[Ralau]

Hi.

I don't know if this is even a thing, or any way related to my mental health issues, but I'd like to know if anyone has had similar experiences.
Sometimes I experience feeling very deeply connected with some people. It can either be a friend or a total stranger or someone between them. It's hard to explain, but it feels like there is some kind of electricity between us (not the sexual one). Usually I have this when I have elevated mood. It starts with feeling one with someone, like there is an invisible bond between me and them. It feels like we are separated from other people, the connection feels meaningful and can turn into obsession.

It's been quite a time since I felt this last time, but now I have been feeling it again with a person who I barely know. And I want to say, this is different from having a crush on someone, it's just a very overwhelming feeling that's hard to explain.

And no, usually I am not that dependent on other people. Right now I barely care about what other people think about me, but at the same time there is this "deep connection" with one person. And every time I hit the depression, all these connections and magic are gone.

[Sliders]

Originally Posted by Ralau

Hi.

I don't know if this is even a thing, or any way related to my mental health issues, but I'd like to know if anyone has had similar experiences.
Sometimes I experience feeling very deeply connected with some people. It can either be a friend or a total stranger or someone between them. It's hard to explain, but it feels like there is some kind of electricity between us (not the sexual one). Usually I have this when I have elevated mood. It starts with feeling one with someone, like there is an invisible bond between me and them. It feels like we are separated from other people, the connection feels meaningful and can turn into obsession.

It's been quite a time since I felt this last time, but now I have been feeling it again with a person who I barely know. And I want to say, this is different from having a crush on someone, it's just a very overwhelming feeling that's hard to explain.

And no, usually I am not that dependent on other people. Right now I barely care about what other people think about me, but at the same time there is this "deep connection" with one person. And every time I hit the depression, all these connections and magic are gone.

YES. I have definitely felt this way before. You're not alone.

[xRavenx]

I think I know what you mean. I can definitely relate to what you wrote. I don't know if you've ever taken the Myers Briggs/Jung test, but I am an INFJ, and it describes me perfectly....Although I am an introvert, I form fewer, but very deep connections with others, and sometimes it happens very quickly. The mania makes it even more intense though where it might become "magical thinking." Although part of this for me is personality, it is very strong when hypo, but I withdraw when depressed.

It becomes almost spiritual, or like kindred spirits. This can happen fast, and it's my intuitive side coming out. I am an empath by nature, so I tend to "absorb" the feelings of others, including their pain, and feel some kind of unexplained connection. I don't know if I am conveying this properly, but I'm trying my best to explain this. When my mood is elevated, I feel this especially. I think the withdrawing afterwards in my case has to be a combination of the introverted trait that I have, where I feel I need to recharge after spending time connecting with others, but also, depressive episodes make me isolate and feel all alone.

[Daonnachd]

I get this way, too. I keep it to myself, though, because I fear it wouldn’t be understood. I suspect I’d be seen as a stalker. One strong situation is a friend of my sons who feels to me like a daughter. I have, in fact, thought about telling her that if she’s ever in need of a parent or somehow caught in a bind, she can contact me. She and her brother, both, are like godchildren in my mind.

There have been others, as well, but this one is lasting.

[emgreen]

I'd never thought too much about it, but what you're describing is similar to my playbook. When I'm feeling up to it, I attend AA meetings & meet others. There are these two 70+ year old men whose wives died within the past five years I keep in contact with by phone because they are very lonely. Now that I'm depressed & isolating, it's become a chore to talk & I just want to be left alone. It's been like that all my life...Feeling in the upper regions & I'm quick to empathize with others & make unstated pacts (in my head) to do some karmic work. Then! POOF!!! I'll just drop off the screen for months. I fear I've let a lot of people down. I'm not a reliable person because of my MI.

[Ralau]

Originally Posted by vertigo

I get this way, too. I keep it to myself, though, because I fear it wouldn’t be understood. I suspect I’d be seen as a stalker. One strong situation is a friend of my sons who feels to me like a daughter. I have, in fact, thought about telling her that if she’s ever in need of a parent or somehow caught in a bind, she can contact me. She and her brother, both, are like godchildren in my mind.

There have been others, as well, but this one is lasting.

Yes, this is pretty much what I was talking about. I haven't told anyone either since my ex thought I was having a crush on someone else because I obsessively kept talking about this person all the time.

Personally I think there can never be too many reliable adults in a child's life. When I was a child, I had about two "mother-like" people in my life. Mostly they were mothers of my friends. It felt good to know that someone cared about me when my own mom was very stressed by her mental/physical illnesses.

But yes, I think it's a good idea to tell her that she can always contact you when needed.