I know a little about it, because I was a psychology major for a while in college, but I've never been exposed to someone who had it - until now.
My best friend was recently diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder. She's on a mood stabilizer and something to control the voices she hears.
She lives about 4 hours away, so I can't go and see her - but I'm trying to get down there as soon as possible.
She spent several days in the hospital a couple of weeks ago, and was then put on the meds and released. Tonight was the first time I've really talked to her about what is going on. She was telling me that she hears voices and that she can sense what other people are doing. I am very confused and I don't know what to say to her. When I was talking to her tonight she was saying that she thinks she's psychic and can sense what other people are experiencing.
Tell me more about this disorder, and what I can do as her friend to help. Help me to understand what she is going through. Those that are bipolar experience both manic and depressive moods that go through cycles with much "normalness" in between them.
It sounds like she was experiencing a severe manic episode when she was hearing voices and thinking that she was psychic. The voices are auditory hallucinations and the feeling that she is psychic is a dillusion of grandure. These are both symptoms of a manic episode. Other symptoms of mania include euphoria (being in a really, really, good mood), irritability, grandiosity (thinking that you have special powers or that you "special"), feelings of heightened concentration, racing thoughts, increased energy, insomnia, erratic appetite, increased libido. The grandiose delusions and the hallucinations are also symptoms of psychosis and occur when the mania is at its worste phase. Manic depressives also go through a depressive stage which is basically the opposite of mania. The mood stabilizers will help her when she finds one that is best for her but they don't start working over night and the patient needs to give them time to build up in their system. Many manic depressives quit taking their medication because they are afraid that they will lose part of themselves, bur really they gain a lot by keeping what they have only being able to control it instead of letting it control them. I am bipolar and have done some pretty extreme things in my manic episodes, including runnign away from home for a week when I was 17 and abusing many different drugs. Bipolar disorder usually starts out as depression then evolves from there. Some people only go into a manic or depressive phase a couple of times a year. Others go through many througout the year "rabid cycling". The best way to manage this is to stay on the medication. Each time a manic or depressive episode occurs, it makes it easier to reoccur and comes back stronger the next time. She should also avoid things that trigger her mania or depression. Keeping a regular sleeping routine helps a lot. Not getting enough sleep can trigger a manic episode and getting too much sleep can trigger depression. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any more questions on this topic becuase it is something that I've had to deal with for years and have just recently learned how to control. http://www.webmd.com/search/search_resul... I have bipolar and let me tell you about some of the things I feel from my point of view that might help you....
My moods change very suddenly. I could be so hyper that I'm jumping off the walls and something so little like seeing a sad commericial can make me become so depressed and it's never known how much time it will take to get over my depression.
When I get depressed over one thing, I'll find anything to get depressed over just to prolong the depression.
Sometimes I feel sporatic and I am totally random like wanting to clean the house at 4 in the morning or go shopping for something I'm probably never ever going to wear.
Sometimes I have racing thoughts-about 1,000 a minute. I can't always think things through so some of my ideas for projects are awful ones.
When I'm depressed, I shop but I spend a lot of money or I just cry all day and all night - nothing really seems to make me want to do it whether it be going somewhere or doing something. I just like to sit in my room, repeat the most depressing song, and cry.
When I go from happy for 5 minutes, depressed in a minute, I get really bad headaches.
I usually suffer from long bouts of staying up all night just because I don't feel tired and when I do, the thoughts that go racing in my mind are a lot worst when nothing is there to distract me.
When I'm depressed, I think everyone's against me and I feel like I know what people are thinking and nobody can tell me otherwise.
If you have anymore questions, email me...I'll answer any question you have.
xabstractxpainx@yahoo.com The word "bipolar" is simply a label used to categorise a list of psychosocial traits that Psychiatry considers to be improper or abnormal in society. Psychiatry defines these traits as a "mental illness", and promotes it as a "disease" that requires "treatment".
It is not a "disease", despite claims or implications made by certain psychiatric and pharmaceutical organisations. There is NO credible scientific evidence that shows the existence of what constitutes "bipolar" as a biological/neurological disorder, brain abnormality or "chemical imbalance".
"For a disease to exist there must be a tangible, objective physical abnormality that can be determined by a test such as, but not limited to, blood or urine test, X-Ray, brain scan or biopsy. All reputable doctors would agree: No physical abnormality, no disease. In psychiatry, no test or brain scan exists to prove that a 'mental disorder' is a physical disease. Disingenuous comparisons between physical and mental illness and medicine are simply part of psychiatry's orchestrated but fraudulent public relations and marketing campaign." Fred Baughman, MD., Neurologist & Pediatric Neurologist.
"Chemical imbalance鈥t鈥檚 a shorthand term really, it鈥檚 probably drug industry derived鈥?We don鈥檛 have tests because to do it, you鈥檇 probably have to take a chunk of brain out of someone - not a good idea." Dr. Mark Graff, Chair of the Committee of Public Affairs for the American Psychiatric Association. July, 2005.
Symptoms that psychiatry labels as "bipolar" (or it's related disorders), can stem from any number of variable sources. Many people, for example, have overcome "bipolar" through megavitamin therapy and effective nutrition. A growing wealth of evidence supports that underlying nutritional deficiencies can cause even the most severe mental disorders, including symptoms labelled as "schizophrenia" [See source refs]
Bottom line? Psychiatry is a belief-system, a "faith", not a science. Despite the huge marketing strategies, the so-called "research" and all the propaganda thrown at the world, there is not one iota of scientific evidence that proves that "schizophrenia" or ANY mental illness, in fact, exists as an actual --medical disease--.
If you have been told differently then know this: You have been lied to.
For more information, please visit:
http://groups.msn.com/psychbusters
Decoding Psychiatric Propaganda
For information on non-drug / alternative approaches:
- http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/a...
- http://www.pendulum.org/articles/article...
- http://www.truehope.com/_empowerplus/emp...
- http://www.mentalhealthproject.com/conte... |
