re: Tell me about your experiences with Bipolar disorder.

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This is a trick question right? I think every female is a psych visit away from being diagnosed.

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My experience is that most people that make jokes like this have never seen mental illness, and they don't realize that bipolar is very different than being very happy and very sad.

I've seen people in manic states that didn't sleep for several days on end. Lots of them go out and gamble pretty frequently. They kind of lose track of caring about things they were supposed to do, but they're so focused on these other things that they "have" to do that it doesn't really matter to them. Usually they get the police called on them who bring them to the ER which ships them off to a psych unit. They'll hang out in a psych hospital until they come down, get back on their meds, and go about their way. They can be pretty normal people when they take their meds on a regular basis. But when they don't, it can be a pretty crazy ride. Mania is no joke.


ETA: I've come across a few that are more aggressive in their manic states than anything else. They just seem like real assholes and like to argue with everyone about everything.

I am bipolar and wasnt diagnosed till i was in my late 30's. I used to use it as a joke to make fun of someone who was acting weird or mad. Now i realize it is just a mental disability much like a physical disability AND it can be treated if the person is willing to take medication.
I didnt want to take meds and i fought it, but if I didnt my umpteenth girlfriend was going to leave me. My first med made me waaaay to nice and impossible to climax, I'm on my second one and it has changed my life. I am nice yet have my original feelings, and I am now able to focus better on everything in life.
I can now easily distinguish if someone is bipolar due to my past experiences not on meds. There are A LOT of bipolar people at the gym, always needing a reason to burn excess energy, lonely, to themselves.
Last of all, dont be afraid to seek help. I have an architect friend who is very good at his job/owns his own firm. But he is horrible with women and to his dog, it just makes me so sad to hear him say that he doesn't want anything messing with his head, sad