This is to anyone with Bipolar Disorder. I was diagnosed almost 7 years ago. in that time have been on and off medication (mostly off), I have learned no matter how well you think you are doing, and no matter how much you think you don’t need the medication you really do. When you don’t take your medication in the short term your loved ones, Family and friends suffer for it. But in the long run you will suffer. I went off my medication this last time and I have completly ruined my life. I dropped out of hight school, Then got back on my meds. I thought I didn’t need them after I got stabilized again. I went off them again and did alot of stupid things and got so luck I didn’t get caught. I got pregnant at a young age, married at a young age. I was divorced at a young age. been on drugs, been an alcoholic, and I have even been a prostitute. I got super lucky, because I am still alive and not in jail, and I have no S.T.D.’s. So Please anyone who has bipolar regardless of what your friends and other people may tell you take your medication.

Dave,
It is like you said:the people, some times, don’t have exactly idea about the illness and are saying things, that isn’t the truth.That will be dangerous when a person is leading to change a medication for other without medical control.I think that, many times ,the alleged cure ,have been possible due to a diagnostic of depression , since the depression itself has cure.What give dispair is where a medicine don’t give right, and a person between a probable diagnostic(due the great nuances of behavior that can happen),and a possible medicine,takes the risk of loosing your job,the boy friend or her husband.But, the scientists are discovering ” blood markers have the potential of offer an unespectably information window into brain functioning and disease state” Dr Nicolescu said that the FDA approved tests of blood, that possible, in five years will fit in market.This will affect” the corrently bipolar disorder and other conditons, such as depression are diagnosed based patients description of their symptons ,and the physician’s judgement, sometimes making it difficult to set an accurate diagnosis or determine the severity of a patient’s conditions”.This could be specially hepfful for ensuring the patient is getting the righy medication. But the “stigma” and ethical problem is:genetic testing where is about behavior we’re likely to see much more controversy.” They could be used to screen for mental illness in the work place or for college admittance”.I understand ” a trip to Antartic and North Pole- to raise awereness of the disorder donating 10 percent from each fare to research into the disorder—Bipolar Expedition,a great thing. But like say Steve Mitchell( a science and medicine writer in Washinton DC) “Ultimately, my feeling would be, we have to listen to the person and what they’re experiencing and not blood tests”.So… Good blesses surviving BP and supporters. Lilian P.

Thought I would share this:

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked,

“How heavy is this glass of water ?”

Answers called out ranged from 250g. to 700g.

The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.”

“If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance.”

“In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”

“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. ”

“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.”

“Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax, pick them up later after you’ve rested.

Life is short. Enjoy !”

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

1* Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.

2* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4* Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5* If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 * Never buy a car you can’t push.

9* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.

10* Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

11* Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.

13* When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

14* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

15* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

16* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

17* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

=D

There it is – the “mad scientist” approach to bipolar disorder – a blood test or CT scan to diagnose the disorder! Wouldn’t it be grand if that WERE the answer??!! Then psychiatrists wouldn’t have to “jump through hoops” in prescribing just the “right” medication for bipolar…

Until the DNA replication can be used, it’s the old “hit-or-miss” prescribing “horror” that we bipolar survivors have to go through, with all the “evil” side effects – in order to get on track with the illness. I wish the lab doctors all the best until such a discovery is made.

Another murder story, only this time, it IS different – a “man bites dog” type. The victim was the man who shot his stepson, who was diagnosed with bipolar and had gone on a rage that night, frightening his mother and stepfather to such an extent that the poor man grabbed a gun – and shot him in “self defense.” I ask the age-old question – what was a gun doing anywhere NEAR an unstable person, whether he used it or not? It’s just TOO easy to pick it up and use it when tempers flare. When will people WAKE UP??!!

I would like to read the book, MANIC, and see what all the hype is about. It’s even been reviewed as “excellent” in PEOPLE magazine. I doubt, however, if there is anything in there I don’t already know!!

AMEN SUZANNE!