how do u know if u have it??? I've got almost ALL of those list!!!!

I *am* diagnosed as having bipolar and I have the same feelings you've described.

When I'm feeling invisible I only go out if I really have to. There are times when I'll stay in the house for weeks at a time. I'll get up in the morning, leave my pajamas on, take my child to school, and go back to bed when I get back home. Then later I'll go pick my child up from school.

I've been on unemployment for over a year after getting fired AGAIN.

But when I'm feeling invisible and I need to go to the grocery store or anywhere, I just can't stand it! I feel like people are looking at me. I just want to go in, buy whatever I need, and get out. Then people will talk to me. I've even had cashiers or sales clerks look all concerned and ask if I'm OK. I just want to be left alone, people!

Why is it that when I'm feeling great and actually need some help finding something in a store, no one pays a bit of attention to me? But then when I want to disappear, people speak up?

I haven't been in a relationship for more than 10 years and part of the reason is because I'm afraid of getting close to someone and getting hurt again. I figure they'll be like other people -- can't handle bipolar so they split after we've been together for a few years.

Meanwhile, it's difficult because friends are out there having families and living it up. The most "social" I've been for the last couple of years is posting on Facebook and finding people I used to know. It's certainly not going to rebuild the relationships that I messed up because of bipolar (disappearing from friendships without explanation) but at least it lets me feel like I have friends again, even if it's just a short email or peeking at their profiles to see what they're up to lately.

But it's painful to see others living their "normal" lives and wondering why I don't deserve a normal life, too.

I'd like to get married again and actually have it last.

I'd like to have another child or two.

I'd like to have family members around me, people to do things with, people to talk to, someone to just talk to on the phone, someone to shopping with once in a while.

And, when I'm old and gray, it would be nice to look back at my life and have great memories of loved ones, true love, raising children, having grandkids, family events, and happiness rather than the way I'm headed (which will be foggy memories of being alone, feeling this pain that people in my life just don't understand).

I dated a man for 2 1/2 yrs that was bipolar. He was on and off med bc it made him drowsey. I could not tolerate the ups and downs and left. My friend has a brother who is bipolar and suggested a product that took him off meds completely and have been living a fairly normal life. About 6 months ago i sent my ex the product. He loves it. he said he is the happiest he has been and has not had any major ups and downs. the best part was the product is all natural. just feeding your body the nutrients its lacking. I am quite confident in the product and him and i will probally get back together in the near future which is something i would not have said before.

i have been recieving treatment for panic/anxiety attacks and depression for several years off and on. I experienced all these symptoms in one way or another especially manic periods sometimes up sometimes down i've even started to slash myself to make myself feel better something i haven't done since i was a teenager. my doctor mentioned manic depression but only the once. help what is exactly wrong with me any advice

I know i can see myself doing those things my bf puts up w/ so much of my sht i feel terrible but we love each other very much. anyways, you've been w/ a bp gal for 9 years u r a very special person-def. a catch =) so NOT a bad person jeez. I've only just realized im bp a few weeks ago (i've been my entire life tho of course) I have been taking fish oil and i have noticed significant improvement in my mood swings and my paranoia. There is also B-vitamins which ima start taking soon as well. I refuse to take meds b/c of all the stories i've heard about destroying ur sex life and just its very unnatural. I think this is your best bet it will totally improve both ur lives, i've been taking Fish oil omega-3, 2160 EPA every day i may start taking more but i want to try adding B-vitamins as well. If you guys wana try fish oil do ur research cuz ur supposed to take vitamin E and C w/ it b/c too much can have like a "toxic" effect on ur body i forget what word they used that sounds harsh =/ anways good luck i'm glad u've been together so long makes me a lil more hopeful now =) ....ooh n' that's good to know wow i guess i shouldn't tell the psychiatrist then that i sometimes have suicidal thoughts im not a nut i dont need to be locked up thats normal for bp/depressed ppl that's like the def.

I feel so lost most the time...I tend to hide it rather well with a quick smile and looking interested in the advice that is constantly sent my way and in most cases not in the nicest way. I get the "Pull yourself together" and concerntrate thing shoved at me all the time. I battle to remember things, I battle to tell a story without getting side tracked and lost in my own story. I feel a sense of loss and even deeper a serious sense of pain in my heart. I feel like an alien living amongst savages who call themselves human kind. How humane these animals are! You know, I have bi-polar mood disorder II, rapid cycling. I go through many mood changes and mind states, and even though I do go through these things, I don't find myself half as nasty and unaccepting as all these "normal" people!!! I think sometimes I should just dissapear from this world and never surface again, I should be living in the bloody mountains in a cabin somewhere!!! But then again, I would get horribly lonely!

What is better...life with bi-polar or sudden death?

i find myself in a very similar situation my boyfriend is actually much better mood wise without the meds he does tend to get a little down (depressed) but I just think of ways to distract the moodiness, we watch a funny movie or go out somewhere. When he's on medication he sometimes actually tends to be worse. He broke up with me twice in one month then stopped taking the medicine (depakote) and everything was back to normal.

I fear that without out a daily med he may drift back into a manic state and that doesn't end well and I hate seeing him in the hospital and not himself.

He's a wonderful kind, caring person, it's very frustrating that there's out a simpler solution out there to help.

He's very stubborn and it's hard to get him to take medication he's always been very against it. Ultimatums are hard for me to do... Any advice?

i'm pretty much same as you-yeah crazy bp, but I'm in a particularly good mood today prole cuz it was very sunny and i woke up at a normal time today =) If i was in a bad state i'd be like yeah life but now i'm thinkin r u crazy life is great don't do that lol u know how it is i hope ur back to feeling wonderful but just incase i know how u feel i tend to be a rapid-cycler myself and even tho my bf is super supportive once in a while he'll upset me by giving me "advice" and telling me to stop being a baby er pull myself together-yeah we know that doesn't work!!

SLJ....i'm not sure exactly what ur bf's behavior is when he's manic or depressed, like how he tends to react, but I think you should really suggest FISH OIL-omega 3's its helped me a bunch as well as it just being sunny/summery lately- i've heard of light therapy but haven't done anything bout it really. I've been taking a little under 3000mg's of EPA/day (that's the important stuff in the fish oil for bp ppl) also if he tends to be more depressed than manic i suggest looking into b-vitamins but i haven't REALLY needed them yet-maybe when winter kicks in... GD LUCK

I know what you mean when you talk about sudden mood changes and thoughts that just dont stay the same... I am sure he feels just as slowed down on meds which makes the frustration and irritability worse sometimes!

Maybe talk to his doctor and see if he can go onto lithium? It has helped me greatly


And a great tip is, I know when i feel my most volatile and destructive, a big hug that just carries on for ever makes it all better.

Ultimatums are not cool, it will just drive him further away, try the hug thing first,


Take care
dizzielizzie

It is so wierd that you say fish oil works!! I get really strong cravings for tinned tuna almost on a weekly basis!! If I dont have it I crave it till I get it!! So will try the fish oil asap... I am feeling rather sunny right now myself Have a good eve

thanks for all the great advice
yes he is more depressed than manic- and i already had him take some fish oil and b12 and b6-(my mom actually bought him a huge bottle of b-complex vitamins, when he came out of the hospital) i know ultimatums don't work especially with him his mom try's to do it and it only makes the situtation worse. Hugs have helped in the past and back massages are key ..
does lithium increase wieght gain we have been checking into lamcital ( ever use it?)

hes been on depakote the wieght gain and memory loss is too much for him.

how do you tell and get someone treatment who has symptoms of bipolar?

Losing focus/unable to think clearly definitely has something to do with it. I'm bipolar and that's been a big factor in my life.

For those of you wondering how to tell someone to get treated for being bipolar, here's some important information.

You can't. They have to figure it out and realize it on their own. The more you tell them they need help, the more in denial they'll get and the more upset and angry they'll be. The manic side will come out and it will just get worse.

You basically just have to subtly bring it up during the point in time where the person is a little low..(not so low that they're suicidal, though) and maybe they'll grasp the fact that they do need help.

When I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I was upset and I was worried and I cried when I got home from the appointment. I was on medication for a couple months and even then, when I had already had a doctor diagnose me with it, I stopped taking my medication and told everyone that the doctor didn't know what they were talking about and that I had nothing wrong with me.

So I went about a year with no medication and just recently, my husband of about 4 months, is telling "maybe you really are bipolar, babe...listen to yourself..."

I love my husband and he's such a great person and his input really does mean a lot. But, I do know for a fact that if he ever tried to tell me that while in the manic stage, there's no way I'd listen. I'd get defensive and yell and fight back, uncontrollably. But once I calmed down, I realized it for myself.

For someone to realize they really do need help, they have to realize it for themselves. Yes, maybe with a little help or suggestions from loved ones at the right time, but mostly, they have to realize it and accept it for themselves.

I have all of theses symptoms, but never diagnosed

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