Anyone here bipolar?

[Izthewiz]

Ive been wondering what bipolar disorder does to one or what issues they go through daily.
My Good friend just got diagnosed 2 years ago and asking as he doesn't really say what its like as he can't see it so much.
I know this is a touchy subject but I believe my mom was bipolar or schizophrenic.

 

[bin_tenn]

Can't speak from personal experience, but the people I know with bipolar disorder experience frequent mood changes / swings. They're elated, then they're manic and down about everything. I can't imagine feeling that way.

 

[Izthewiz]

I see.
Thanks for your insight.
I guess many people can have this in society.

 

[matisworried]

i haven't officially been diagnosed but my therapist said bipolar "fits." I've heard it from docs in the past, too. i deal with some crazy mood swings that can last for hours, days or even weeks. i don't have the stereotypical extreme manic swings so much where I'm bouncing off the walls like i just drank my sixth pot of coffee. in that regard, it's much more subtle. i might spend money a little more carelessly, eat things i shouldn't... maybe be a bit "wired" but nothing people that don't know me very well would pick up on. my "highs" don't tend to last long either.

what i deal with more are crazy and pretty dramatic shifts to irritability and depression. it's hard to really appreciate and explain what i experience because it's my "normal." i definitely recognize that I'm irritable, depressed, etc. but not necessarily HOW irritable and depressed i am... until someone points it out... usually my wife.

the lows are pretty soul-crushing and i often feel pretty helpless pulling myself out of it... sorta like I'm at the mercy of some unknown force that has total control over my mood. so frustrating. there's a lot of guilt that goes along with it, because i know the impact it has on the people i love the most. plus, obviously, it's no fun walking around being wound so tight that the person in front of me at the gas station buying lottery tickets while I'm just trying to pay for my diet coke makes me see red... or getting highly annoyed that my wife put music on in the car she knows i don't like. it also sucks dealing with the suicidal ideation that pops up from time to time, or just the feeling of not being good enough, blah blah blah.

i do consider myself luck, though, because i work in the mental health field (funny, right?) and have had clients that suffered from extreme bipolar... one lady would stay up weeks on end with maybe an hour of sleep TOTAL all day. she'd talk non-stop about nothing, feverishly spend money, make dozens of phone calls, etc... then one day, she'd go lay down and pretty much not come out of her room for a few weeks. during these periods, she'd sleep 18 hours a day and spend the rest of the time just laying in bed. it was completely disabling for her.

schizophrenia is a whole different beast and typically much easier to spot because, with that, people generally lose touch with a certain amount of reality and covering it is difficult if not impossible with the people that are close to you.

(sorry for the novel)