#bipolar disorder awareness

[artmaeham]

"i want a bipolar gf!"

✦ vent doodle.

[mirriorball]

my boyfriend gets it :')

all jokes aside, important note on this: please recognize World Bipolar Day today. 4.4% of people suffer, and so many of them in silence. always check on the mental health of those you love, and ask for ways you can support them when they struggle.

[mental-mona]

10 things not to say to someone with bipolar disorder

These are the 10 most unfortunate comments that I and other friends with bipolar disorder have gotten over the years, with an explanation of why they're so wrongheaded.

"So you'll take that and be fine in the morning, right?" Yes. No. Maybe. See, once my mood's gone off the rails, anything can happen. It's possible that I'll temporarily raise the dose of something or add something in and wake up in the morning feeling perfectly fine, but it's also possible that recovery will take weeks, especially if my meds weren't adjusted optimally to begin with. Alternatively, I might wake up the next morning in a normal mood but feel like a zombie because of the medication's side effects.

"Have you tried antidepressants?" No I haven't, at least not by themselves. If I have taken them by themselves, most likely bad things happened. See, when you give people with bipolar disorder SSRIs without mood stabilizers, they go manic. Imagine that in your brain there's a switch. In depressed people it has 2 settings, depressed and normal. In people with bipolar disorder it has 3 settings, depressed, normal, and manic. Antidepressants flip that switch from the lowest to the highest setting, regardless of what you intended "highest" to be.

"Have you tried [alternative/additional therapy]?" Just to clarify: the prevailing psychiatric theory is that bipolar disorder is a chronic biochemical imbalance in the brain. If what you're pushing makes some kind of sense, I might consider it, but the best it will do is make me feel slightly better or give me a coping mechanism. It won't make the problem actually go away; only medicine and psychotherapy combined with lifestyle changes can do that. Yes, there are some amazing herbs out there, but many of them conflict with various prescription drugs and can't be taken by people with certain medical conditions. Yes, prayer is wonderful and G-d is a great listener, but doctors are His healing hands.

"This is happening to you because you [insert vice(s)]. If you'd just [insert virtuous thing(s)], you'd be fine." If you're lecturing me about getting enough sleep or cutting back on substance use, you are likely correct. If you're lecturing me about almost anything else, then yes, I might feel better overall, but it won't stop me from having random biochemical blips that make my mood go nuts. Also, you sound obnoxiously self-righteous when you lecture me like that; if you still feel the need to suggest whatever it is, please phrase it better.

"I have no idea what to do with you." If you mean that you have no idea how to treat me overall, ask me! Hopefully I'll be able to outline my basic emotional support needs. If I can't or won't, Google guidelines for supporting someone mentally ill and go from there. In fact, you should probably research that regardless. If what you mean is more like "I want to do you a favor but don't know what you need," know that I probably won't be able to answer a generalized "what do you need?" Instead, ask about something specific you can help me with, e.g. a meal. If I can't give you a straight answer on the specific thing, it's now my problem, not yours. If what you mean is more along the lines of "You need more help than I can give you" or "I don't have the energy to deal with you all the time," then you should have said so, albeit gently.

"When's the last time you took your meds?" or "Are you going into an episode?" in response to a strong emotional reaction. I am a human being with the same basic emotional responses as everyone else. Please do not pathologize my feelings and/or brush off an outburst as the product of a diseased mind until you have talked to me and tried to understand what I'm reacting to and why. If you're still concerned, watch for other signs of an altered mood, and tell me if you see them.

"Are you sure the meds aren't making you sicker?" If by "sicker" you mean more mentally unstable, then no, they're most likely not. It might appear that way because episodes often keep getting worse without treatment and whatever meds my doctor's prescribed either haven't had a chance to take effect yet or just aren't right for me, but I should stabilize within a few weeks once we get a handle on what works. It does occasionally happen that a psych med will make things worse, but it's unlikely. If by "sicker" you mean something physical, then indeed they might be, but sometimes that's a price I must pay for emotional stability. Hopefully it's only a temporary adjustment period. That said, if the medications' side effects are unbearable I can always ask my doctor if we can try something else or change the way I'm taking the meds in question.

"You're crazy." "Crazy" is a very loaded word when applied to the mentally ill, and some of us are more sensitive to it than others. Even if I'm ok with the word in one context, I might not be in another. If I choose to use the word to describe myself and I seem genuinely comfortable with that description, it might be ok to jokingly call me "crazy" in conversation with me. However, if I'm desperately asking you to reassure me that I'm not crazy or I shy away from the word altogether, definitely avoid it. Oh, and even if I'm cool with using the word in conversation with you, I'm almost certainly NOT ok with you telling other people that I'm "crazy." As a rule of thumb, if you're unsure whether the word is acceptable, assume that it's not.

"OMG I feel so bad I didn't know what life is like for you I'm so sorry that I reacted like that!" or "I feel so useless that I can't help you!" Odds are that you said this in reaction to my explaining how bipolar disorder can make my life hell and/or how it changes things even when I'm not actively cycling. Odds are that when I explained this to you, I was looking for support. You have just turned the tables and made it about you and how you're a bad friend, thereby forcing me to expend energy that I may not have had in order to reassure you that it's ok. Fail.

"Do it! I dare you!" in response to a description of manic urges. If I'm fully manic, I have very little judgment or impulse control. If I have an insane urge to streak down all of Main Street, your egging me on might be all the impetus I need to actually do it. It'll stop being funny when I get arrested for indecent exposure, and I don't think you really want to be the reason it came to that.

[madpunks]

poor memory is a huge deal and i wish people wouldn't diminish it by saying "oh yeah i can't remember what i had for breakfast lol."

i can't remember the first 10 years of my life. i can't remember entire days, weeks, months at a time. i can't remember entire people, i can't remember names or faces. i can't remember when things are scheduled for, my calendar app on my phone is booked to the max with reminders and task checklists. i can't remember when i moved into what home when, i can't remember important milestone dates like when i got or lost certain jobs, or when i started a new hobby.

that's what i mean when i say i have poor memory. poor memory is so scary for the person who has it. it's not a quirky thing, everyone forgets small details. memory problems are scary because you can go through entire events or days with no memory, or plan for things in the future that you can't recall ever even looking into or scheduling. it's not a funny haha kind of thing, it's serious, and it affects a lot of people in very unavoidable ways.

not being able to plan for appointments or work schedules, not being able to remember people's names or faces, not being able to recall whether or not you were present for something or whether or not you met someone, not being able to keep track of what's happening on what dates and losing track of items because you can't remember where you put them are all very real problems, and anyone dealing with them deserves to be taken seriously, and not diminished when they choose to speak up about it.

[yousaveeveryonebutwhosavesyou]

The brain is an organ. Mental illnesses are illnesses of that organ. Brain scans show that there is a physical difference between a healthy brain and a sick brain. Telling someone “You’re not really sick. It’s all in your head.” is like telling someone with asthma “It’s not real, it’s all in your lungs.” The brain is an organ that can malfunction as much as any other organ.

[mariposas8494]

Haha yasss

[doomedfromthewombfr]

I keep trying to be enough for everyone else, but I can’t even be enough for me

[ittakesrain]

[heymacy]

IAN GALLAGHER + his journey with bipolar disorder

╰┈➤ “At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you’re living with this illness and functioning at all, it’s something to be proud of, not ashamed of." - Carrie Fisher

[ooppo]

Btw for anyone who needs to hear it: thinking that people are reading your mind/your thoughts are being heard by everyone is not normal. It's a symptom of psychosis and could be linked to a psychiatric disorder. This, too, goes with hallucinations.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but to teens who don't know what symptoms look like, they may jog it off for a number of reasons. I did, too, when I was in highschool! As a freshman I was having delusions/hallucinations and I didn't tell anyone because I thought they were cringe and weird. I chalked up my hallucinations to me being "tired". People who have psychosis often don't realize that what they're experiencing IS psychosis. This goes the same with other classmates/friends/loved ones. If someone comes to you with concerning behavior (even if they are joking about it) you should take note of it.

In highschool I remember a kid talking about how he could go into the matrix and he had a whole other world to protect/do missions in. He would also go still for long periods of time randomly. I thought he was weird and didn't think much of it, but those are symptoms of schizophrenia (delusions/catatonia).

I would appreciate it if this got a reblog so it could potentially help those recognize these symptoms in either themselves or others!

I wish I could have seen a post like this when I was younger. Then I could have avoided a lot of hardships and would have gotten treatment a lot sooner

[phantom-voices]

A poem I wrote on May 4th 2022. I have Schizoaffective disorder, manic type. It is both Schizophrenia and Bipolar mixed. I also have Borderline Personality Disorder. I wrote this poem after a psychosis episode. I have hallucinations, mainly auditory. In this episode I kept harming myself due to commands and both arms were badly bruised which my psychiatrist saw. I hope you like and maybe will relate. 🙂

Barren

Tired eyes, heartless voices.

Can’t fight off these hellish noises.

Crazy thoughts and countless dreams.

Cannot think through all the screams.

Lots of hatred but also love

If I can just get help from God above.

Just kneel down and get those prayers in

Insanity has left her barren.

Jessica Clingempeel

[lgbtqtext]

[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.

[madpunks]

i don't know what psychotic person needs to hear this, but it is in fact okay for you to be psychotic. it's not your fault. you're not asking for it. it's something that's occurring to you. trying to force it to stop happening ALL the time is going to drain you way too much. some days you just have symptoms and it's alright. sometimes you just have to go with the flow. you're not a fuck up if you have episodes, days, weeks, months of not being able to hold it together and mask your paranoia, intrusive thoughts, delusions, hallucinations, catatonia, confusion, etc. it's alright to just be mentally ill for a bit. i love you

[yousaveeveryonebutwhosavesyou]

Having suicidal depression is like having a constant itch you can’t scratch. Even if you don’t plan on actually committing suicide the feeling doesn’t just go away. It’s constantly in the back of your mind. Whenever road blocks happen in your life instead of figuring out how to fix things like a normal person would your brain immediately goes to, “just kill yourself.” When you wake up in the morning the first thought you have is about killing yourself because your dreams are the only time you can escape the pain of living with suicidal depression. You find no worth in your accomplishments. Even when you actually do accomplish something it’s like it has no worth because you don’t find worth in yourself. You constantly compare yourself to your peers and wonder if you would have actually been succseful like them if you didn’t have a mental illness. Even if you do feel happy for a moment that moment ends and you remember that you have no worth, are stupid, haven’t accomplished anything in life and are a waste of space who needs to just end it already. You know you’re unlovable. No one wants to be with someone with suicidal depression because they don’t want to be with someone who will bring them down. You constantly are thinking about killing yourself and knowing that you can’t makes you feel trapped. Dying isn’t a soluation but you don’t want to live another disappointing year where nothing but bad things happen to you and you don’t grow or change at all. Having suicidal depression is watching everyone around you grow and change while you remain the same. And no one can see how much pain you are in.