Friday, August 21, 2015
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Many times a week or even in a day I hear someone say the person they are with are Bipolar. Is this a problem? of course not. The problem comes in when after that statement is, my wife/husband/ etc is Bipolar and has so many things I can not deal with, they are crazy, they have no idea on how to handle their lives, I cant stand their Bipolar, etc.
We as the person having bipolar do not want to have this illness, we do not go out of our way to make your life more complicated.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Negative Thoughts, always trying to overcome them!
Throughout our lives we come up with many names for ourselves. In a normal mind most of the time these words are positive but in a mind of a Bipolar or Borderline Personality 90% of the time it is a negative slur.
We do not go out of our way to be negative it is how our mind works and when things get tough this is how we see ourselves, even when others may say differently.
As a child as far back as I can remember negative thoughts always had seemed to creep up into my daily thoughts with school work, friends even family. I thought even back then so many things about myself were negative and did not know any different and most likely even thought back then this was normal.
While we are growing into our adult bodies there are so many changes as it is but when you add a mental illness into the mix and also not knowing you have this disability things are so difficult.
Hormones are making us crazy also and our mind just racing out of control and all the time we feel all of this is just our fault.
Negative thoughts are one of the hardest things to overcome and it can take many years to find the best ways to cope as individuals.
No one likes to feel bad about themselves or ashamed so much that we do not want to ever leave the house. We try to wake up each day and be positive but some days it is just not up to us. Our mental illness seems to just take our mind and body and do with it as it pleases. So many people think and will actual say, "why cant you just get up and be happy?" "why cant you just get dressed and do something for yourself?" These negative comments by others do not do anyone any good and most people will not see them as a negative comment, they will see it as trying to motivate us but in fact they just do the opposite.
In our lives of being Bipolar we need to learn to cope daily with simple ideals. Complicating our emotions will do no one any good. We as individuals must find the best way to be more positive and that is so hard! I can honestly say this is one of the toughest things I deal with each and every day.
I am hard on myself about my body image, health issues, friends and the lack there of them, and so many other issues. These are the thoughts that will race in my head each day. Negative thoughts on why I am the way I am, why I do not have a lot of close family and friends. How could I have pushed so many away and really never wanted to do so...
Our own thoughts are our worst enemy, we hurt ourselves and this is the last thing any of us want..
Determining if our lives will be happier is an outlook we search each day.
I want to say over the years this will subside and the negative thoughts with hard work will not be there but sadly that is not a fact with Bipolar, BPD or some other mental illnesses.
What I can say with hard work, positive re-enforcement of family and friends we can learn to deal and turn those negative thoughts and patterns around at least one day at a time.
Just fight, find great coping skills, take each day as simple as you can and we will make it!
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Telling the World you are Bipolar
In our lives there are moments that will define our future. We must choose our battles carefully due to fear of rejection.
I decided in September of 2012 to come out publicly on being Bipolar. I spoke of it generally on Facebook and then decided to open a page for discussion not knowing what would come of this page.
I named my page: Bipolar and Living Med Free and also have a closed group for more private talk. It has been a slow steady pace of work. Such satisfaction is given by knowing you give others like yourself a place to speak to each other and to find connections, information needed.
Most seem to hide the fact they are Bipolar and its due to the lack of understanding in society as a whole. The stigma that goes along with Mental Illnesses. We hide in shame, as if we have personally done the world wrong in some way.
I believe now that the mental health community is strength in numbers. Acknowledging who we are, what we have and NOT what people think we are as Bipolar or any other mental illness.
It takes years for a mental illness to really show its ugly self. Very seldom do we come into this world so tainted by the effects of mental illness.
We grow into the dark as the years go by and this is where so many of us stay and are lost. We need to help one another find our path back to the light of day. It is not an easy road but it can be done. To me it is about opening up, telling people about yourself, when and only if the time is right and you are 100% comfortable about opening up to that person.
There should be no shame or blame in having an illness. Society has made all types of diseases and illnesses hard to be talked about, why is this? No one is perfect, no one is without flaws so why can we not openly speak to family, friends about what is going on in our lives?
Fear of being shut down, left alone, made fun of, fired, hurt even abused is always in the mind of so many when they think about opening up about what they have been born with, not caught.
Until we as a whole learn to acknowledge differences in each other our World will be a closed place.
Reach out to your family members who have a mental illness such as Bipolar, a neighbor, friend. We who have this are not the illness. We are caring, loving people who just want to show we are ok to be around.
Telling the world you are Bipolar is the hardest thing you will do and only take that step at your strongest. Never letting anyone make you feel bad about who you are and what you bring to life.
You can not really live med free, so you will hear.
As a person who lives med free for my Bipolar since 2002, I often hear the statement, " You can not live med free for Bipolar" or "You are really not Bipolar if you can live med free".
These statements are mostly heard through the medical community. Funny, these should be the people that would want to open their eyes and ears for other ways of living with a Mental Illness then being stuck on medications that have tons of side effects, that are highly addictive, and by no means cure a mental illness.
I have spoken many years of my life med free and I DO NOT tell a person that they can specifically live med free. We are all made up with different chemical compounds and there is no way to tell how you will react to meds or react with out meds.
Life is hard for the "normal person" when things are thrown at you but add a mental illness and that will just add 10x the effects of how someone will act or react.
I found with my years of medicines for my Bipolar, I was lost. I was never in control of my life and this is how they want us to live? In a fog, in a haze, no sex drive, no smiles on our faces, just a zombie in the mix of the World?
They will say it takes adjustments to the meds and I do agree. There were moments I had good days, weeks but never longer then that. I saw in the mirror a different person all the time. Mood swings do not go away on the medicines they give you. Funny how they tell us they will diminish, not true.
Suicide on medicines are rarely discussed but without there are tons of statistics as such listed:
People with bipolar disorder are at great risk for suicide if they are not getting treatment. The National Mental Health Association reports that 30%-70% of suicide victims have suffered from a form of depression. Men commit almost 75% of suicides, even though twice as many women attempt suicide.acts about suicide are usually all listed as only when not on meds::
I myself attempted suicide at a higher level on the meds given the ever off.
There are so many reasons to be med free and I will always support those on meds that it works for their life and chemistry.
We all have to learn what works best for us in all we do in our lives, not only for our medical issues.
These statements are mostly heard through the medical community. Funny, these should be the people that would want to open their eyes and ears for other ways of living with a Mental Illness then being stuck on medications that have tons of side effects, that are highly addictive, and by no means cure a mental illness.
I have spoken many years of my life med free and I DO NOT tell a person that they can specifically live med free. We are all made up with different chemical compounds and there is no way to tell how you will react to meds or react with out meds.
Life is hard for the "normal person" when things are thrown at you but add a mental illness and that will just add 10x the effects of how someone will act or react.
I found with my years of medicines for my Bipolar, I was lost. I was never in control of my life and this is how they want us to live? In a fog, in a haze, no sex drive, no smiles on our faces, just a zombie in the mix of the World?
They will say it takes adjustments to the meds and I do agree. There were moments I had good days, weeks but never longer then that. I saw in the mirror a different person all the time. Mood swings do not go away on the medicines they give you. Funny how they tell us they will diminish, not true.
Suicide on medicines are rarely discussed but without there are tons of statistics as such listed:
People with bipolar disorder are at great risk for suicide if they are not getting treatment. The National Mental Health Association reports that 30%-70% of suicide victims have suffered from a form of depression. Men commit almost 75% of suicides, even though twice as many women attempt suicide.acts about suicide are usually all listed as only when not on meds::
I myself attempted suicide at a higher level on the meds given the ever off.
There are so many reasons to be med free and I will always support those on meds that it works for their life and chemistry.
We all have to learn what works best for us in all we do in our lives, not only for our medical issues.
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