Does anyone have ptsd or bi-polar?

I feel kinda lost on the subject, i know most will say go talk to a pshyc but i have really big problems with talking with them. but i am curious if anyone here has been diag. with bi-polar along with ptsd. what are some of the most tell tell signs and how are you coing with it?

I am BPD, I have found the best thing is to just think positively when you are feeling dead inside. I know I sound like Tony Robbins but I am for real. You will feel a lot better if you just take the time to realize everything is fine and hasn't really changed. Also going out of your way to talk to new people and smiling at people helps a lot.

just the bipolar. I take topamax and it really helps. If I didn't take it, I would be a mess. My family and friends wouldn't want to be around me. I wouldn't want to be around myself. I attempted suicide in 2001 when I wasn't taking the correct medicine, I od'd on it and spent 3 days in ICU. I am a much better person now.

I wish you the best in the search for your better self. You can add me as a contact if you ever wish to talk to someone.

PTSD here...I am finally finding myself again!

I am bi-polar. The signs I get when I know I need to take my meds are when people tell me I'm being crazy and a *********. I don't take my meds. I don't think I need them. But some people do. If you're like me, you will feel good one minute, and bad the next, for no reason.

a good therapist can make your life so much more manageable by helping with your mental health. i was diagnosed with chronic ptsd when i was in my early 20's. i didn't see a therapist for 4 or 5 years while i had it and i was an emotional basket case and an alcoholic. i was in therapy for about 18 months and it helped so much that i spoke of my life as "before therapy" and "after therapy" you could see that much difference in me and how i handled life!

who wants to go to therapy when you are dealing with trauma?! i didn't! and it doesn't usually get better right off because of the emotional mess you have to muck through but that is what helps you get better. talking it through and beginning to understand how it has affected you and made you who you are and how to come to terms with it. i'm telling you, it will help! God bless and good luck!

I was diagnosed in 1996 with Bi-polar disorder. I am manic depressive, have anxiety disorder and PTSD. I was sexually assaulted at age 12 by a beloved uncle - thus my condition. I have been on many different medications - but have finally found relief in Lithium. I used to be so angry... then so depressed I couldn't get out of bed. I spent money I didn't have...Now I cry when something makes me sad, I laugh when I am happy, and I get angry (controlled) when somthing makes me mad. I see a psychiatrist for medication and a psychologist for therapy. I feel I have my disorder managed but I know I am a "lifer" - i.e. I will be on medication for the rest of my life. That's ok. I'm finally comfortable with my disease and know that as long as I take my meds I'll be ok!

http://www.mentalhealth.com/p20-grp.html
This link covers both and then some. It should cover any questions you have on diagnosis and treatments available. My daughter has both. Talking to a specialist helps for some and not for others. To get an accurate diagnosis you have to see a psychiatrist. A regular medical doctor can't-even if they claim they can.

Normally bi-polar is triggered after some "life changing" event occurs in your life which makes sense for the ptsd. Depending on your age, it determines whether you will have to deal with this the rest of your life. If you have experienced this as a youth, then you can outgrow it. But if the symptoms occur when you are a young adult or older, unfortunately they say you will have to deal with them the rest of your life.

I know this because I was diagnosed bipolar after committing myself to a mental hospital. I knew I needed help because I felt like I was drowning within myself....if that makes since. I found myself in the grocery store at 4 in the morning. I didn't need sleep and I didn't know where I was half the time. Then I got so depressed I became obsessed with the thought of suicide. Luckily I got help before it was too late. But unfortunately for bipolar it seems we do not like to take our medicine because we think we are ok. We go off of it, then crash. I know this from personal experience. I HATE medicine and HATE talking to people. I was molested when I was four and had to see psychs my whole life. I KNOW what they want me to say. So how is that helpful?

Hopefully my experience helps you in some way. You are not alone. When I don't want to see a psych, I go to my family doctor. They normally give you meds to get you started....then you decide if you need the help.

I have BOTH. PTSD from a fatal car accident and also from other situations. Im working on them, but thankful for meds at the moment