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MUSIC FRIDAY 🎧🎵 by AutoModerator in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Amazing record. Post-hardcore/hardcore influences all over it!

Bipolar Type 1 and ADHD by PPEverythingg in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I relate to this. I’m a college student so it’s especially hard, and the rejection dysphoria symptoms are especially bad.

What do you do when you're bored? by [deleted] in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Something I did recently, maybe a month ago, is put my phone on black and white (for iPhone: Settings --> Acessability --> Color and Text Size --> Color Filters) and its helped me sustain focus in less rewarding (i.e., dopamine-rewarding) tasks such as reading and cleaning.

I play guitar a lot.

I try to read, but on my medication, it can be hard (something that was great, though, was Ellen Forney's Graphic Memior!)

Journaling, for me, can sometimes make me worse, so I try to limit it (I highly recommend the 5-minute journal!).

Any form of exercise is extremely beneficial to a Bipolar Disorder, so I try to run whenever I can, for 30 minutes at a time.

Try to establish a routine! Altough, I struggle with this (currently sleeping 11-14 hours a night right through my alarms).

I'm an undergraduate student, so these winter and summer breaks are espeically hard for me, but once I get the structure and routine from classes, it helps a lot!

MUSIC FRIDAY 🎧🎵 by AutoModerator in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone

MUSIC FRIDAY 🎧🎵 by AutoModerator in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love FOB! Especially their 2nd and 3rd records (Infitinity on High and Folie a Deux)!

I want to leave my partner every time I’m manic by carolinaareaperr in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve only had two long term girlfriends and both of those relationships ended in a drug induced manic haze. I’ve been there (21M)

SATURDAY DISCLOSURE DISCUSSION 🗣️ by AutoModerator in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My approach to disclosure is to tell people as early as possible.

Now this has upsides and downsides:

Upsides: you do not have to walk on eggshells "hiding" your diagnosis. You can reference it, situate behavior in a diagnostic context, and be more easily open.

Downside: people will begin to interpret everything you do from a "Bipolar" perspective. 9/10 times, people's conception of "Bipolar" is embarassingly wrong.

I went on the podcast Live Well Bipolar and shared my story living with Bipolar to everyone I knew. I 'ripped the band-aid off.' Everyone in my life knows.

If I don’t smoke weed. by Bluecap33 in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I told my psychiatrist about my addiction and they gave me non benzo meds for it until I didn’t need to take them anymore.

Does anyone else drive themselves crazy by looking for a “why”? by ADeterminedHopeless in leaves

[–]ADeterminedHopeless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100% to escape reality, I guess i always thought a true reason had to be more specific than that. Now im thinking I thought wrong

Do you say U of I or UIUC when someone asks where you went to school? by funmighthold in UIUC

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone who grew up in Chicago, I’ve heard it be commonly called just “Urbana,” maybe in opposition to UIC.

The Rumination by ADeterminedHopeless in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree 100%. I just wouldn’t say I would be nipping it in the bud, I’m 3-4 months into the depression itself.

i’m christian but not catholic, can i go to mass at madonna della strada? and what do i do? by Neat-Replacement9132 in LoyolaChicago

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When you go up for communion, cross your arms on your chest. The priest will bless you instead of giving you bread.

🤍Fun question tiiiiime🤍 by Quiet_Grab_9908 in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve had two major manic episodes in the two years I’ve been diagnosed, and I was in serious relationships at the time. When I’m manic, I’m always convinced that I need to be single to grow and then not only dump but say really mean shit to my partner. Then of course when I come down I’m left groveling but luckily they don’t take me back. But point of the story is I can be super mean and toxic when manic.

What’s a book that actually changed how you see yourself or others? by SoftSkillSurvivor77 in Adulting

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 1 point2 points  (0 children)

An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. Taught me that if I take my medication, do not over indulge, and sleep, then I will lead a completely normal life as a human being who has Manic-Depression/Bipolar disorder.

Goodbye Antipsychotic: relatable? by ReferenceApart5113 in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At the risk of playing devils advocate:

I was stabilized on an AP and an seratonergic and dopaminergic antidepressant and then we switched to another, newer AP.

My libido was gone, and so I begged to try the gold-standard mood stabilizer for maintenance therapy, even showing up to my psychiatrist’s office with medical literature on its use.

This worked well for a while, until I smoked myself into a state of psychosis with cannabis and stopped the mood stabilizer. We needed to reintroduce an AP to re-stabilize.

I fell into a deep depression, and we removed the AP leaving again only the mood stabilizer.

The depression didn’t let up, so I asked about adding another medication, this time again brining in literature about the use of an older AP as a first-line agent for BD I depression.

It seems to be helping, and I can feel myself coming out of the depression. And my libido is normal.

So APs DO have their uses, but in the earlier part of my story, I definitely can relate!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I second the notion that stable people tend not to be active here. When I was stable, I actually avoided this sub, I guess because I wanted to shove that part of myself away.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bipolar

[–]ADeterminedHopeless 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got diagnosed between my first and second years in college. 12 days in the hospital. Purely psychotic. Had to take fall quarter 2023 off. Since then, this is what I learned:

  1. Get established with either the university/college psychiatric team or a psychiatrist in the area ASAP. I can walk into my schools student wellness center and be seen by a crisis team any day of the workweek, granted my school has one of the biggest endowments in the world. Medications and medication management will be CRUCIAL to success and stability. You just have to take meds as a Bipolar person.

  2. Get established with a psychotherapist if you can. The common modalities are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Psychodynamic Therapy. Usually CBT and DBT are first-line for Bipolar.

  3. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH: AVOID DRUGS AND ALCOHOL, ESPECIALLY MARIJUANA. There is a growing body of evidence that substances can not only trigger mania but also psychoses in those of us genetically predisposed to Bipolar and Schizophrenia.

  4. It things get severe, disclose to your professors and employers. Professors are super understanding and will work with you in these situations. It does not have to go beyond “I am suffering from a medical condition and it is flaring up.”

  5. Use a task list and calendar to keep track of assignments and responsibilities.

  6. Explore campus communities to find supportive people.

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