I’m thinking you need to spend just one day w/ my husband who hasn’t a clue as to what I’m going through and refuses to try and figure it out. To live in my truth. Can I really blame them that I’m good enough that I succeed at the effort? I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 18, decided to not take meds, led a fairly Yeah, I said something about “if I were normal” or whatever in front of my dad and my dad said, “You *are* normal!” (We were talking in the context of planning financial and job and practical stuff where disability was specifically relevant to the conversation. There is a spectrum but it goes between depression and bipolar mania. The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments. But how nice would it be if “just get back on the horse” would come in pill form? Embracing my shadow has allowed me to step more fully into my purpose in life. Your email address will not be published. Through meditation, I found the misplaced key in my own pocket. You know what I really like? Just wanted to echo the fact that bipolar is a mental illness caused by imbalances in the brain and there is currently no cure. On the other hand, family stress is also one of the biggest factors for relapse, Bearden says. Herbs/oil/ can help, but it is best to think of them as unregulated, variable quality drugs with a broader spectrum of possible side effects. About 2 years ago I was diagnosed with Bipolar I, and dove into the research and ideas on it heavily. (Author’s note and disclaimer: The following piece details my story of overcoming a serious and potentially-fatal mental illness, bipolar II, … I believe being biplor is too individual for any one person to say, “this is the answer.” I only share my story and what is or isn’t working for me. The first week is fun, the second is when it starts draggin me into the ground. A variety of small clinical trials have also suggested that omega-3s (at doses ranging from one to four grams) may alleviate the symptoms of depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, as well as improve patients’ response to conventional medicines. Your email address will not be published. It’s better than any other kind of sex. Herbal supplements, like St. John's Wort, could interfere with your medication or it may even trigger a manic episode.1 And medication reaction is neither sufficient nor necessary for diagnosis. Hoepner says about 25% of them sleep too much at night or take long naps, and about one-third have insomnia even when they aren’t having an episode. Here's What to Do, 9 Signs It's More Serious Than the Common Cold, How Your Period Changes During Your 20s, 30s, and 40s, 12 Anxiety Symptoms That Might Point to a Disorder, Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Breast Cancer Diagnosis—Here's What It Means, The Best (and Worst) Diets of 2020, According to Experts, 10 Moves for a Cardio Workout at Home—No Equipment Required, These 13 Women Prove Every Body Is a Bikini Body, 20 Things You Should Throw Away for Better Health. Ah. by BillyPilgirm. My psychiatrist claimed it would calm the racing thoughts, help me fall asleep, and hopefully make me think more clearly during the day. I am a senior at UNC Chapel Hill college and I am currently doing a documentary on bipolar disorder. (Except snake-oil salesmen, who will claim they can cure your bipolar disorder with their amazing technique or CD.) Maturation, psychotherapy and potential for improvement of bipolar symptoms . People are free to try any of those things if they so desire but to suggest that any of them would work for bipolars in general is preposterous and fallacious. Anthony David Adams. My mother was one of those too. There are ways to deal with side effects; some are even transient, lasting for only a week or two, says Hoepner. It drives me insane! I’m a philosopher. “I know the feeling. All rights reserved. Of course you’re not alone. Sign me up for that nonsense. To work with not having medication, I do what I was doing before, get 8 hours of sleep, eat healthy, write down my thoughts and redirect them, making sure I have privacy and time to deal with how I’m feeling away from other people, practice yoga, go on walks, also taking b complex and omega 3s. And really, it just drives me up a freaking wall. Be cautious during life changes like starting a new job, going to college, or getting a divorce. I think to say to any mental health consumer, ” You don’t need your medication,” is the MOST irresponsible thing a person could do. I’m OK with that. And at the end, there it is. (I’m also driven to write for a host of other reasons, but they are off topic at the moment.). In no particular order, this involves: (Not to mention all the people who contact me simply to complain about what I write and how I feel. From easier cramps to a heavier flow, here's a guide on what to expect decade by decade. Certainly your situation is unique. but it does not work for anybody. But it isn’t necessarily easy. She took the training. Bipolar Treatment at BrightQuest → The comment on neurofeedback was interesting. "You’re getting your mind off of yourself and focusing it on something else, which can be really therapeutic," Hoepner explains. Happy Thanksgiving! There is only management. I have a dear friend who believed she could be treated with prayer and fish oil and go completely off psyche meds. I could write a book about those side affects. My newsletter contains mental health news, speaking engagements and more. Don’t work for some. I think meds based on genetics aren’t far off. I have delved deep into every aspect of my life, and been butterfly honest with myself, about fixed beliefs, my traits that aren’t that great etc… There is nothing for bipolar disorder except hard work and treatment by reputable health care professionals. The experience was an ego death – that is, feeling the fear of dying as your ego holds onto your current paradigm, and then surrendering and breathing through the emotion. I believe i could cure myself, Guess what i HAVE. Overstimulation can be stressful and trigger problems, but so can isolation. Yet another thing to look at, but what’s promising to me is that it isn’t chemical. "[Medications] can help you live a much more normal life if you choose to take them," says Cara Hoepner, a nurse practitioner who also has bipolar disorder. It’s always about compliance and while I would love to take medication (and took it for 5.5 years,) I can’t right now. I can understand your frustration in seeing therapists who do not agree with your therapeutic technique. I wish this on no one. The reason there isn’t a cure is because we don’t understand the brain or the disease nearly well enough to even have a fighting chance at it. Not a phony bone in her body! I write a three-time Web Health Award winning column for HealthyPlace called Breaking Bipolar. Many of the medications used to treat bipolar disorder, including lithium and antipsychotics, can trigger metabolic syndrome or weight gain in some patients. It’s clear that this advice couldn’t apply to you. Unfortunately, bipolar disorder tends to get worse if you don’t get the proper care, says Carrie Bearden, PhD, an associate professor in the departments of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, and psychology at UCLA. Getting through the day without side effects means that your anxiety is currently treated. Learn how your comment data is processed. It is not a misdiagnosis. The best way to combat side effects is to know as much as you can about the drug you are taking and watch for potential problems, Bearden says. But the difference is this: I don’t make any wild promises of cures. if you believe there is no cure, you are creating a limited reality around yourself. So there are some solutions, and profit incentive is a very real thing…. Natural Cures.” Talk about evil. It’s OK in Las Vegas but not when it comes to your brain. I do believe one day there will be a cure for many psychiatric issues, but that day is not today, next week, or a 6,000 year old chinese/cambodian/amerind/atlantean secret. But I’m real good at using all that so smoothly that people tend to not notice or forget about the wheelchair. I have heard about every possible cure or treatment for bipolar disorder; being a public figure, people contact me frequently to tell me what I should be doing to treat my bipolar. I wish that I could just turn it off but even with my meds it still happens. "Therapy is really, really important," Bearden says. Of course, a surgeon could use an unregulated, variable quality scalpel aka a chainsaw to do surgery but the results by even the most talented doctor may be worse than the disease. I go to the psychiatrist any way just to have someone to check in with. Apparently they haven’t had as much success there. Doubt those who find it. To be any mental ill-health, like physical ill-health, is part of our body/mind/spirit complex giving us signals to make changes – to our diet, habits, personalty, job, you name it.. our PATH if you like. Irregular sleep patterns can precipitate a manic or depressive episode. I’m constantly validating people’s opinion because everyone has one, and that’s fine. We are at such a high risk of self-harm and most of hate to take our medication anyway! My doctor would have never made me “normal.” Twenty years of taking pills did not cure me. It would be lovely to have an emotional safety net but I don’t right now. They still have no idea what they’re talking about. I’m just going to come right out with it: these people are trying to profit from pain and desperation. Speaking of which I wanted to comment on your last blog about how a song or piece of a song can repeat over and over in your head. Faith helps and exercise. I was telling him how I was a bit down nd struggling at the moment and he says. “You should turn your life over to Jesus Christ.” Give me a break. Offers may be subject to change without notice. I’m a high-functioning person with bipolar disorder, and I’m high-functioning only because I’ve got this shiny chemical wheelchair that lets me move around and compensate for legs that work like other people’s. I'm not saying that my bipolar is 100% cured but I would say it is 90%. I was so surprised to read that you have had similiar experiences and I just wanted to thank you for sharing and letting me know I’m not alone with it. Don’t give up. I am letting go and letting God handle things and I’ve never felt better. I do think relating to music is part of it, but the intensity, feels bipolar all the way. =), I feel that same way about NATASHAS’ writing technique! Hey, I realize that something as complicated as a mood disorder is a terrible thing to live with. The impact is very individualized; some people don’t have this problem while others do. There is an easy line to help you out: “Thanks for saying so. Oh yes, I know. Which might work for them. My hypothesis was that avoidance of full emotional experience was driving depression & mania, they they were essentially strategies I was using to avoid experiencing emotional states that never got coded in as “safe”. However, getting treatment at the earliest sign of a mental health disorder can help prevent bipolar disorder or other mental health conditions from worsening.If you've been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, some strategies can help prevent minor symptoms from becoming full-blown episodes of mania or depression: 1. So your average unipolar sleeps too little but a bipolar sleeps too much when depressed. ” when are you going to kick this thing and be rid of it” ummm dad it doesn’t work that way “oh” he says. It usually last about two weeks or so. These wavering thoughts and emotions can cripple the person mentally, often … I have had an extremely stressful life and I believe wrong thinking and beating upself up too much, and thinking I have too much control over what happens to people, is definitely wrong. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. And what I have to say to every one of these people is this: you have no fucking idea what you’re talking about. It is a chronic condition wherein the individual deals with unpredictable emotional upheavals ranging from intense happiness and energy to extreme sadness and depression.. People over and over mistake anecdotes for evidence. In my experience, both prayer and demonic excorcisms aren’t good home remedies for Bipolar Disorder. I think for the most part people that offer up suggestions or remedies are well-meaning. I thought it was just my love and obession with music going a little haywire. Drugs absolutely do interact with each other and one can easily “turn up” the effect of another. (And believe me, when people go off their meds, they most often have a meltdown. I absolutely get obsessive thought patterns that typically latch onto music but can latch onto words as well. When you’re living with bipolar disorder, having structure in your daily life is vital. You’re welcome, I hope something there helps you. It’s a two-edged sword. I remember buying the shrooms from my dealer and as I was leaving he said 'be careful man, 1 gram of this is like 3 grams liberty' I thought yeah right and resolved to take all 4.5 grams as the sun came up over my farm. If your side effects are intolerable or a drug isn’t working, discuss your options; don’t just stop taking it. People have AN answer. I talk to my psychiatrist about it and he says that is my mania at work. Even shrinks use words as “art” to describe them (I would rather compare it to how I fix computers. Yup, I’ve fallen victim to it too which is probably why it irks me so much. And as you put your life out in writing, they put out theirs, in the advice that gave them hope. “You should be on a gluten-free diet.” These is no evidence that this would be helpful. I wish there would be more medical research done on the compounds in garlic for bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder has no cure, but treatment can manage the symptoms. Is Your Doctor Gaslighting You? Bipolar Disorder Can Bipolar Disorder Be Cured? There's no sure way to prevent bipolar disorder. I’m Less Depressed and Crying More – Mixed Mood, Patient Corps Focuses on Patient’s Strengths, Not Weaknesses. I’m really not a fan of the “drug companies are keeping us sick” line of thinking. Well, 2 months later and it was giving me high blood sugar and had to be taken off of it. It always will be. I don’t claim to know The Truth. I somehow cannot defend that system. I don’t think there will ever be a cure, the pharmaceutical companies stand to profit way too much with maintenance drugs. It’s generally all about an individual treatment. It’s weird because this only happens once in awhile, probably mania or hypo-mania. Too bloody right. I work so hard at staying bipolar healthy. My name is Sean Blackwell, and I've been researching the spiritual dimension of bipolar disorder since 2007. Believe me, I know long-winded ;). I’m talking about people who don’t think it’s an opinion, they think it is a fact. Hearing About Bipolar Cures. For me, my experience of so-called "acute psychosis" was more like a spiritual awakening, something for which I am forever grateful. What Is a Serious Mental Illness? You deserve to have good resources just like everyone else. The people of Japan experience one of the lowest bipolar disorder rates in the civilized world. I go to a PSR program 5 days a week 5 hours a day. It helps me cope and not harm myself. When You Leave Someone with a Mental Illness. I hadn’t considered that. Most often it is songs but only a specific line of a song that plays over and over for weeks at a time. I am currently off my medications. But perhaps it would be a nice gesture to appreciate the fact that they felt with you for a short moment. Since I had stopped drugs and drinking and most other compulsive behavior, I wasn’t able to hide and so would escape into the story of depression or fantasy of mania. "Anytime you are out of balance, it can be a trigger. “You should take X supplement.” There is no evidence this would work. Tried a bunch of others but their side effects were terrible…lithium made me incredibly depressed and suicidal, another one made it so that I couldn’t drive or perform mentally complicated tasks, although I was very pleasant to be around. Currently I have three lines from a new album that is slicing my brain to pieces. 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