so true to stay positive,theres always a positive in a negative u just have 2 look for it, when I was diagnosed I was actually THANK GOD! now I know whats wrong and something can be done about it!

Thanks for the email, laughing and smiling through things is VERY important 🙂

omg! katho1981 my reaction was the same! then i got angry, after i got out of the hosp. and told my mom my diagnosis, she said, well i’m bi-polar too! i didn’t have to go through sheer hell for twenty years if she had told me or doctors about this way back!! it’s all good now, but not only did i suffer needlessly for years, but those around me! so for all you that are parents, tell your kids, tell their doctors, it doesn’t have to be as hard for them as it was for us!!!!

Thanks for the remind some days it is hard to rember to stay posative and keep my joy. God Bless

My bi polar daughter hardly ever smiles! I have a smile on my face all the time! The last time my Daughter smiled was 2 weeks ago, we cooked and made a cake for her 27th birthday! She had a good time! But the medicine made her gain 25 #’s and she is more depressed!

my bi-polar husband raped me last night. just how hard do i laugh about that? or maybe I have the wrong atitude. Oh wait he said he was sorry. Guess that makes everything ok. I will have a good laugh about it. Oh ya and from one of the last emails…He isn’t crazy is he? I must be………….

Dave,
I have always been an optimist. This last confrontation of bipolarism was the worst by far. I have never been so hurt. My spouse has not been diagnosed. He is classic however. We have worked through this last episode. How can I continue to look at him when these words keep flashing through my mind: “I am sick of your face, your mouth, your words, your voice, and you as a person?”
He is fine right now. How can I continue knowing it will happen again?

Now then! For want of anywhere else on this blog to write this, I am going to tell you all about something spooky.
Anyone here using Yahoo Messenger (YM)? You’ll know how this works … If someone wants to connect with you using YM they have to ping your Messenger with a request to be accepted. That happened yesterday afternoon and up popped a name I didn’t recognise. I assumed it was someone I did know who used a pseudonym in a Yahoo club to which I belong. Ar around midnight the YM alarm triggered to let me know someone on my contact list was on line. It was the mysterious name. So, I tabbed off a message along the lines of, ‘hello, who are you?’ The reply was ‘Who are you?’ This is where it all starts to get weird…
Not only did we find we didn’t know each other, she didn’t request to be on my YM list. Now, as far as I can tell, you can’t request to go ontp another petrson list by being nominated by someone else. You have to do it yourself. It could be done by someone using your computer and email address. No one else had access to her PC … Keep reading as it gets really spooky from here on.
This person suggests we chat anyway. So we do. I reveal I am not working because of ill health. I don’t say what. She says she’s the same because of depression. I say I’m BP. She replies so is she but hadn’t intended to say anything – you know why!) She says she’s been on her own for … I forget but it’s at least a year. Seemingly everyone has dropped – the employer, her fiance and her family. Does this sound familiar? So not only is she pleased to have someone to “talk” with, she is doubly pleased it’s someone with BP as well!
It gets worse … She’s had enough and intending to check out sometime soon. No surprise because she was on Lithium but gave it up 3 months before!!! The fool? It depends on how you look at it. Living with BP is intolerable for her, but living in a “cabbage” state, as she described the effect of the Lithium, is worse from her point of view. So, it was – BP to BP, with me trying to be supportive .. for the next 4 hours! I am SHATTERED!
Now, I don’t know for sure if she had intended to leave this World last night, although she sounded ready to do so. But she was still with us at 4am! A temporary fix, perhaps, but I made her laugh and laughter is … the best medicine? But laughter isn’t going to keep her alive if she doesn’t take the meds. So, I guess if I had any effect at all it will have been to delay the inevitable … unless it was to buy time for her to start taking the meds again.
Now, isn’t that spooky? First, it’s someone who I don’t know. Second it’s someone who reckons they didn’t request the contact in the first place. Third it’s someone with BP and fourth it’s someone with BP who needed support at that moment from someone else with BP. It’t enough to put goose bumps on your goose bumps …
We made a pact that we would send each other an email every day. I sent mine this morning but I’ve not received anything back. I don’t know what that means but I have tried. Can’t do more than try, to do our best, can we.

Thank you Graham for the information. I copied your writing to share with some friends. I remember the MaryPopins film, when they could fly by laughing.

I am smiling right now, does that count to moderate my apetite.

God bless you all

Hi, Everybody!

Hmnnn! If it wasn’t for the fact that you always PROMOTE the taking of proper Medication, I’d sometimes swear blind that you, ‘Graham N’, are in fact the famous Actor, ‘Stephen Fry’ using a different “cover character”, because you’re so intelligent, witty and logical, just like he appears on his Quiz Show, “Q.I.”! Please don’t take offence, because I adore him, yet sometimes I wonder…

Although your YM experience was ‘spooky’, I totally believe that you were MEANT to help this desperate Woman and I trust that there’s lots more for us to learn about EVERYTHING. In a POSITIVE way, I’ve found BP and other Depressive Conditions actually “catching” and almost becoming quite fashionable because the more that I inform people that I have it, the more frequently I learn that either they or somebody they know closely ALSO has it!? We end up chatting and comparing notes, then I give them the details of this Web-Site.

I’ve been extremely busy, as my body’s begun to shrug off the effects of the new ‘Quetiapine’ drug already, but I’ve also been helping two people out of their suicidal thoughts, which is exhausting! From the moment I wake up until the time I return to bed, I’m achieving so much stuff and visiting loads of places and individuals, that most people wouldn’t do half of it in a week.

Josephine Mamo, I live on my own with the animals, except for when the biggest pet of all stays over on week-ends (Martin!), but I often laugh out loud alone or sing my heart out to a catchy tune, either at home or whilst in my car. (Mind you, I DO get a few funny looks when stuck at Traffic Lights and I forget that others can see me while I ‘Head Bang’ or nod my head and tap my hand on the steering wheel, but I just flash them a jolly, toothy grin and carry on. Sod them – they can think what they like, as I don’t care and they often smile or wink back anyway!) By being PROACTIVE and doing what I want, I’m then more able to be REACTIVE to the needs of others, plus laughter spreads really fast. I’m constantly meeting stranger’s eyes with a mischievious look and forcing them to smile back. I’ve made many new Friends, this way.

Princess Alana, I’m very sorry for what your Husband did to you last night. Years ago, under the heavy influence of Alcohol, I was raped by a Man who’d only just come out of Prison for raping ANOTHER Woman, so didn’t press Charges against him in case nobody believed my stupidity in associating with him. I also fought for my life against another Man who attempted to rape me, but I managed to beat him off and got the Police involved and he was despised by the Locals so much, that he was forced to leave the City. He apologised to me, but I told him that I never wanted to see, nor hear from him again. I’m not sure how to advise you, as I’d leave him, but you’re married and it’s not always straightforward. Good luck, whatever you decide. x

I’ve recovered from those incidents, plus many more and think that it’s because eventually my sense of humour kicks in and helps me. There ISN’T a funny side to rape, but as time goes by and one heals, other things are humourous, which triggers a ‘feel better’ factor and aids in the overall convelescence. It’s really hard though, but I’ve found that it helps me to cope.

Have a good trip, David. (Not the falling over kind, although I’d probably find THAT hilarious!) Take care all. Love,

Sue and all the animals. x

This is absolutely true. I’ve experienced it first hand. I’m a supporter and a fairly serious person. I used to laugh a lot when I was younger. Then I just got so serious about life!
The one I support–my grand daughter is so funny. She gets me laughing. She loves to say, “I’m so funny I crack myself up–like an egg!” And she is too.

It is a holistic approach. I read things by Dr.Daniel Amen who discusses laughter, exercise, proper diet, but medications first. It is a total package. I am writing from the position of spouse of a BP person. We have to laugh, too! Sometimes I do not know how but I was blessed with a sense of humor and it has carried me MANY miles through years of not knowing what was wrong and sometimes being seduced into believing it was ME. The laughter and gentle way of treating yourself can be your salvation. My husband-when depressed-would always say he was glad I could laugh-many times I don’t think he meant it but I continued to try and see the positive. He now smiles and laughs-since medication-thank goodness! Too much laughter- inappropriate laughter- is just as disconcerting and scary for me. Now I have NORMAL responses and life is SOO much better. Thanks for the discussion.

Dave – I hope you’re having a GREAT time in California, and enjoying all the new experiences and people you’re meeting. All work and no play, make Dave a dull boy!!

I have this quote from Milton Berle taped to my refrigerator: “Laughter is like a Mini-Vacation.” It’s been proven that it takes less effort to smile than to frown.

But – I hate to disagree with you on bipolar’s reactions to their diagnosis. To some of us, it’s a Life Sentence. We have to alter our lives to accommodate the illness, and it ain’t funny. Remembering to take our meds (relying FOREVER on chemicals to keep us stable); not being able to go to bars and drink and socialize like we did BEFORE our diagnosis. And the “creeping crud” that comes to us who are totally alone every day, dealing with our moods that are unpredictable for the most part.

However, I DO find time to read the comics in the paper, and the “Zinester” FUNNIES every day. I’m lucky that I have a boyfriend with a wry sense of humor, who I can laugh with every weekend. “JOY” is such a precious commodity when you have bipolar. I find it in “spurts” throughout the day, and believe me, it’s rare.

Then, if/when we go into a hypomanic episode, we get sooo elated and “high” that EVERYTHING is gay and funny. I always remember eecummins quote: “Don’t be too happy, happy. It’s the happy, happy people bust hard when they bust, and they do bust hard when they bust.” It sometimes frightens me to be “too happy, happy” for fear that I’ll go “over the edge.”

bpserenity ALWAYS gives us something to laugh at when she posts. She’s got the right attitude when it comes to humor; without it, we’re just robots who go through our daily lives just putting one foot in front of the other just to function.

There are times I feel I’m in a drought looking for that oasis of fun and cheer; do YOU feel that way?

BIG HUGS to all bipolar survivors and those who love us. Please say a little prayer for me as I face some of the hardships in my life right now. Thank you.

My name is Lynn, and I live w/Bipolar II. In my need for humor and laughs, I receive comics to my inbox everyday. Just to remind me not to take things too seriously. Even if I don’t laugh right out loud, I can at least come up w/a smile and/or a chuckle. Try it; it works, and w/ArcaMax, they’re free!

I so truly agree!!! I really have to struggle to laugh and enjoy the simple little things. My husband is always in such a low, I battle to remember to laugh.