I know it’s one that both villainized and sensationalized by media, I want to know what it’s really like and not some fear-mongering missinformation a lot of people spread. Thanks
In: Biology
Hello I am diagnosed Bipolar II.
As others have said, this condition involves manic phases and depressive phases.
Experiencing shifting moods is normal, but in bipolar disorder the intensity of the moods is what makes it a condition worth treating.
In my manic phases, I am brimming with energy and confidence. I’m extremely sociable, I sleep short nights but wake up super-charged like I got a full 8 hours.
I bounce from task to task, always needing to do something. I can’t sit still. I’m more reckless and daring and spontaneous and will do things I usually wouldn’t do.
I’ll be for real honest here… my manic phases rule. My mania isn’t extreme (it’s called hypomania).
Extreme mania will lead people into making decisions that might ruin their life (quit their job they hate with no planning, cheat on their SO, spend all their money). When I’m in a manic phase it can be hard to identify because it’s sort of the vision of who I want to be. When I start feeling like that, it just feels like I woke up on the right side of the bed.
I told my psych “if only I could always be in a manic phase, I would rule the world.”
He laughed at that.
There’s a metaphor about mania I like to use and that’s that it’s like borrowing energy from the future. Eventually, there comes a time I need to settle that debt – and those periods of time following mania are so exhausting I cannot put it into words.
This isn’t my depressive swing. Though this can easily trigger one. In case that’s hard to understand let me put it like this: imagine that, in my manic phases, I signed up for a marathon for the first time and ran the whole thing! I feel wonderful and alive. When the mood wears off, my body reveals just how badly it’s been hurt and how it needs to recover. This period following manic phases is what I think of as my recovery phase. But just like the manic phase begins out of nowhere, so do the depressive phases.
The depressive phases are different for everyone. Just like the manic phases, these are hard to identify when they’re happening. They usually begin with a feeling like I didn’t get much sleep the last night. Then that feeling sticks around day after day and gets worse and worse. I am grumpy and unmotivated. I feel very badly about myself. I seclude myself. For me they once last a long time. Now (being treated) they only last a day or two.
Bipolar Disorder (both I and II) are life-ruiners. Lengthy periods of time that motivate you to shirk responsibility, socialization, long-term goals will inevitably end good things.
Treatment is done using mood-stabilizers. They don’t stop the swings, but they reduce their intensity and, for me, their duration.
My grandmother was Bipolar. It is a genetic condition so if your family has a history, consider getting evaluated. No one knows they have bipolar until they know they have bipolar.
She was prescribed Vallium to treat it but she didn’t take it. At the time there wasn’t much known about the condition and there was a great stigma against it so she had no social support, no knowledge, and probably some deep shame around it.
How fortunate we are to live in a time when we encourage people to face their mental health challenges head on. You can’t overcome something you are afraid to face.
Getting diagnosed and treated completely changed my life.
Latest Answers