It's time for a helpful thread: What is/was your biggest struggle and how did your support system help you successfully combat it? Let's give each other ideas!

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P.S. -- Sorry for so many threads, but activity is lacking! I'm trying to encourage more conversations.

I've been writing really long posts lately. Actually that's my usual way, but I'll try to be brief for a change.

I've had slightly different struggles over time; anxiety, prolonged hypomanias with resulting behavior issues, severe manias usually turning mixed often with psychosis, depressions of all levels, odd periods with maladaptive daydreaming, weird hallucinations and dissociative symptoms and maybe seizure activity, agoraphobia and specific phobias, severe side effects that truly affected my quality of life.

I've managed to defeat or curb many of the above by finding effective medications, working therapy, using coping tools, patience and time for healing. However, I still struggle with some issues. The issues now that keep me from becoming more productive are intermittent periods of low energy/motivation, sensitivity to stress, breakthrough mood elevation, "lack of endurance" in a sense, and just plain fear of putting myself on the line. Also, my HUSBAND's fear of me putting myself on the line.

[nikon]

at different times i struggle with different things. right now it's a pervading sense of numbness and anger. other times the anxiety is the worst, and other times the mood.

what is helping right now is trying to see my friends as much as possible. all of my friends are in recovery from addiction and/or mental illness, so they get it, and we can talk freely about how we're really doing.

another thing is seeing a therapist, and i think the key to actually finding that helpful is saying everything, rather than trying to put on a good front and make things seem better than they are. i struggle with being honest like that in therapy but when i say everything i feel relieved.

at times i've had to have meds changed because no behavioural thing would help.

my biggist struggle (sleep), is still not sorted- so I'll just talk about the next one and that's when I'm having a bad day and not being able to get much accomplished, feeling bad and feeling guilty

well a lady I spoke to on bipolar UK's mentoring service told me it was okay, and it was fine to take things slow, and do what you can- never push yourself too hard

I do still struggle with this, but that advice has stuck with me and I try not to let it get to me.

[Fuzzybear]

I agree, not enough activity here. And I’m certainly not one who assumes to legislate regarding the number of posts or threads

The most helpful thing to me right now .. and I’m listening to the song “I’m just a human being”

“But I believe that it’s worth it”

Love to all

[Blueberrybook]

My biggest struggle has actually been my eating disorder, especially the first time when I should have been in the hospital but managed to turn it around on my own. I have had relapses, none as bad as the initial ED. I have struggled with it recently but have been doing better the last 2 to 3 weeks, not exercising and gaining weight (even if I don’t like it). After my pdoc appointment next week, I probably will exercise again, keep it to walking, not running and not overdoing it. Second would be my anxiety, which has been bad lately, and I don’t know if it’s a combo of not exercising (which did help my anxiety to a point), the drop in my Wellbutrin dosage, or the Adderall. Maybe a bit of all 3. It is hard to tell. For most of the ED support, I haven’t had any support. Sometimes now I talk to my youngest sister about it, but not much. My one really good friend from college lives in the U.S. Northeast, and I haven’t seen her in years. The depressive and mixed episodes have been hard. Sometimes mixed, I feel like I am losing my mind. And the financial fallout from mania has been hard. Finally, I am doing better with spending but that is down to we hardly have much money now, savings all gone, medical bills and horrible medical insurance.

I finally started seeing a T. Before that, my support mostly came from my pdoc (especially the pdoc of 10 years who realized I was bipolar, not MDD and was very, very good). And I do have a really great PCP I have seen for 14 years.

But no family or friends for support in these areas

The other big struggle was all that perforated ulcer stuff, emergency surgery, recovery. This thing made childbirth look easy. For that, though, I had support from all my family. My mom was here for 2.5 weeks, the first 6 days helping to care for my daughter while I was in the hospital and helping me my first 2 weeks back home. I mention it though because I have had PTSD fallout from that.

Sleep was a struggle for a long time. I found meds that worked many years and then just stopped helping. The Seroquel helps me in that area now. But I don’t remember a time when sleep wasn’t a struggle for me, even as a child.

And obviously finding it hard to make friends. Right now my closest friends are my 2 sisters. I have only ever made one good friend, my best friend in college. I don’t know why it is so hard for me to make friends.

Hopefully, the T will help with MI issue stuff because H does not like to discuss it. For years, he wouldn’t even accept that I had bipolar and still does not think I should take meds for it. We have had a lot of stress lately, and I think he is unfortunately going through depression and anxiety himself now, but it’s something that if we’re discussing it and my daughter is nearby, she wants to know exactly what we’re talking about, so that limits when we can talk freely about it too.

[Wild Coyote]

My biggest struggle is BP II and C-PTSD. The depression gets so severe and tends to be treatment resistant. The depression is very serious.

I have co-morbid MI and various medical conditions. I would do better with these other conditions, I feel, if the BPII was better treated. We are working on that now, changing meds around.

My support? My husband and my new pdoc. My mother is supportive; yet, she does not know the details and/or all my diagnoses.

I also get support from friends here.
I am grateful.


WC

[~Christina]

Self harm ..... I busted my backside in Therapy.

Sooooooo hard to stop.

I’ve gone almost 6 years cut free

Go me !

[annielovesbacon]

My biggest struggle right now is school. My support system (excluding T and pdoc) are my three best friends, who are patient with me and listen to me and help if they can, and my adviser at work, who checks in on me and gives me advice and can pull strings to get me emergency help if I need it.

I am lucky to have a good support system.

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by annielovesbacon

My biggest struggle right now is school. My support system (excluding T and pdoc) are my three best friends, who are patient with me and listen to me and help if they can, and my adviser at work, who checks in on me and gives me advice and can pull strings to get me emergency help if I need it.

I am lucky to have a good support system.

Sounds like amazing support!