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MoodyVacita

673d

Hey! I have rapid cycling bipolar disorder and was wondering how this affects others. I'm usually depressed one week then manic the next. I haven't met anyone else with rapid cycling so I'm curious 🤔

Top reply
    • Haleigh

      673d

      Usually? Crazy shit 😂 one time I tried to jump out of a car on the highway, another I tried to jump out a second story window with a parachute, another time I was gonna start driving across the country with no license and nothing but a hundred bucks and some family photos. I get hella disconnected from reality, super irritable, my thoughts are complete nonsense, etc. How I cope with it: listen to family and friends telling me I'm acting crazy even when I REALLY don't wanna hear it. I have a rule that I make no major purchases or decisions while manic. If I can I take time off work. Basically isolate myself as much as I can while I ride it out. The most important part is to be incredibly educated about the disease and realize when it's getting too bad to handle on your own. And anyone who cares about you needs to be educated as well. Your family and close friends need to know what they might be dealing with, for their own safety and peace of mind as much as yours. Also never date people who aren't willing to learn. It's a life long condition and a huge part of who I am, and if someone doesn't care to learn about it, then they're definitely not gonna be able to be there for you when you'd need them. Also I forget the name of it, but you can basically make someone your medical power of attorney for when you're so manic/depressed you shouldn't be making decisions for yourself. You can write down what treatment you'd want and all that shit. I'll find the paperwork for it later and let you know the name of it if you're interested. Also these are my personal rules, I realized I started using you instead of I. Not telling you to do all these things, just what's worked for me.

    • Unknow

      672d

      Oh yes I forgot to comment about medical power of attorney. We do not take blood but we have alternative that we're willing to do and also their different kind of things it could be used to not be wasteful with our blood. And if my husband can't talk for himself then the piece of paper has what his wishes are but also on his main goal to person and he has a secondary person. But this is for his physical body. For the mental part I thought about doing it but I had not checked into it. What is good right now is that after my husband pays the bills then he gives me the extra money to put in my account and that is what I use to buy groceries and such and I know how to save

    • Haleigh

      673d

      It sounds like you really love your husband and have been there for him through a lot. I hope, now that he's stable, he's as kind to you as it sounds like you were to him. Honestly you deserve the world for staying with an unmedicated bipolar partner, especially through all that. Does he realize just how bad his behaviors were in the past? Honestly I think that's the biggest sign that's someone's changed and accepted their diagnosis. If he never apologized for it and thanked you profusely for being there for him, I don't think he's putting the amount of effort into the relationship that you deserve. If he has then that's great, but your comments sound like you're managing both your and his condition.

      • Unknow

        673d

        @Haleigh you perfectly described it. I guess I am trying to manage both of our health because he's not trying to take care of his own and he has a long list. And there's a 10 years difference and I'm the oldest of four kids and I tend to be like a caregiver. He actually cannot remember some of the bad things he has done or said. And he sometimes thinks it's funny when I tell him about it. But then I wonder if that's what happens to other bipolar individuals. And if that is true, then it helps me to understand the illness itself even more so I can help others

    • Haleigh

      673d

      I relate to this so much, I remember the first time I watched shameless I missed a lot of episodes and somehow totally missed Monica being bipolar? But as soon as they showed Ian's first manic episode I knew what it was before they said it in the show. Same with pretty much any media portrayal of bipolar (that's accurate at least) What you said about your husband's mania being so bad he could harm you really concerns me, do you mean in the sense that his manic behaviors will harm you financially/socially, or that he would actually physically harm you? If it's the latter, that's not okay. Rage and irritability are common during mania, but that doesn't make violence acceptable. If he's ever physically hurt you or you think he would, leave him. Mental illness isn't an excuse to be abusive.

      • Unknow

        673d

        @Haleigh he has put his hands on me in the past and he has threatened to aim the car at certain obstacles while driving in the past and once he gestured about push me off the enchanted Rock at Fredericksburg but he wasn't on meds all these times and the financial of $150,000 debt came when he was around his siblings and not on his meds and been drinking off and on while gone for a year and came back with a lot of financial damage. I do know most bipolar individuals may lose their marriages, lose their jobs, may become homeless etc. So it has been a roller coaster ride through our 32 and 1/2 years of marriage but I am grateful that he does take his meds now and because he's an alcoholic I try to keep alcohol away from him because they'll make it worse and his meds won't work properly

    • Haleigh

      673d

      Usually? Crazy shit 😂 one time I tried to jump out of a car on the highway, another I tried to jump out a second story window with a parachute, another time I was gonna start driving across the country with no license and nothing but a hundred bucks and some family photos. I get hella disconnected from reality, super irritable, my thoughts are complete nonsense, etc. How I cope with it: listen to family and friends telling me I'm acting crazy even when I REALLY don't wanna hear it. I have a rule that I make no major purchases or decisions while manic. If I can I take time off work. Basically isolate myself as much as I can while I ride it out. The most important part is to be incredibly educated about the disease and realize when it's getting too bad to handle on your own. And anyone who cares about you needs to be educated as well. Your family and close friends need to know what they might be dealing with, for their own safety and peace of mind as much as yours. Also never date people who aren't willing to learn. It's a life long condition and a huge part of who I am, and if someone doesn't care to learn about it, then they're definitely not gonna be able to be there for you when you'd need them. Also I forget the name of it, but you can basically make someone your medical power of attorney for when you're so manic/depressed you shouldn't be making decisions for yourself. You can write down what treatment you'd want and all that shit. I'll find the paperwork for it later and let you know the name of it if you're interested. Also these are my personal rules, I realized I started using you instead of I. Not telling you to do all these things, just what's worked for me.

      • Unknow

        673d

        @Haleigh my husband is bipolar one and I've been married to him for 32 years but it's been a major roller coaster ride this whole time. He lost his job in 2005 and before that he was put on family medical leave several times but did not follow through with the doctors and his work would not tell me what was going on and several times my husband disappeared. In 2014 he was gone off and on for a year and had over $150,000 of debt. About a year ago we finally paid off the last of the debt which was a Dodge charger that we paid triple time on to get it taken care of. I feel I have outlaws instead of in-laws and they do not help me keep my husband stable. They have a sibling that has the illness to and four other siblings have the symptoms but have not been diagnosed by doctors. I feel like I do not have a support system and I have to fight for my marriage. At first.. my husband had Peter Pan syndrome. But when he's finally diagnosed with manic depressive and my sister helped me look it up then that described my whole married life. I have depression and anxiety and that just adds more stress to me. And later in life he has other health issues too which doesn't help his illness. Thank you very much for sharing and through what you said I do recognize your bipolar. It is kind of funny that when I see stuff on TV I could diagnose somebody being bipolar before they even tell us. What is sad is my depression could be so bad that I could harm myself and my husband's manic could be so bad that he could do serious damage to me. I am in a no-win situation so we have to do our best to maintain our meds and be healthy to the best of our abilities despite everything against us

    • Haleigh

      673d

      I lean heavily towards depression, but the longer I was unmedicated the more frequent and severe my manic episodes got, and the cycling got more rapid as well. I went from one manic episode a year to 10+ a year with many mixed episodes as well and the beginning of psychotic features before I got on meds. Note: not trying to scare anyone, this is just my experience with it, not everyone will get so much worse so quickly

      • Unknow

        673d

        @Haleigh do you mind me asking what you do when you're manic

      • Unknow

        673d

        @Haleigh yes there is a variety of bipolar and if you have severe manic then they could possibly label you as bipolar one. But also a person has to be on the right medication matched up to them. And you need to be 100% honest of all the stuff you can remember did you have done, said, feel, or somebody else made a comment about that didn't seem normal of you. If a family member could tag along to the appointments who knows you really well then that is helpful

    • CreativeDisaster

      673d

      I’ve been struggling with this too

      • Unknow

        673d

        @CreativeDisaster do you mind me asking what you do when you're manic

    • LexaPeach91

      673d

      Mine cycles sometimes but it does so intermittently. It can be kinda funky and I only recently started meds for it. I wish I had more answers. Mine is more depression than mania

      • Unknow

        673d

        @LexaPeach91 do you mind me asking what you do when you're manic

        • LexaPeach91

          673d

          @Unknow I could say in chat but I'd rather not say here.

    • CL207

      673d

      Have you tried an online support group like dbsa?

☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision

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