Intuition and Bipolar: Is There a Connection?

okay.. I'm in a "mixer" right now so while 1 half sorta gets this.. the other half is not clear

are you saying that if someone is highly intuitive, or even empathetic (ability to pick up and sense another's mood/emotion), that it is a sign of possible schizophrenia?  or not?

I'm pretty tired of people trying to glamorize mental illness when what is needed is a through review of how people are assessed (mostly by hocus pocus) and how to retrain doctors to give the right treatment. Schizophrenia may be linked to genetic type; it is certainly tied to biological processes. If Einstein's family suffered from a chronic low-grade deficiency of Niacin or other B vitamins, or an allergy to caffeine, that would indeed mess up their biology. Thorazine won't fix a N3 deficiency and neither will any of the other "newer" drugs.

Mostly, it's the food, dude. 

Interesting!  Check out this New York Times article, which examines the value of intuition in the military:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/health/research/28brain.html?scp=1&sq=intuition%20Iraq&st=cse

As a bipolar and slow learner, I've all too often sought the advice of my sane, intelligent, and successful friends in difficult situations, and have always regretted it.  My intuition is my best guide--if I find myself trying to do the "best" and "sanest" thing even though my intuition is screaming advice at me, I always end up in disaster. 

We can only hope people like Nancy Andreassen can find the funding to further their research.  In this era that validates rationality above all else, intuition gets short shrift, even though our best thinkers insist they rely on it. 

The issue does bring to mind problems with cognitive therapy, which as I've experienced it, tells me that I should ignore those intuitive alarms blaring in my ears.

As always, John, you put your finger on the things we would hope our caregivers will pay attention to.

When I was working, I took that famous test to see what your personality type was. Of course, I was intuitive. Thoughts come up all the time. But I agree, sometimes you aren't right and think you are and people around you are like what - are you having a bipolar moment as my boyfriend says. But sometimes, I am right on track. I also get a gut feeling about people when I meet them. Are they good friend material or forget about it. I can be wrong but usually right.

This is a very good subject. I am an artist and out of no where, I get an urge to do something artistic and create something. I'm getting better at doing projects. I use to use as an excuse, I can't create without being in a class room. I think it's still true, but ideas do come and I act on them.

I am also a Master gardener and I think my graphic design background and fine art helps me come up with good plant mixtures in pots and just picking out the most dynamatic color plant but it also just happens.

Also, with clothing, when I was not on the right med's, I weighed 180 lbs, and was 125. I was over weight, depressed, nothing to divert myself with, also without structure. I was only wearing LLBean cloths which are not the most creative - pretty boring but quality clothes.

I was stuck in a rut - 10 years with the same shrink who could not get me on the right med, so he decides to get my me and my med's evaluated by John Hopkins, in Baltimore, Maryland. Even they could not come up with anything to help me out. ALso, it was the worse interview of my life, so many personal questions asked.

My shrink who was the director of the Mental Hospital that I had to go to for checkups (you know what I mean - episodes) dropped me on my can. He told me to go to my Community Mental Health. My ex-to-be even called my doc and said, please, you can't do this. I was not being nasty to him or anything. He would not listen.

I know now, if you are with someone for 10 years and are not getting better, run, do not hide and find another. Don't be like me, thinking he is the best and afraid to seek another. Plus I did not feel comfortable with him. We would do therapy and med's.

He did want to look over my diary, which I thought was so important to see. He said I was doing that so I would not have to talk to him. I was putting my emotions down for him to see, quite different.

With contrast, my therapist wants to see my journal so it puts her on the right page. It was like torture talking to him anyways. He was so straight laced and sometimes we would stare at each other and I hated that. I could not think of a thing to say and would feel like I just want to get out of here. I can't stand this!!!

I could not believe if the mighty one (shrink) could not help me, how was my Community MHealth do anything. He also suggest going to a day program with my county. That was a joke. Hardly any structure, a little bit of interaction, lunch, tv game shows, but no therapy. One trip we all went to a county place that was selling office equipment - now that was a great field trip.

Also because of my ex to be's salary, I was paying my new shrink almost the same amount as my over charging shrink. To make things short, I picked a shrink out of the hat that was on my insurance club and we went back to the basics - Lithium Carbatrol and Lexapro. I wanted the Lexapro so I would not be just in the middle and not creative - flat I would say. I agree with Lexapro and haven't gotten manic because of it, thank goodness. Most of my bipolar friends in my Bipolar group are not allowed to take any

anti-depressents.

Now I have volunteer jobs, am a Master gardener, in a Bipolar group, work at a Botanic Garden, take tons of photos and am enjoying my life again. My biggest delight is being a volunteer for a Doberman Rescue group. I do all kinds of things to raise money for rescued Dobies. My beloved Doberman, Sir Duke died in May. I so miss him.

I think that is another cure for our disease, having a living pet to nuture and getting unconditional love. Thank goodness, I have 3 cats.

I'm not saying my life is perfect, because of course, you have set backs but not like some caused by the wrong drug. I had rapid cycling every half hour, panic attacks, feeling like a wild animal, restless legs, looking into a mirrow and not seeing myself, then knowing my husband was right beside me and could not see him either. Talk about being scared.

Now for the past few years, I went back to weighing 125-130 and go to the thrift shop and get beautiful clothes at the right place and feel so much better. I am also getting a divorce from someone who really loved me, found another, and for 10 years ignored me. That there has helped. When they do not care anymore even if you care, they are not right for you. But when you are bipolar, you usually are scared of change - can I make it on my own?

Hoping to get the divorce soon. Was ready to get the settlement part done, when my ex stopped paying me support and is going bankrupt. Which will leave 1/2 of his Credit Card debit to me. To get out of it, bankrupcy for me (for 10 years). It seems like he just wants to get me as hard as possible with one, another woman, not being nice before that, and now bandrupcy.

Now it looks like we will go to court.  He's depressive, not a good combo~!

Thank you John for weighing in on a subject highly personal to me. Once my bipolar boat stopped rocking, I could see there were elements of the illness not completely pathological. I enjoyed these times and relished my intuition as being "higher tuned" than the folks without a mental health diagnosis. I also listened to every expert who said, "Intuition is never wrong." Last winter, my intuition brought me to the ER. It turns out, at least in my case, my intution was fueled by mania and paranoia and completely off base. It's very much a relief to hear you say intution can be wrong. Next episode, maybe I'll be able to get my rational mind to kick in before things get out of hand. Finally, I appreciate your persistence in keeping your column going. As they say in Hollywood, I enjoy your work.

Thanks for addressing a subject that has been on my mind for years. I'm highly intuitive, mildly empathic, whatever you want to call it. I've wondered for a long time if there is a connection between bipolar and intuitive/empathic abilities.  I can "read" a person within just a few minutes of meeting them a large percentage of the time, even when it's over the internet and the other person is a thousand miles away. It's extrememly overwhelming at times, making me withdrawl from social situations because I can't deal with the onslot of emotions that hits me when I'm in public. I even have the ability to "sense" my close friends emotions when we're miles apart or haven't even spoken in a long time. I wish I had a nickle for everytime someone has asked me if I'm psychic.

     For the record, I do not consider myself to be psychic. I do however consider myself to be mildly empathic. It's difficult to talk to doctors or therepist about it because you're afraid they're going to think, "yeah, she's loosing her mind again". That or they tell you that its a false perception due to either your bipolar or borderline personality disorder but I know what I experience is real, I've been right way too many times for it to be a false perception. I have noticed that my "abilities" have lessened with my becoming stable and being on the right med combination. I can still read people, it's just not as quickly or as overwhelming. Most the time I am happy about that because it allows me to be around other people but I've got to be honest, sometimes I miss it. Hmmm, does that make me crazy, LOL.

     I just wanted to share my experience with this subject because I know there is someone else out there who is also afraid to admit to having these "abilites" and it is so nice when you realize you're not alone.

Is Deja Jue the same thing?  So many things have come true through out my life.  I may have dreamed things years ago that happen now.  Or I may dream things in the present day.  It has always driven me crazy.  When I meet someone I'll know instantly if they are a good person or not.  Though I will give them the benifit of the doubt, and try not to pre-judge them.

A-a-a-ahhh-h-h....

This explains a lot in my life. Like being told that I always thought too deeply. Like walking into a room crowded with a social gathering -- like the opening of a college art exhibit (I'm way too overwhelmed in most social settings and would rather die than go to what used to be called "a cocktail party") and am worn out to the point of almost crisis stress whenever my situation, be it a family health crisis involving another family member or just plain too much personal interaction is forced upon me without the relief of "alone time to recharge, calm down and recenter" for three or more days by sheer circumstances. I used to avoid social situations as much as possible and isolate instead. But that is not the answer, either.

Guided by my first male and very gentle, kind of laid back, therapist in over a decade (too many -- and one is too many -- crossed the ethical boundary), I am changing the isolation to a new aspect of illness management by keeping my social interactions limited, yet regular. When any relationship starts to seemingly take over my life (being empathic -- but just learning how to have and maintain healthy boundaries at the young age of 59 -- seems to repeatedly willingly cause me to ignore any need for healthy boundaries in any kind of social relationship until I begin to feel anger about loosing myself again). I have learned to drop back ten and punt the relationship right out of my life, explaining to the individual that it is me, not them, that has the problem. After that, I reevaluate both alone and check out my conclusions with my therapist before reestablishing contact with the given individual. And I move slowly enough now to be on guard against getting drawn back in to too much empathy for them at the expense of compassion for myself and my own needs. This old dog is eager to learn new tricks!

I never understood until reading this post of yours, John, why I was so easily confused about how to respond to others -- to what they were saying with words or to what they communicated to me in every other way as well. Confused because they seemed oblivious to the other things they were communicating, which felt much more real or true to me than their words did and I wanted to really communicate with them on that level. 

Only most people don't want to be communicated with at that level, I've found. They get angry with you for even trying to do it gently! I have learned to respect their boundaries about that and apply more caution, accepting that they apparently aren't ready to deal with those communications even within themselves as yet. I've learned to identify those relationships as associations, not friendships. I've also learned that I need associations in addition to friendships so I accept it for what it is and make decisions (manage) now based on my needs above my intuitive perceptions of their needs. I can't be all things to all people.

As for that famous test...I've took in twice as part of staff development while I still able to work. Came out with the same profile each time, but was so evenly divided that, had I been a male in the intuitive/thinking range, I would have come out a thinker, not an intuitive! It's the only category which takes gender into account, too!!!

But that also explains why I have had a lifelong dichotomy of both giftedness and interest between the arts and the sciences, I believe. The problem which that created for me in life is that I changed my course a lot, especially in my intimate relationships. I would listen to my intuitve gut and tell myself I had to get out of it one minute. The next minute the analytical thinker would take over and find all the reasons why my gut was wrong. In those situations I ALWAYS should have listened to my gut. In my last relationship (21 Years before we divorced) it would have been much better for my children, too, had I been able to face the fears of change my gut cried out for, but my stinking thinking made excuses for!!

Last December, the therapist referred to above made up a 3 pronged mini treatment plan that he asked me to agree at least to try. Dress each day as if I was important (who me? not you?); maintain daily med compliance (I didn't like the flat feeling of the meds, either and had gone so far as to inquire of my doctor if their was such a thing as "Managed Mania" by simply going back on my meds after no longer than five days); and to undertake a single for fun social connection each week (doing what exactly??). The hardest part was dressing as if I was important, but then I thought, "Well, maybe I could experiment with makeup again after 20 years." Of course, I couldn't just go out and buy some makeup and put in on!! I obsessessed for hours and days and weeks on the web doing research first!!! But then I began to buy it and use it. My daughter said I looked "like a ho" in the beginning, but I continued to research, toned down and then researched some more until I acheived a natural look. I made myself use it every day whether I felt like it or not. On the days I didn't feel like it, I began to notice that I felt better about myself after putting it on -- which led to better daily hygiene, which led to better feelings about myself, which led to taking more care about my overall appearance, which led to reintroducing the interests and activities I used to enjoy, which led to wanting to socialize! Which of course led to my overdoing it and anger and withdrawal and, finally, to a carefully managed balance. I'm still not 100% med compliant, but I'm not totally honest with my caregivers on that score yet. Still, I've had only hours long periods of hypomania and no full blown or protracted manias. And I have used my new skills to avoid any plunging depressions.

And you know what? I'm happier and healthier than I have ever been -- really. Acceptance and managing a balance and learning when to say I can't do more without some alone time first have also come into play. Best of all, I caught a glimpse of myself as I passed a mirror a couple of months ago, and, for the very first time in my life, I liked the person looking back at me and smiled at her!

Sorry if I've gone too far off topic, but, to my mind, it comes back to having empathy for self and doing for self some of the things I have always done for others at my own expense -- and that's good intuitive living, I think.

I have great intuition and have had occasional psychic predictions of future events which really are freaky. Fortunately, I don't take these psychic revelations too seriously, I generally accept them as coincidences or for just what they are and try not to overanalyze these phenomena.  But it is a very interesting topic and one that I have offered wondered about. The important thing is to stay with my meds, see my psychiatrist regularly, and stay well. I have been diagnosed for 20 years and successfully worked full time for most of that, and have three grown kids. I'm lucky I guess, but it is possible.

I have been told by my psychiatrist early on in my 34 years of bipolar diagnosis that it seemed that people with bipolar disorder were more intelligent and intuitive.  I think it is because we learned to be avoid the jerks in the world.  But I accept it.  Look at all the creative people who have this disorder - actors, artists, writers etc.  I just go with the roll.  I have been level for 12 years and I am creative.  I make my own patterns to make my renaissance garb and I can sense people that I will not get along with.   My husband who has the disorder is an amateur actor and sings and writes.  We have ordinary jobs and look like ordinary people.  Except for our renaissance group called the SCA which gives us the outlet for our creativity.  Also I do not hide the fact that I have the disorder but I do not shout it out loud.