Bipolor ?????????????

Hi Kris,

Welcome to Healing Well.

Some people have suffered from bipolar from birth and don't know any different. Some people sail through part of their lives and are then struck down with bipolar. The second group really know the stark contrast between being well and unwell. The symptoms are covered in the following link: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm

Ziprasidone is an antipsychotic and antipsychotics are effective for mood stabilisation even for people who don't suffer from psychosis. Here's some more info for you about ziprasidone: http://www.nps.org.au/publications/health-professional/nps-radar/2009/april-2009/brief-item-ziprasidone. Information about Xanax: http://www.drugs.com/xanax.html

Firstly no one is really "bipolar". People are who they are and a lot of people happy to carry long term injuries and illnesses. Chronic illness can be part of the human experience for some people. It might seem like I'm splitting hairs but no one says "I'm a heart attack" or "I'm a broken leg".

Secondly mental illness are still physical illnesses. They are merely physical illnesses in our brain, just as neurological illnesses are. The classification between psychiatry and neurology is made according to symptoms only. It is still the same organ that is having some kind of dysfunction causing unhelpful experiences for the person.

Thirdly, it does come down to perception. Often part of the illness of bipolar is that we cannot perceive ourselves as others do. We can tend to have a blindness to our own symptoms and how we appear to others.

Fourthly, bipolar is only diagnosed in the absence of any other physical causations for bipolar like symptoms.

I have had bipolar symptoms my entire life but did not see them in myself. Once I had them pointed out by a supportive and validating pdoc, I could see them. Bless her for her patience :).

Despite having severe bipolar symptoms I was only dx'd as bipolar two years ago, because our stuggling mental health system won't diagnose illness because then they have a legal issue surrounding not having the resources to provide treatment for psychiatric issues.

Bipolar is incurable and progressive, but the progression of the disease is shown the world over to be severely halted by the use of medications. Medications also help minimise pesky symptoms, allowing the person to function better and achieve a better quality of life.

Can you imagine the shock I got last week when I "lost" my bipolar dx? If bipolar is incurable, how could I lose my dx you ask? Well, a geneticist discovered that my bipolar symptoms were the result of an underlying genetic mutation. So as you can see not everything is black and white; especially with mental health when there are no blood tests for mental illness. It is subjective, based on specialist observations. All specialists refer to the DSM for criterion for diagnosis though; so there is uniformity in what cluster of symptoms observed warrant classification as a certain illness.

I hope that helps demystify things for you. It is good to ask your prescribing doctor these questions as it helps develop a mutual understanding as you both work on managing the illness together.

Good luck and again, welcome,

Jade.

No problem whatsoever. Glad you could get something out of my reply.

In regard to your irritability and anger, I think it may be important to put to you that you regard anger as a primary emotion. I have never heard anger being referred to as a secondary emotion before and really question the validity of that proposition. The way I see it the three primary "uncomfortable" emotions are anger, fear and sadness. (Some people also include shame as a fourth).

Emotions are essential to surviving as a human being - they all have functions. Anger is usually there to help us protect ourselves from harm.

There is a difference between emotions and states. Depression is a state. Anxiety is a state. Rage can be a state. These states are just as valid as sadness, fear and anger because they are a normal responses to brain chemistry imbalance. It is pointless beating ourselves up for "states". We don't chose the brain chemistry. It is just up to us to accept those states, treat those symptoms the best we can, and act opposite to those states until they pass, which they always do.

To manage anger: gently avoid the person you are angry with, rather than attacking. Try not to ruminate about your anger - distract yourself from those thoughts. Do something pleasant to help change your brain chemistry. When you come back to thinking about that person, try to feel empathy and compassion for them. If the anger seems to be to protect you from immediate harm, you can still take controlled action to protect yourself, without "dropping your sh!t" so to speak.

Try to observe anger objectively - accept it is there, try not to feel bad for feeling angry (our feelings about our primary emotions is my understanding of what secondary emotions are). Don't try to "get rid of the anger". You can feel angry - and still chose to act in a way that brings the best possible long term outcome, that is in line with your values, even in the midst of the anger.

It is difficult determining what is a state and what is an emotion. But labels schmabels; regardless of whether the anger is from internal or external triggers or it is "justified" or "unjustified" it is still a really intense emotion which we need to let our intellect help us manage.

I get very angry myself - both from bipolar symptoms as well as post traumatic stress. It doesn't take much for me to feel a sense of outrage when I feel disrespected, treated as unimportant, treated unfairly, betrayed, rejected or unloved. I'm very sensitive and vulnerable emotionally and it takes time to become more robust emotionally. I lose my cool every now and again and I can be cutting, hostile and defensive, but it isn't from lack of trying to be more gentle, polite, and understanding.

The easiest way to quell anger is by listening to it, understanding what it is about and not act on the harmful urges that come with anger.

It's 4am, I haven't slept so I hope you can make sense of what I'm trying to say :D

I hope the doctor can be helpful with emotions and states for you.

Best wishes,

Jade

 Good input. Thanks again.   I found out yesterday that my irritation can be due to a car accident I was in years ago & had a serious head injury. Therefore I have lack of patience I guess. Thats news to me. I was put on a med called Limictal which I had been on before but I quit taking cause my kidney specialist said it was harmful on my kidneys. So who do I believe ? Its a double edge sword. Some days I feel like I am at my witts end dealing with Crohns disease now as well as kidney issues but I need something to keep me level. I am sick of going to Drs. It is what it is though & I just need to hope for the best, take it day by day, sometimes hour by hour or minute by minute. That is where irritation comes in. Thanks again for all the input. Very helpful.    

Thank you for the words you share ! Very wise & inspiring !

Well doctors assess bipolar... you could assist him with getting to his doctors appointments depending how affected by the disorder he is. Probably most of all, listening and acceptance is the most refreshing gift someone with a brain chemistry imbalance can be given.