what asspect of life?

has your bipolar diagnoses affected most

for me: it's a mixture of things, mainly my social life (barely exists), working (I now can't), and my confidence

what about you?

to add: my memory has certainly decreased

I used to be able to rememberp hone numbers and addresses like a bit of a pro

I can't do that now, and I miss it

My whole life has been affected and regrettably I have deeply affected others. My entire family carries fear that I will relapse and I hate that I caused that for them. It is unfair and I wish I could fix it. I especially hate (and I don't even like hating anything) that my kids carry fear. They shouldn't have to live like that and I am supposed to protect them. It makes me feel sick when I think about the fact I cannot 100% protect them from this. They are resilient, but I'm angry with myself I didn't see it coming before. I also hate that my husband has to remain vigilant all the time to protect our kids from me. I try not to let this aspect eat at me too much, but it is definitely the hardest part.

My confidence is definitely shaken, but I'm stronger in some ways than I was before. It has also affected my work life which is sad to me. I took great pride in my work and I hated leaving it behind. I feel like I will need to build my own company if I ever decide to work again and that feels a bit daunting and scary at the moment, but it also excites me a little.

My focus has been very sharp, but I've been hyperfocused on my health. I look forward to being able to spread my energy around a bit more in the future.

I chose work/career because I see that as most significant for me. I won't elaborate right now. The second would be friends/social relationships.

Right now my memory, motivation, focus, and confidence range from good to outstanding. That's not to say I didn't have issues with them at times during my illness, or on occasions, but they were and are not permanent. I know many people assume they will be. I strongly encourage such folks not to. Working hard with your psychiatrist and therapist to address such issues can help. Sometimes we also need to be patient as our brains heal after extended periods of severe illness. If one injures a leg, proper treatment/therapy and healing time is necessary. It's similar.

I think fern and I posted simultaneously. After reading her post, I got to thinking about confidence a bit more. Generally I have had a high level of confidence in life, but my worst episodes did affect that a lot for a while. Fern also makes a point that we can be highly confident in some ways, but not in others. I do relate to that a lot, even today.

For sure! For example I realized I'm incredibly brave. You are very brave too. You have been through so much and yet you keep fighting every day.

I'd say a mixture of them all. But the two big ones that stand out to me are work (I'm currently on disability) and memory. It's definitely my goal to work someday though. It's also affected school (I'm in college) I've had to take various semesters off over the past several years due to episodes so it's been taking me much longer to complete my degree than it would most people, and I can only realistically go part time when I am stable.

My short term memory is terrible and I'm only 25, even my long term memory is messed up. I don't know if it's from the meds or repeated psychotic episodes or a combination but it's really frustrating when I try to think of fun times with my mom which I had a lot of (she passed away a few years ago) and I can't recall much of anything specific over the years, so I don't have many detailed memories, my life has been kind of a blur.

For me, it's work.

I am a professional musician and I got kicked out of my band due to some things I did during episodes. Therefore I am no longer in that band, and never will be. This is devastating to me, and a big hit to my career.

I can still work, thankfully. That was just a big loss in opportunity.

Everything...

Life in general
Social life
Family life
Work life (lost my job)
Ambitions
Friends (lost most if not all of them)
Dignity
Ability to be strong
Ability to stand on my own two feet
General health
Emotions

I think for me my biggest loss because of Bipolar is that I struggle with self worth in general, self worth is part of everything in my life, my loved ones , ability to work, ability to plan things in advance and actually be able to participate. Etc etc etc

So yes ... my self worth.

Pretty much all of them, except social life (I never had much of one in the first place). I do have plenty of good friendships though. Otherwise, bipolar has affected almost every area of my existence, particularly work and memory. (I'm on disability, and my short-term memory stinks on ice.) Interesting poll...thank you OP.

I selected something not mentioned as mine is my family.

A mixture of pretty much all, the result of which has been that I don't really feel my life has any meaning.