Hi everyone. I'm new to the board, and this topic jumped out at me like a sore thumb under a misplaced hammer. lol. I was undiagnosed bipolar until 4 years ago, and fortunately the first med they put me on worked. Everytime I tried to add something else, I had side effects, so I said, why argue with success?
The way I look at God and bipolar is I know God could heal me if he wanted to, with could being the operative word, but until He does, I am quite content to take my meds and go on my merry way. I have never understood people who think a few months or years of taking meds is enough. This disease is here to stay, and without my meds I'm a wreck.

Welcome Gasongbird and hope all's well in spite of the bipolar experience. Sounds like you have a great attitude....

Welcome gasongbird, Glad you found us. Your outlook is inspiring. Why did it take so long to diagnose you and were you diagnosed differently with other meds prior to that. My sister says her son is bipolar, but he doesn't need the medecine anymore. He is twenty but not very active for his age when it comes to getting a job. I am interested in learning more about bipolar, so I look forward to your posts along with the others.

chick

Try checking out www.bipolarhappnes.com. Also go back through some of the threads in this forum. There are several other topics about being bipolar.

Welcome gasongbird. I'm glad you jumped right in and began sharing. I hope to see you in the other forums too. I have a friend who is bipolar. She takes her medicine all the time. If she had heart disease and stopped taking her medicine she could have scary results. The same with being bipolar.

There is major differences between anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. I agree that this world depends way too much on meds. It's the easy way out for so many doctors - got a symptom - drug it ! But people that need anti-psychotics NEED to take those meds. Take someone with a headache that takes an aspirin -- they could probably cope without it. Someone that suffers from extreme migraines NEEDS to take the meds prescribed to them for their mental survival. The same goes for those who need anti-psychotics.

I often wondered what the relationship between religion and schizophrenia was. Schizophrenics are usually diagnosed because of the voices from God and the devil. It would be interesting to know -- if someone with schizophrenia raised where religion had never been introduced -- would still hear voices from God.

Next time you're in a quiet room by yourself -- imagine hearing someone's voice calling you by name. You'd spin around and expect to see someone you know in the room with you. After your heart skipped a beat you would probably think -- its all in my imagination and have a good laugh over it. But what if that voice called you again and this time several other voices started talking to you -- telling you the neighbors could read your thoughts -- that you were ugly and everyone wanted to kill you -- to listen to them or you would die. Ghosts ???? GOD ????? the devil ???? So you run to a loved one and ask them, in a panic, if they hear that -- how difficult it would be to believe that they didnt !! How easy it would be to become paranoid. I can't even imagine what it would be like or how I would have the strength to survive it !!!

I have soooooo much respect for you ladies that suffer from mental illness's, like bi polar, and openly talk about it. Mental illness used to have such a stigma about it, but the more people talk about it, the more its accepted and more research will be demanded.

To me -- You are heros !!

Lion,
I am so glad you posted that distinction. It makes accurate diagnosis even more important.

An inaccurate diagnosis or simply prescribing for convenience can subject the non
mentally ill patient to frightening and unnecessary side effects ultimately making it impossible for them to function without the medication or worsening their condition.

At the same time, an inaccurate diagnosis can also subject a mentally ill person to improper medication or no medication at all. As you stated, psychotics 'need' their medications and they need them every day.

That is why we need more research and more well trained professionals who can recognize the finite differences in mental conditions and accurately diagnose then prescribe the correct drugs in the correct amounts.

Either way, however, we are ultimately responsible for our own health and we must be vigilant in protecting it.
smile

After several months of my son started showing signs of "something" we had him committed for observation for 3 days (thats how long the law can keep someone against "their will" - at least here) and the head psychiatrist -- the ultimate "expert" in schizophenia in our area -- kept him for 3 days -- called me in for a conference -- told me to get a restraining order against my son -- told him to "grow up" and released him.

Two days later I found him on US 41 - a six lane highway - waving his arms -- cussing and walking AGAINST traffic !!

After the police took him back to the crisis unit, and a different doctor saw him -- the voices from God convinced this doctor that maybe Rob should stay a little longer. Two weeks later he was able to come home - ON MEDS - with the violence controlled.

Moral to this story -- be afraid -- be VERY afraid of "experts". Just because it has all those fancy letters behind their name doesnt make them worthy of your trust. Do your research - ask lots of questions - get references -- like you say -- we are ultimately responsible for our own health -- and even MORE responsible for those loved ones who can't take care of themselves!

I'm OCD. I'm a counter. I can control it when I really try. So, is this a form of mental illness or is it the way my young mind learned to cope against over restrictive, guilt producing and emotionally abusive parents?

This is the definition of mental illness according to NAMI - the National Alliance of Mental Illness.

Mental illnesses include such disorders as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and other severe anxiety disorders, autism and pervasive developmental disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, borderline personality disorder, and other severe and persistent mental illnesses that affect the brain. These disorders can profoundly disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, moods, ability to relate to others and capacity for coping with the demands of life.

Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character, or poor upbringing.

Mental illnesses are treatable. Most people with serious mental illness need medication to help control symptoms, but also rely on supportive counseling, self-help groups, assistance with housing, vocational rehabilitation, income assistance and other community services in order to achieve their highest level of recovery.

Here are some important facts about mental illness and recovery:

Mental illnesses are biologically based brain disorders. They cannot be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's "character" or intelligence.
Mental disorders fall along a continuum of severity. The most serious and disabling conditions affect five to ten million adults (2.6 – 5.4%) and three to five million children ages five to seventeen (5 – 9%) in the United States. Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability (lost years of productive life) in the North America, Europe and, increasingly, in the world. By 2020, Major Depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and children. Mental illnesses strike individuals in the prime of their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. All ages are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially vulnerable. Without treatment the consequences of mental illness for the individual and society are staggering: unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide and wasted lives; The economic cost of untreated mental illness is more than 100 billion dollars each year in the United States.
The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports; Early identification and treatment is of vital importance; By getting people the treatment they need early, recovery is accelerated and the brain is protected from further harm related to the course of illness.
Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now unwarranted sense of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is time to take these barriers down.

I think this one sentence pretty well sums it up:
These disorders can profoundly disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, moods, ability to relate to others and capacity for coping with the demands of life.

Dianne - if it isnt asking too personal a question - what exactly do you do - being a counter ?

I count the pictures around the tv set, hanging on the wall although I already know how many are there. I count the tv frame's sides. I used to count the window frames in our house, which was really bad. I also counted the number of windows in a car passing my car. The number of words in a street sign. I don't do that anymore. Just the pictures and the tv frame. I have really worked at not doing it.