Bipolar Support Group

what hell is it ? is it hell on earth because you do not fit into the mold that you been taught

i think stress triggers the mania , when talking to someone like they are 20 seconds where you were in the past. then they get frustrated with you. because you are somewhere else , when they want you to listen about there experiences . maybe it is the emotional state of anger we cannot get rid of and we call it mania as a label.

Great post/question! It was just last month that my therapist asked me to think about creating a list of the good things about living with BP/Social Anxiety/OCD. I am still working on it but now realize that what she is really after is to 'help' me see my illness from another perspective; what can I learn from it rather than lament having it. After all, it's not going anywhere and research shows it may get worse over time. Anyway, I have no baseline for what feeling 'normal' is as I've been ill since cbildhood although, if normal is what I observe most regular to be (most, not all), I'll stay the way I am.

Positives for me? BP has certainly enhanced my already very sensitive nature. I am compassionate, do not judge, 'read' people very well and can quickly adjust to their needs (great people manager), I am resilient and capable of consistently working/performing at a very high level, and I appreciate things that I see other people don't even notice.

The negatives everyone has brought up are valid and certainly apply to me. I'm just choosing to work on what I've learned and continue to learn from this illness.

Great posts everyone, very thoughtful and interesting.

Eric

Ehhh I am trying to think ... Ok, I will come back as soon as I find something positive.

I FOUND THE RED BUTTONS!!!! THEY'RE AT YOUR LOCAL STAPLES STORE AND THEY HAVE THE LETTERS 'E-A-S-Y' ON THEM. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT STANDS FOR BUT IT MUST BE GOOD.

Although. I've been pushing them every time I go in but they seem to be defective. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong. Is there another way to 'push a button'?

The only positive I can see about bipolar it makes me really have to notice myself in order to be proactive in caring for it. While I find mindfulness to be a good thing I sometimes feel loads of self pity that I didn't learn about this in a different way.

My sister was diagnosed with MS in the same month that I was diagnosed bipolar though and she is staying positive so I am trying to follow her example. Given a choice of the two I would take my BP as it is now, if it progresses who knows.

...if I was a viking it would come in handy.