Statistics

So 2.6 Americans which is about 5.7 million have bipolar disorder. Also bipolar is the highest suicidal ranking mental illness even higher then schizophrenia. This illness is a death trap.

Bipolar is what you make of it.
You are different from the herd. Look for the positive in the negative.
Life is a death trap. You're dying slowly every minute.
The end is the same for all. It's the speed that varies.

According to statistics, I should have died two months ago.

Live every minute like is the last one. It may well be.

Good luck. Cheers.

I have so much I would love to say, but none of it feels quite right. So I will simply say this: it is possible to get to a place where it all doesnt feel so heavy. Big hugs.

I've definitely heard the issue about bipolar and attempted suicide before, as well as more suicide attempts resulting in death (especially when mixed, some other issue with bipolar too, maybe co-morbidities, I don't remember).

Anorexia tends to be the mental illness most often resulting in death though it tends to be physical stuff over time/lack or inability to stabilize weight, not suicide attempts.

Sometimes, I feel I've gotten the worst of both worlds though I tend to be able to stabliize my weight and get out of severe suicidal thoughts & self harm (though this may largely be due to the presence of H and my daughter, I often think).

And it really sucks that bipolar seems to be one of the mental illnesses most tied to genetics though environmental factors are big causes as well, especially for those with a genetic predisposition for bipolar.

I've gathered bipolar stats in the past, too, and am happy to share some, if you don't mind. Let me know if you do.

According to a 2002 study by Lewis L. Judd et al. published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, on average, people with Bipolar type 2 experience the whopping ratio of time in depression to hypomania as 40:1, while people with Bipolar type 1 on average experience time in depression to full blown mania as 3:1

Although bipolar disorder is equally common in women and men, research indicates that approximately three times as many women as men experience rapid cycling. (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 58, 1995 [Suppl.15]) Other research findings indicate that women with bipolar disorder may have more depressive episodes and more mixed episodes than do men with the illness. (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 58, 1995 [Suppl.15])

Children and Adolescents:
Bipolar disorder is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the disorder. When one parent has bipolar disorder, the risk to each child is 15 to 30%. When both parents have bipolar disorder, the risk increases to 50 to 75%. (National Institute of Mental Health).

In the past, I was curious to see whether bipolar type 1 is more common than bipolar type 2, or vice versa. I recall finding two separate stats on this that showed conflicting information. I tried to google this in several ways today and found no results. I do believe that in the long ago past that bipolar type 1 (with full blown manias) was likely more recognized as manic depression, but with the increased recognition of hypomania in recent decades, more people are being diagnosed bipolar vs. with only major depression. The whole bipolar spectrum concept is also changing some views further on how to label illnesses, and more properly treat patients.

It’s not a dead trap for a variety of reasons.

Thank you Bird for your post very informative.

That statistic is depressing, but I do think the disease can be managed with medication and therapy. It's when people don't comply with meds and therapy that things get worse. My grandfather had bipolar 1, and my mom has been diagnosed with bipolar 2. I have depression, but I have sometimes wondered if it is actually bipolar 2. Mom's "up" episodes do not involve happiness. She just gets mean and irritable.

I would say more, but I can't figure out how to do the trigger warning.

Downandlonely, it's [trigger ] content [/trigger ] Remove extra spaces. Hope that helps.