Tuesday, November 02, 2010
I would love to hear about the positive about Bi Polar Disorder, different peoples experiences after treatment and how life goes on! I have noticed a lot of questions people have here on Bi Polar connect and alot of people are scared to get he help. Helping people view Bi Polar through a positive window would educate them, let them know that they are not the only ones and know that it is very treatable and their future is bright!
ANYONE with a positve out look on life and Bi Polar, please post!!! Thanks!!!
I too like to hear the sunny side stories of life from people who are in recovery from mental illness!
To tell you my story in a nutshell, I was diagnosed with depression at the young age of 21 while studying Journalism at UT Knoxville. Man, was this a difficult time for me! Words can not explain the explosion that went on in my brain at this difficult juncture in my life. Three months later and 30 pounds lighter (I didn't need to be this gaunt), I was flunking out of college and unable to take care of even the basic necessities of life. I was finally diagnosed by an internal medical doctor after seeing countless experts who had no clue what was wrong with me. Three days after being prescribed antidepressant medication, I was back to my old self and back in the saddle! This is a testament, I think, to the powerfully beneficial effects of pscyhotropic medications on individuals who truly have a chemical imbalance.
As the years went by, the illness waxed and waned and I arrived at a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder when I was 28. Since the age of 28, I have been on a steady sanity cocktail that I contribute to saving and stabilizing my life.
My wish is to reach out and help others by being a presenter for NAMI TN's In Our Own Voice Program. I participate in support groups, educate myself thoroughly about mental illness and have received a Masters degree in Counseling. Peer support, bonding with others who also have a mental illness, is crucial to my recovery. I wholeheartedly suggest to others who have a diagnosis to seek this support. For those who need to know how to seek peer counseling, give me a holler and I'll be happy to try and assist you in giving resources in your area where you can get it.
Remember, being diagnosed with a mental illness is not a death sentence. Life goes on and treatments really work! Don't be discouraged if you don't find a medication or a therapy that doesn't work for you at first. Be persistent, seek a second opinion, research, study and join your local mental health organizations.
My hope is that everyone who has a diagnosis can feel as good inside their heart and soul and mind as I do right now! Take care everyone!
thank you for your story.
I have lived with depression since I was 18. In the past 30 years I had ups and downs, recognizing the down times as depression...thinking the up times were what I was supposed to feel like, not realizing it was hypomania. I was diagnosed with bipolar just over a year ago.
From the pit of despair and suicidal ideations in the winter to rapid cycling for a few months this summer, I am now leveling off pretty well most of the time.
I just began a new job which upset the balance a bit but I KNOW that it won't be forever. I have a great support system, a tremendous pdoc and therapist, found the right med and have a positive outlook and dreams again.
I have applied to grad school in the hopes of becoming a licensed clinical social worker. I want to do therapy for people with mental illness and give back. I plan to get involved with NAMI. Like you said, it's so important to connect with those that understand since they experience what you do. I am involved in a bipolar support group that meets twice a month.
It is reading stories of hope such as yours and others on this site and in the bipolar magazine, that spur me on during the tough moments or days. I will always have this brain...it's a good one...just needed to learn to work WITH it and not against it.
Some things that have helped me are regular talk therapy, using stress reduction techniques, nutrition therapy, exercise, lots of good head work...affirmations, positive training, CBT, consistency with schedule and routine. Knowing that I'll need extra TLC during holidays and busy times...being as kind to myself as possible.
God Bless,
Shelly
I have an age 32 son living in Santa Cruz (CA) who is bipolar II, on meds, but still hypomanic. He has an intense desire to talk to someone who is expert in bipolar and patient enough to work through his ideas about the disease and the mental health profession. He has not like any of the therapists we have sent him to, and I am wondering if a skilled peer counseling might help. How can I find such a person?
Hi,
My name is Cindy Cates and although I live in Nashville, TN, I'd be glad to talk to your son via some email and phone sessions. I have experience as a peer counselor and have lived through the illness myself so I might be just what he's looking for.
I'd also be glad to do a search in his area and find out where his local NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) affiliate is. I'd also find out where the DBSA (Depression Bipolar Support Alliance) is. It may very well be that they have peer services in those areas.
Feel free to email me at cynzacc@comcast.net and we can discuss ways of helping your son.
I hope I could be of help!
Cindy Cates
I'm interested that you're doing IOOV. Are you employed? Does your employer know about your BP? because the last time my employer (of 10 years) found out, I found myself without a job six months later ... That's why I'm Lady Behind The Mask. I can live a positive and professional life, as long as almost nobody knows I have BP.
In Our Own Voice is a NAMI Curriculum and one of the requirements of taking the course is that you HAVE to be a mental health consumer. You see, that's the whole point of the presentation. To show yourself as a worthy, normal seeming person who happens to struggle with a mental illness. The presentations are wildly popular and and truly changing the perception of stimga.
At NAMI, you don't have to hide behind a mask for fear of being discovered. A majority of the people who work there have a diagnosis of a mental illness and the atmosphere is one of total acceptance and support.
I'm sorry you have to hide but I do understand that you need to feel out your territory before you reveal something so intimate.
I hope and pray that someday you will work in an environment where they accept you for who you are - warts and all - and love you because of, not in spite of, having a mental illness. Once you let your guard down you can do a mountain of good in providing others with empathy, compassion and understanding.
I do Class 10 "consumer" presentations for NAMI's Family to Family, and they're always grateful to have a consumer who actually lives an ordinary life -- it's very encouraging to the families. But IOOV ... going out into public settings, speaking to the same civic groups that are professional partners ... it'll just get back to my employer, and the last time an employer found out, I lost my job. I'm amazed, and envious, that you are in a place of freedom where letting it be known doesn't destroy your life. I don't want to lose this one.