Trying to Understand

this applys to me only

i was told i have bp

i am having a hard time with that

i cant understand how chemicals in my brain make me feel certain ways

and why doesnt any body else i know feel the same way

i just think for myself i am imaging this somehow or i just being silly or not acting or think right and it is something i can control if i put my mind to it

-like its all a bad dream and it will go away if i put my mind etc....

[i]Meme, I can't say that it only applies to you, as it applies to me also, I was told I have bipolar, like you I didn't understand who the chemicals in my brain could do what they have done, I did research on it, and if you click on the physc ed link under my name, you will find some good information of stuff about that very thing, I can't remember where but they are finding out that they can see the bipolar activity in the brain using catscans or something.. are you talking about people you know in your personal life? that they don't understand what you are feeling? it's probably true, they don't, a lot of people do not understand what a mental illness is all about, and I believe it was Norma that said this illness is just like diabetes, it is, and I am one.. we have to accept the fact that we have a illness, bipolar or diabetes, it is no different, we have a illness pure and simple, people who have not experienced it are not going to understand, type in butyoudon'tlooksick to your browser, it is going to pull up a website of a young lady that has lupus, and read the spoon theory.. hate to burst your bubble, but this is not something that you can control, you can manage to live a better life, with medications and therapy, this is not something that is just going to go away if you ignore it, it's been proven that the longer a bipolar goes undiagnosed and untreated the worse it gets, your welcome to stick your head in the sand if you wish and hope that it goes away, but it leaves your tail vulnerable to attack.. and this illness and many others can and will sneak up on you and bite you on the butt..

My Mom is a prime example of someone who doesn't understand illnesses she can't see, when I told her I am a alcoholic, and I needed help getting sober, she first said I could kick it on my own, while I could have, I would still not have been better off, I had to be retaught how to live with out the booze in my system, after she got over this, then it was she couldn't drink, she couldn't have booze in the house..yada, yada, I have had to explain to her time and time again, it's not that I can not drink, I chose not too, then we found out that I am diabetic, she went into her thing of she can't bake cookies, or cakes, etc.. and that if I chose to get a piece of cake, I should not be doing that, as I am a diabetic, having or not having sugar has nothing to do with it, as long as I take the carb's in the sugar and everything else that I eat in account, I can have what ever I want.

My bipolar for me was a answer to a question that had been plaguing me for most of my life, and that is something to me that is far more important that what some person thinks about me, it's about what I think about myself that matters, see your doctor, take your medications and see your therapist, become the best person that you can become, bipolar, diabetic or not.. it's not going to hold you back if you take the steps that you need too, to make your self better.

Surviving As A Bipolar Person

The 5 Stages of Bipolar Grief

(Or.... When Dragons Wear Black)

1. Denial

2. Anger

3. Guilt

4. Resignation

5. Reconciliation

link: http://members.iinet.net.au/~fractal1/fsrvive1.htm

What causes bipolar disorder?

link: http://www.anxiety-and-depression-solutions.com/ wellness_concerns/bipolar_disorder/ bipolar_disorder_causes.php

Your genetics and your brain chemistry are NOT things you can control simply by "putting your mind to it." And most of us can't even control most of the stressors in our environment. To think that you have control over these things is to live in denial, which does no one any good.

The AA "Serenity Prayer" is applicable here: have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can change, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Get out your medical dictionary, because it ain't easy reading! ...but note the growing evidence which connects seizures, neuroplasticity, and mood affectation. Notice also the common element of "kindling", or the dynamic (ongoing and changing) of environmental influences, as it may now relate to the onset and to the progression of mental illness (eg. bipolar disease).

Here are the links:

bipolar neuroplasticity

kindling seizures neuroplasticity

mood swing kindling

Bottom line?

At least psychiatry and neurology are finally getting together! This new partnership, in my mind, is certain to recognize our "disease" if not to find a cure for it!

Respectfully,

Jim

New Day - Well said.

Post edited by: kimminentdanger, at: 05/28/2008 11:27