Congratulations, Serenitee, yours is a classic story of healing well from
a calamity. Every Labor Day holiday you may say to yourself, "I'm one of the ones who overcame the tragedy of bipolar illness and regained the giftedness of the illness." No one knows more than you do how much work is involved in recovery from the illness.
Alcohol is used to relieve the depression; ironically, it makes the illness worse; so does caffeine. I feel sure your doctors have warned you to omit alcohol from you life forever and to omit caffeine, as well. They are both harmful to the brain. Please read ruthwhalen.comcaffeine to get a stronger glimpse of the detrimental results of using caffeine in any form, whether coffee, tea, chocolate, or anything else containing caffeine, particularly for people who may have a sensitivity to caffeine or an allergy to it. (The symptoms of an allergy to caffeine are not the standard ones that we usually associate with allergy--sneezing, etc. ). Both alcohol and caffeine are addictive, as you learned in recovery.
I can't tell you how important your thread is today for all those who have been the victims of self-medicating with alcohol and caffeine who
really need to do what you have done successfully: see a psychiatrist,
get a proper diagnosis for the negative depths of feeling and take the proper chemical stabilizer (called a mood stabilizer) to recover and
remain stable for the rest of your life. Your story is exciting and one that I hope all our readers will listen to earnestly.
Again, congratulations. Please use your recovery now to help others who come to this forum and are reaching out for help. You know well how to respond to them with your advice.
Thanks for this great post.
Take care and come back very soon.
It's Genetic
Post Edited (It's Genetic) : 9/3/2011 4:50:58 PM (GMT-6)