Short Shots

wow Greg I hear you and i thought the same things about my hubby when he went on meds. at last he gave it a try none of them worked really well I think it is rule of thumb and play it safe .If it is putting people into more jeropody and sending them back to the doctor in worse shape cut it out ..I almost think it is better to go through an episode then to dilute the whole person with stuff that does not work suiccidal thoguths are nnot uncommon for any one but with Bipolar it can reach climaxes of disorientationa nd sweating it out then the average person.

what a life it really stinks for the depressed souls like yourself maybe a brisk walk even if you cannot get off your butt to do it imagine it till it starts to happen. And a good cry about stuff only you could cry about it it is alright to be a bit selfish when you hit a bottom and a strong insight from the God up above he wants to help ..he has seen this stuff going on for years now he knows what a dump we live in emotionally.My Mom just died and I cried like a baby in front of my whole family for an hour.... we had a family meeting and I was fine till something was said and I had just spent 3 days with her till her last breath and I was exhausted so I broke like a pallet board in artists studio I bawled my eyes out I asked for part of her ashes I went all weird then I was fine... ... then I cried again then I was Ok  ...but it sure helped me and I felt like an ******* to my family but they did not care it was natural ..........do not blame yourself for the illness and just know the light is around the corner and this to shall pass ...who cares if if the depression locks you in to much fight it like you are fighting for your kid's right to stay alive .

   Hi G.J. It's Emma,    My husband was in  bad depression late spring into early summer. His doctor added Lamictal to his other meds, and it did help him alot. Sometimes though he can start to slip into a lesser depression, but now he seems to realize it sooner than he did before. We both call it getting weird, well actually I started calling it getting weird first and now he will say I think I'm getting weird again. I think just the fact that he realizes he's slipping back into a depression helps him try to pull out of it before it gets as bad as it did a few months ago. Of course being the sarcastic one I'm liable to say anything to him,(not mean) just to get a small smile out of him. I also make him get up and go to our youngest daughters soccer game(which he enjoys), but would sit on the couch and not go if he was depressed.I also try to make him get up and go outside and do something.I also try to get him to talk his way out of it to himself I mean that may sound crazy, but it does seem to work. He always goes to work depressed or not, and I encourage that because his mind is on something else beside himself. I have to say that I absolutely detest his being bipolar. I hate what it's done to him. I hate the fact that I feel sorry for him. I hate what the meds do to him, they do help him, but they also take alot out of him, and completely change his personality. I think that anybody that is bipolar and has a spouse that still loves them and tries to help them survive day to day is extremely lucky. It certainly does effect everybody in the family,but as with everything else in our life we (not him as much),but me and our two daughters talk about it alot usually with our crazy sarcastic ways. Yes both my daughters are sarcastic. The 27 year old is really good at it, and the 9 year old is in training. We don't dare make fun of him, but I don't want it to be a big secret in our house that he is bipolar, and that the whole house has to be in a depressed state. I guess I sound crazy and the Lord only knows that I've dealt with enough to drive me crazy, but you have to keep on going. I hope you keep on going and hopefully the going will get easier. I will be thinking of you, and I'll say a prayer for you. Tell your wife that I also think of her, and hope she can hold on for the bumpy ride. I hope you smile soon.  Emma

GJ
THANK YOU Once again for bringing such interesting post to the forum....I personally am focusing on the police situation.

It really really bothered me reading that insert. It seems that the "image" of mental illness is not getting any more knowledgable in some areas of the nation and this really scares me.

 I mean i can't help but wonder is it a trend, for instance the police are NOT equipped to handle situations like that in any competent way whatsoever...don't get me wrong....my uncle was a State Police and I have great respect for those who choose to serve the public..however, he'd be the first to tell you that he has no idea how to handle a mania state of a bipolar or any other mental illness....he would have called in the Mental Health Facility before doing such things that we just read about in the article.
I worry often and probably needlessly of a policestate nation where our illness is considered a burden,for none of this seemed to escalate until they returned a second time, i can't help but wonder if it was just impatients and definetly NOT empathy that fueled them...

 where people will NOT call for help, or seek help in fear of being ostericized and forcefully taken away from their homes for other places deemed appropriate by the POLICE...which of course aren't qualified to determine the mentalstate of someone, it simply isnt' their job and i am sure they have enough to deal with and really DON"T WANT that job.....Now don't get me wrong there are those who DO know ...and there are those who would contact the local Mental Health Facility, and they ARE needed in times of crisis sometimes but the WHOLE FAMILY>>GEEZ
However, this is a travesty, what happened to the family that was calling for help....I am sorrowed and very disturbed by their treatment.....I certainly hope something is done to educate the police involved on how devastating and WORSE they made the situation for the young boy AND his whole family....pitiful and thank you for keeping us aware of the "image" that is portrayed out there....I hope they called and got support from someone KNOWLEDGABLE on their situation....just sad...

And for the antidepressants, weird you bring that up, when i went to tthe doc the other day he and I talked about this

...I am on an antidepressant, but very low dosage, I have been having the tactile delusions and extreme mania lately and really battling it with great efforts to avoid the hospital...seeing therapist everyday, tweeked the meds, and seem to be well doing some better, still see and hear things but the skin sensation of when someone touches you feels like their punching you has faded somewhat, NOT gone, but fading it seems....

and at the time it wasn't conducive to take me off the antidepressant,

not sure we are going to but at least he and i talked and he made me aware that it CAN induce a mania episode....

.I went through just about every single antidepressant there was before i was diagnosed properly as bp.some sent me over the edge, others dummied me in a sense......it was like, oh you are just depressed and at the time i was so ready to hear anything to help me and thought OH JUST DEPRESSION I CAN HANDLE THAT WITHOUT A PSYCH>>>although she (the MD) strongly recommended one.

..little did I know...little did i know....for obviously it got worse, I got worse, I went on spending sprees,suicidal thoughts rampid and I basically was on the edge when finally got some help....but the "stigma" kept me away for almost TOO long...

(the MD not the psyciatrist for as i've told you i avoided going for so long i nearly harmed myself not going) anyway, later she was like, hmmm these aren't working and then with the other symptoms she is the one that told me she thought i was BP.....

but i avoided the psyc. for about 2 more years out of needless fear....and worry...and paranoria...guess i just didn't want to admit i had a problem. I think that is the way it is with a lot of us, we just don't see that we are mentally ill for that carries such a stigma no one wants to think of themselves as having those kind of illnesses..and it's so easy to say NO it's not me or my mind it is this or that, them or they......

.but personally it was a great relief to me....to finally find the answer, what it was all those years and how i could have helped myself so much sooner....

I think it is important for us all to know the medications we take and their side effects, their possible effects on our conditions, and TALK and research about the medications you are given instead of just complying and not asking questions.
I know that is hard for some, but it can literally be life saving, or keep one from experiencing WORSE symptoms than they are experiencing to bring them to help in the first place...YOU ARE SO RIGHT>>>BE VERY CAREFUL and remember KNOWLEDGE IS POWER In this illness...we have to be aware, we have to be able to identify our stages/moods changing and how to counteract that....NOT that it is always successful, but knowledge will help us to realize that others go through this too and that TOGETHER WE CAN!!!!
GJ I can't thank you enough for making us all stop and think

and I certainly hope things get better for you dear friend...

Hang in there, sounds like you have a great support system there.....I will be praying for you and your son and your WHOLE family my friend.....

remember I am thinking of you and yours and please keep us updated on how you are doing.

Did the doc give you anything for the deep depression you are going through? What was his recommendations?? Did he mention anything about the "flat effect"?

Goodluck my friend and remember with BP ...this too shall pass.....sending positive energy and prayers,

ctry girl

I do hate that others have to go through this but it is also a relief that I am not alone. Reading negative news such as this, I am sure doesn't help matters. Hang in there and take life one day at a time. That is all we can do.

its nice to know i'm not the only one that isn't thinking! My bp has been wrecking havoc on me since I had a hysterectomy 6 weeks ago. Spent the last week stuck on stupid, just can't think at all. But it is what is for now. Just don't ask me to remember or do anything beyond a bare,minimal function. I am very depressed but if I don't laugh at being in this state, I'll lose it. The police and courts do need more training on menal illness and resulting behaviors. Would help us alot. I myself have been involuntarily committed due to throwing a phone in the er after cuttin my wrists. they didn't like me being angry at my husband who wasn't supporting me at the time. Another friend lost it and spent 5 months in jail after spitting in an officer's face while depressed. Makes no sense to me. May you feel better soon and know you are not alone and your thinking seems just fine in print. So write your heart out!!

 If this family had concerns for their sons safety they should have called the fire department or 911 and asked for medical assistance, who are equipted with medical facilities at their immediate disposal.  As a policeman, if he believes this child is in danger, either from himself or his family he must remove the child, if he is not in possesion of restaints other than handcuffs and restraint is required he must use what he has.  After reading the news account the family then tried to interfere phisically with the police who were doing the best to do their jobs: restraining a unruly, upset and possibly suicidal teen.  When family begins to aggressively and physically interfer then what are the police to do.  The family called for help, help came, they did not care for the manor of the help and became aggressive.  When aggression begins in a situation virtually everbody involved who is aggressive will end up restained so it can be sorted out later under more calm and SAFE conditions. 

Was this the best solution, perhaps not, but if you want the help then do not interfere when it arives, if you fear for your child then let those who arive to help do the best they can with what they have to work with.  To become aggressive with police is dangerouse because too many police have ended up dead when involved with families in crisis or a dispute.  And exactly how are they to know the difference. As far as the neighbor goes, whether he is a minister or not, it is not his place to try and mediate a situation in the street at night that has escalated that far.  He should have know better.  If he really wanted to help he should have followed the family to the police staion and helped to calm the family, isn't that his job?

Police are not mental health workers, they are keepers of the peace and when any physical agggression is used against them or towards them then their first duty is to protect themselves from a possibly dangerous or deadly situation, they have families at home too.

Next time call 911 and say I believe my teenager is contemplating hurting themselves, more qualified assistance will arive.  I do not applaud the police for thier actions but nor do I think that they should be chastized for restraining family members trying to interfer with them doing what in that situation was their job, helping the kid and restaining him until they could transport him to a proper facility, out of the reach of upset and possibly overeacting family members caught up in their own sence of drama.