Using bipolar to succeed in life and at work

I wonder how you use bipolar to succeed in life and at work? How can you use the positive sides to your advantage?

Many successful people throughout history have been bipolar. Of course not all of them were successful in handling their bipolar disorder, but it often helped them achieve great things. What are your thoughts on this?

Wasn't Van Gough bipolar? He cut his ear off.

Maybe Mozart was too- but he died of Typhoid.

It has clearly helped with my creativity, I believe.

I wish I could say that I am able to use bipolar in some way that would bring me success. The fact that it is called "bipolar disorder" to me means that it is a disorder that is chronic, life long and requires medication to manage. It is not something I can control and use to my benefit. I know its popular or pleasant to look at bipolar as something that could actually influence creativity or some other positive attribute but personally I cant see it that way. I know its also popular to pull out all the past famous renowned people that had bipolar but often they are urban myth, or its the 21st century trying to attribute mental illness and other disorders to someone who was a genius and contributed greatly to society and advancement.

When people reference someone and say they had adhd or bipolar and they are famous its just conjecture that they had these disorders. There is no definitive proof-at least not really.

There were times that my lighter manias provided a turbo boost of creativity, motivation, speed, and overall "power", but such surges usually either led to crashes or something else less than desirable.

I think it is still possible for me to take advantage of such opportunities as above, but now that I have more insight into them, I find they don't spiral too out of control. I try not to take on projects that can't be put on hold.

Full mania? Mine are such that nothing comes out of them that are less than scary, bizarre, or otherwise dysfunctional.

Same here. I try to use the advantages (creativity, drive, perspective) and protect myself from the disadvantages (self-criticism, depressions).

Interesting thoughts, I do to some extent agree. But I don't really like the name bipolar "disorder". My bipolar has actually helped me a lot in life, both through the underlying attributes such as creativity, drive and out-of-the-box thinking, but also through my hypomanic episodes. My hypomanic episodes have created some problems for sure, but the effects have been really good for my life and career. I am bipolar type 2.

Joyful creativity, but the less auspicious aspects of BP pointed to me having to go on meds. The meds have substantially decreased my creative ability, and energy to create.

It is true that many of the greatest creators in history had, or were suspected of having BP. But most of them died young for various reasons that had to do with being self destructive. Had there been meds back then, history would be so different. So was their art, music, literature more important than their mental health...I don't believe any human being has an answer to that question.

I suppose for me, I get what you mean by using bipolar as a way to succeed but there's ALWAYS the down fall.

Yes I am quite productive when I am hypomanic, and I am incredibly attuned to small details, and I am able to join the dots together in certain situations if you get what I mean.

However a full blown manic episode is NEVER pretty. It always end me up in a psych ward, and takes a lot of sedation and care until I level out.

And the depression can get very crippling.

SO what I want to say is Bipolar is chronic illness, it is not beautiful.

I'm not even productive during hypomania. I'll start cleaning the dishes and if I don't break something out of anger by something like the water didn't get hot quick enough I'll get distracted by something else. Yeah, I'm more creative during hypomania, but then it'll escalate to mania and suddenly all my creations are complete nonsense.
Then there's the fact I probably spend more time non-functioning in a depression or full blown mania than hypomanic.
My work likes me when I'm stable, not even hypomanic because when I'm hypomanic I get easily distracted or too talkative and too friendly. I've made screw ups because I was too busy high fiving people. Kinda funny but kinda not.
I don't think when I'm stable I have any more creativity or drive or whatever than anyone else.

I haven't succeeded in life with bipolar. My symptoms showed up at least 30 years ago. My relationships failed because I was bouncing around too much. When medicated, I was a zombie and lost time. My career job for pay was basic...

Yes, I had some short-term projects that went well with hypomania. But I have numerous unfinished projects that I started in a blaze but got distracted and didn't finish.

I have come to a place of acceptance of my BP situation in the past. Today, I try to nip hypomania/mania in the bud before it gets totally out of control, but I had a hypomania bout in December-February that I am still picking up the pieces from. It is a case that I live alone and no one else was negatively effected, so at least I didn't mess up others lives, for which I am grateful.

BP is what it is. I am grateful for this forum and the responses of others to this thread because I see that I am not the only one who has had difficulties with BP.

I am also grateful to have learned enough about my BP to see it for what it is and to have more empathy for others and their struggle. BP has also taught me lessons of humility. Markers of a successful life in the conventional sense are wealth and fame. But gratitude, empathy, and humility can be markers of success in a nonmaterial way...

Best Wishes to All!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hurre Interesting thoughts, I do to some extent agree. But I don't really like the name bipolar "disorder". My bipolar has actually helped me a lot in life, both through the underlying attributes such as creativity, drive and out-of-the-box thinking, but also through my hypomanic episodes. My hypomanic episodes have created some problems for sure, but the effects have been really good for my life and career. I am bipolar type 2.

You may not like the term disorder but that’s what it is. It impairs your life and ability to function. If it doesn’t then I would wonder if it’s actually bipolar.

I have the disorder too. However, I don't think it has helped me to succeed. It takes me a lot of discipline and motivation to work these days. I think my medication has helped tremendously though and has helped with my judgment. I don't think my disorder has done anything to help me succeed. On the contrary, it has been a disabling disease, and one that I must overcome on a daily basis

My hypomanic episodes have sometimes helped me be more creative and more productive, but as mentioned before they're usually followed by a crash, so on the whole I would say my hypomania and depressions used to balance out. Nowadays euphoric hypomania has become much rarer for me and I have depressions and mixed states all the time, so the bipolar is mostly a burden to me.

Even during good times, my episodes mean that my work performance fluctuates a lot. I'm lucky to work in research where I can make my own hours and have a lot of leeway in the way I work. There's no way I could function in a setting where consistent performance is expected because I regularly have weeks or months where I get next to nothing done.

I will say that my bipolar has made me give less of a f**k, in the sense that I've given up on living a "tidy and organized" life. In a way that has made me more free in pursuing my projects and ideas, so I guess that could count as a positive.

I feel the same as @bpforever1, that my bipolar is a disabling disease that i must overcome on a daily basis.

I think Van Gogh was bipolar