#bipolar I

[wheelie-sick]

"I was having a manic episode" "oh yeah I've had those too!"

what I mean: I ruined my entire life in a month

what they mean: I feel silly goofy sometimes

[bipolarmango]

Things people should know about bipolar disorder

1. We don't all the time jump from mania to depression from one moment to another. Rapid cycling means that a person experiences four or more episodes in one year. Rapid cycling only occurs in 10-20% of people with bipolar disorder with women and people with bipolar II being more likely to experience periods of it. In short, for an episode to be even counted, a hypomania should last minimum four days, mania for a week, and depression for two weeks. The exception to the rule is the times when a person is suffering from a mixed episode. Mixed episodes are defined as experiencing both depression and (hypo)mania either simultaneously or in rapid sequence. Around 40-50% of people with bipolar disorder experience a mixed episode at some point in their life, some more frequently than others.

2. External and internal things do trigger episodes. These mean things like stress, big changes in life like a breakup or a move to another city, but also hormonal changes, change in the season or weather, and even changes in our sleep patterns (yes, we shouldn't randomly stay up for the whole night). Even some doctors still live under a false belief that bipolar mood changes cannot be affected by anything external or internal except the brain randomly deciding to go haywire, while various studies show otherwise. Studies also show that 1 in 4 people with bipolar also have SAD (seasonal affective disorder). The episode can, of course, also occur totally randomly and without any clear reason.

3. We are not stupid. For some reason, plenty of people seem to live under the assumption that people with bipolar are generally unintelligent. This is not the case. In fact, a study found that 12 risk genes for bipolar disorder were also linked to intelligence. In 75 % of these genes, bipolar disorder risk was associated with higher intelligence. Moreover, the connection between intelligence and bipolar disorder is largely seen in those with high verbal IQ (VIQ). This type of intelligence is associated with creativity, abstract reasoning, and comprehension through spoken and written words. However, if the illness is very serious, there is a risk that the person's cognitive skills, such as verbal skills and memory, are impaired, especially during episodes. Some medications, such as Topamax, are also associated with certain side effects that may affect your memory, thinking, and even language skills.

[that-bipolar-mood]

Being medicated doesn't mean becoming normal.

There's this trope I've seen in media, mentally ill that take meds and suddenly become neurotypical. To me this was a harmful fantasy, thinking that medicine means cure, and a fast one.

The reality of meds is often disappointing. You still find your limitations and differences. Lots of underground symptoms and sensitivities don't ever vanish.

Being bipolar myself it often left me perplexed, the fact that I was receiving correct treatment, but still struggled. Not with acute episodes, just a baby version of previous symptoms.

I'm trying to accept bipolar as my personal disability. I figured that medicine is my support, like a cane could be for those with physical disabilities. It means I'm still not like the rest and I will always struggle, but man is it nice to have some help...

[remyxavierr]

Am I addicted to the misery? Is this how I'll always be? Grinding the salt into every wound?

I'm doing baaaad~~ but I miss being on tumblr for more than just complaining about how shitty my brain is and how useless Canadian healthcare is! I miss everyone on tumblr! I'll just smoke it away 💨

[madpunks]

feel free to leave a reply or reply in tags/reblogs, i know there are way more experiences than these 12 but i'm extremely curious because i have repeatedly been told that SSRIs are not good for bipolar people but I see that we get prescribed them all the time, anyway. please feel free to boost this, i want to hear from other bipolar folks.

[aliens-and-the-earth]

Bipolar flags for bipolar people!! (Including people who are questioning or adjacent)

We were requested by our system friend who was questioning bipolar to make some nice flags for them, so yes we ourselves do not have bipolar however this was done at the request of a potentially bipolar person for anyone who is like iffy on using flags that didn’t have the approval of a bp person (idk how to word it)

Top left flag is for Bipolar I

Top right flag is for questioning or adjacent Bipolar I

Bottom left flag is for Bipolar II

Bottom right flag is for questioning or adjacent Bipolar II

(We don’t know how to do image IDs so if someone else could that would be awesome!!) Non symbol flags will be posted later

Absolutely no DNI for these flags as we want them to be accessible to as many people as possible!

If anyone wants us to make an alternative dimmer version just ask!

[bipolarsun]

[kenobihater]

to all of my fellow bipolar havers out there: do y'all get songs stuck in your head when manic or hypomanic? i'm not talking about your average earwig, i'm asking if you get the same song stuck in your head for HOURS. if you aren't listening to other music or having a conversation, it's there. it might make it hard to sleep or concentrate. for me, it's usually a very short yet memorable section of the song that repeats like a broken record. i sometimes get songs stuck in my head when i'm not hypomanic, but this is always an indicator of when my mood is in flux bc of how consistent it is as a marker for me and how much it interferes with my thought process.

am i alone in this? i can't find anything in the medical literature about this regarding bipolar in particular, just ocd.

[opens-up-4-nobody]

I'm losing my mind about this.

[impzone]

hey bipolar girlies remember that season changes can trigger symptoms so if shit starts going wrong and you can’t explain why that might be something to look into. take care of yourselves i love you

[marshmallow-biscuit-blog]

I think I've finally hit the lowest tier of my low and hitting it right off on a mania. Usually I go at least a couple of weeks just neutral but, sure I'll take an immediate high after feeling like this. EX: Cannot calm down, off the walls for no seen reason. Hit my head on the car on accident and giggled instead of breaking down. Wanting to be out in public. (I'm a natural introvert for reference.) Wanting to squeal loudly for no seen reason. /pos post btw

[wheelie-sick]

saw the post you made about manic episodes -- ive not had tehm myself, but somebody i knew has bipolar disorder, and from what little ive heard, it did not sound fun. i wish you the best, i would not want to expirience a manic episode and hope that things become better then that time soon!

thank you!

honestly I have very complicated feelings on my manic episode. during my manic episode I was having a lot of fun because I had euphoric mania. honestly I still look back on things as fun, I was having a great time. unfortunately I failed all my classes, nearly lost my closest friendships, nearly killed myself on impulse, and nearly got arrested so...... the consequences are not fun. and I'm lucky because my mania left me with a lot of "nearly"s but for some people they do actually have all the prior happen

[serenityquest]

[bizarrestart]

something i learned about being bipolar is that there’s some flavors of other neurodivergence’s in there. i typically borrow the term hyperfixation because hypo/manic or even great days while euthymic can breed some pretty intense passions/interests.

i decided that going along with them is the best thing, as long as it doesn’t turn into rapid buying. intensely interested in writing this week? ok let’s write a lot. sudden passion with linguistics? yeah ok, let’s go to the library and get everything. the saw franchise? fuck it go ham.

[remyxavierr]

I'll worship your lies, sadistic design, our false paradise.

Today was fucking awful. Cried until my face was red and puffy. Feeling like a terrible person, but also feeling so unreal. I decided to put makeup on over those feelings, and keep music on so I don't focus on spiralling thoughts. 🥲✌️🌀

[golmac]

New Content!

Hi everybody. It's been a challenging few months, as my disability symptoms have really been acting up. The result is that I haven't been able to work on any of my projects, no matter how much I normally enjoy them.

But things are looking up! Here's the first podcast episode in 20 months, and more stuff is coming soon.

If it isn't showing up on your favorite platform, let me know and I'll get it added.