Last year, early August to early October then shot up into mania.

How long do your depressive episodes usually last?

um

a lot longer than my manic ones!. lol!

do you have many friends without mental illness

Yes I do and most only think I have severe depression with GAD. I count many of the people on here as closer than my RL friends so in that aspect no. I've told people on this forum things I've never told people outside the forum.

How do you know if you're rapid cycling?

I don't really know. I kind of just wing it, hoping for the best as I do.

Do you have a really hard time getting up in the morning? Do the overnight meds make you groggy?

Getting up is terrible. I couldn't possibly work on these meds. We're trying to use melatonin to make me fall asleep more easily and wake more easily; all it is doing is making me sleep more. It's such a difficult thing.

Do you have deal-breakers regarding what meds you'll take?

Yeah pretty much all of them is a deal-breaksr. I don't want side-effects I don't want anything to do with any of them. If it was up to me I would never take meds again.

Are you having a hard bipolar day?

it's too early to tell. (10 A.M)

but it is okay so far (with the exception of not sleeping)

do you eat a lot of chocolate?