how do I ????

To heck with being politically correct...you are a crazy person and in saying that, I guess you could say that I am too. I would have to say that too was my biggest hurdles to overcome...having to admit I might have a problem and the stigma that was attached to people with mental health issues.

See...prior to being diagnosed, I too was one of those people that felt some were using the illness's as an excuse. I never complained and dealt constantly with the internal struggles going on in my head prior to any medications. I used alcohol in the evenings to quell the rampage thoughts to try and get any kind of calm. I also had a visual picture of someone mentally ill as a drooling or psychotic person on the loose.

SO where do you start? First understand that you are not alone or unique. There are degrees of the illness from mild to sever. Medications will not cure it, just put a damper on things so that you can get your life back. Now is the time to be totally honest with your therapist and psychiatrist to get the best treatment plan in place that will work for you.

I honestly now look at my illness as a gift and would not trade it for anything in the world. It would scare you as to how many people that held high offices, wrote great books, wrote and sang great music and the list goes on. We are the movers and the shakers of the world and the risk takers that are highly intelligent, very charming and charismatic (I am speaking of myself :) ).

Good luck and hopefully you to will start looking at the benefits verses the downfalls of being crazy!

You got to get away from the "crazy person's illness" sug.  If for no other reason than, well, apparently you got it too.  We aren't crazy, none of us are and well... most of us do not enjoy being referred to as such.

 

Bipolar is a medical illness (like any medical illness) that affects and effects the way the brain handles emotional responses, impulses, and mood.  In that the brain controls the entire body... something goes a bit on the fritz in there.. it will affect the rest of the system (very much like any medical illness would).

 

Some think it's bio-chemical in that the chemicals are all askew and some think it's because the neuro-pathways that become damaged due to injury or severe trauma (physical, mental, or both) do not re-generate and make new pathways.  Either way... something medical in the brain went on the fritz.

 

Does that take away the "crazy person's" image?

 

You were diagnosed, probably after an incident.  That is how most of us are diagnosed.  We went through an episode, lost control of ourselves either highly manic or severely depressed, saw a guy or gal in business clothes (seldom white coats anymore) or in loafers that diagnosed you as having Bipolar.

 

I struggled with mis-diagnosed Reocurring Major Depression for nearly 28 years before someone finally got it right.  Mine didn't occur overnight and wasn't a one episode kinda thing.  It just took 28 years of the wrong meds and several hospitalizations to finally find one who diagnosed me correctly because he asked the questions none of the other psychiatrists I had seen over the years asked.

 

He also took a thorough psych history as well as medical history, blood, & urine to rule out other medical issues.  He did that because there are many other medical issues that can cause symptoms very similar to Bipolar.

 

When I was told Bipolar, I too just sat there stunned.  Primarily due to the heavy dosed meds I was placed on but also because I knew it to be serious and yet wasn't sure what exactly it was.

 

So, I came here and I went to some other boards.  I read books and magazine articles.  I questioned my therapist at that time at length and I've questioned the therapists I've had since.  I have researched, read up, asked questions to the point where I am comfortable with it. 

 

It has taken nearly 3 years to get to this place and in the meantime I went through the proverbial 5 stages of acceptance.  You can ask your therapist what those are.

 

If you are on meds, stay on them.  Work with your doc and therapist.  Meds won't fix the disorder, it's life long but the meds will help you find relief from your symptoms when they flare (and they will from time to time). 

 

Seek out therapy to help you learn how to cope with the symptoms and the impulses they create.  It will also help you to learn what may trigger your symptoms and how to avoid the triggers or cope with them if they are unavoidable, and to work out any other issues you may have. 

 

It will also help you manage whatever inappropriate behavior that may stem from your individual mood swings (ie., anger, hypersexuality, money spending, etc...).  Yet, it will require a lot of effort and hard work on your part.

 

As far as family/friends go: most don't understand, most don't want to.  They want you fixed and cured and back to your old self.  You are on pills now, so they figure you should be cured and fixed soon. 

 

Most think it's all in your head, you can pull yourself up if you just wanted to, and why can't you just move along from here?  They too - think it is a crazy person's illness and are afraid of it because they don't understand it.

Being newly diagnosed is a very scary time. Have you started using meds? It takes a while to establish a good combination/dosage of medication. In fact, I'm still working on it. What I realized is that talking or chatting with other people has helped the most. I did a lot of research when I was first diagnosed so I could differentiate all the symptoms. That helped a lot too. Good luck =)