Good for you. My sister is bipolar and it is tough! People are slowly getting educated, but too slowly. It scares people!

Coping with major recurrent depressions is a difficult thing.

I do my best to keep my difficulties to myself these days instead of discussing them as openly as I have here in the past. Even than I wasn't that open. I have been to psych units seven times in the 18 years. I was not medication steadily but the medications I was taking have caused many of my major physical illnesses including breaking down my immune system and causes me two ulcers and acid reflux disease also some of the medications caused me to gain more than 80 pounds in one year. It has been hard to lose any of it since. I had to get off of the antisychotic I was taking because of my health issues. But it would seem now that I am off of them and on something else, my health problems have only worsened. I would say to anyone taking medications, be careful, most of us take them because we are desperate but if you take them too long they can really mess you up, make sure you know all the sideaffects and illnesses your medication can cause and then gauge it properly. Stay on top of your physical health and take note when you start to notice something out of the ordinary like stomach pain or wieght gain or reaccuring infections. hugs

It took 20 years of treatment to get my diagnosis complete and correct, and to get my meds right - maybe I made it sound too easy in my last post......


Yeah, it took THAT long to get things reasonably straight, and I'm still not out of the woods yet.........I'll always have to monitor things, just like lilwick86 talked about in her post.

The social consequences of mental illness can sometimes afflict a person more greatly than the illness itself. Coming to see oneself as ill is the surest route to depression if there is any value judgement attached to that self-perception. The world is generally uncaring and umempathetic however this is especailly appearent to one who has become ill or lost coping skills or has hindered interpreation of social situations. The best thing you can do for yourself is self-educate, not define yourself with a defintion that was created for convience and out of societys norms which are far from enlightened to say the lest. As well doctors disagree as to diagnosis on a regular basis, it is a completely subjective diagosis, and the experience of the persaon who has become ill is also subjective, as always there are no such things as professionals and self care and learning should be priority when possible. There is currently no theroy on how most medications work nor does the fda require so. SSRI's are also questiontionable as to effectiveness when treating dpression vs. theropy more specifically cognitive theropy but are usaully used as a first line of treatment. I can go on and on as to the shortfalls of our medical system in treating the ill. One can even question whether the illness is in part created by society, medical industry, and learned unconcious patterns of behavior. Example, many people thought out histroy could diverge into alternate realitys, they were know as shamans or holy men. Subscribing to societys norms and values today is lunacy in itself.

Yes unfortunaley once labeled one is seen differently, this produces the effect of feeling differently about oneself. The inabilty of others to undrstand illness is offen shown in the form of critisms based on what work for them, as in "you just have to get your act togher" or "you stopped trying" Rarely do one recieve understanding and sincerce attempts to relate and help with becoming functional again.

Your sister has symtoms and is not defined by that label of bi-polar. If you could explain that disorder to me id appreciate it, its chemical nature, onset, mechanism of neroulogical action, and treatment I'd appreciate it. DOnt take these convienant terms and interpret anyone with something you know little about. The consequences are you become what those around you see you as, its called a self fulfilling phophecy. So you say peopel are slowly getting educated kindly educate me. As to the best of my knowledge the theroys regarding illness are far from complete or may be faulty all toghether, any doctor will tell you this and misdiagnosis or different diagnosis is quite common amoung doctors. Based on this is it really healthly to take a course of action regarding a problem that is so poorly understood or seek to educate on what you dont know? Support empathy and understanding are valid in helping anyone ill, or anyone who is not ill. However the education recived today about illness will be tommorrows stigma/falacy.

For some people, a diagnosis can be very helpful. When the diagnosis comes with education, one can finally make sense of everything they've experienced in the past. Personally, my anxiety level has dropped so much since my diagnosis, because I'm not worry anymore about why I don't do things right or why I don't understand some things. I know why. I feel more free to be myself instead of having to pretend to be "normal."

You are all so wonderful for responding to this thread, thank you so much, please keep responding about your experiences with medications or with diagnosis or with dealing with stigma or perhaps dealing with your own self view, be it negative or not quite what you expected.
I recently had a breakthrough in my illness, having spent too long, lets say, 10 months of dealing with hearing voices, sometimes very intensely and sometimes just wiierdly, couldn't explain to you. But finally I told the so called, 'voices' off, and basically did it my own way, I was basically challenging the situation, but being the person I am, I definatly don't recommend that to anyone. I just happened to have that kind of mind, if I face the person, or the idea headon, that is driving me to a bad place with it, than I fight back, simply because I know I don't deserve to be hurt this way, and i don't have to hurt myself and no I don't have to let the world hurt me either. I am at a point in my life when I call everyone out, within reason, not because i want to kick everyones butt, far from it, I want to get to the point, know what I mean. I mean whats the point of letting this rule me, what is the point of letting someone or something hurt me so much everyday of my life. There is none, except to possibly hurt myself, and quite frankly speaking, I don't think there is anyone who doesn't just want to live once in a while. And no I am not talking about doing unecessary things like drinking and partying my life away, yeah, that did sound good at one time, but now, I am the kind of person that is at the end of my highspot, and it is because I feel that I deserve better because I have indeed been trying to do better despite my illness. You deserve better, not because I say so, but because everyone does. And that means standing up for ourselves, maybe because no one else does, or maybe becuase no one did, or maybe we didn't stand up when we should have and now is the time to do something with that. I don't think I am gonna change the world, but i darn well am gonna change me to heck or high water. I didn't get where I am all nice and easy, and neither did you, so stand up for yourself by taking care of yourself and get that information you need. You're online, look up the side affects of your meds. Have courage, better to know now, than suffer uncomfortably later to the possible point of fatality or a perminant illness that definatly should not have been tied to your mental illnes, know what I mean?

My son has epilepsy and dislexia. I have no idea if we will ever get his meds and VNS correct to where he goes w/o a seizure for a month or two. He has been receiving treatment for four years now, and we so do not know if he will grow out of it or not. My youngest son has ADHD diagnosed this year. I feel lucky because its not epilepsy and easier to control.

ADHD has such a bad reputation, so many people don't consider it a "real" disorder. I know from experience that it is a very real disorder. I myself don't know what problems stem from ADD/ADHD, and what stems from my autism, and which ones are from both.

I know, but when the child can not control himself and he wishes to commit suicide because he can't do what he is told. I would say it is a real disorder. I believed my son when he said he couldn't help it.

If only all parents would actually listen to their children like that :)

My own mental illness is something I refuse to suffer from. As a matter of fact, I have more fun with it than anything else. See, I say exactly what's on my mind, and you don't have to know I'm serious, and it's perfectly okay if you laugh, because... I expect you to, dammit!

I just got back from 6 days spent in sunrise, a mental health unit in my local hospital. It was the best thing I could have ever done. I am thankful for it for so many, many reasons. That is why I have been away so long. I have a new appreciation for staff and patients alike. The things I saw there made me realize my true situation for what it really was, a deep depression among other things. I met some incredible people there in the Sunrise unit and learned a new saying, The sun always rises. I feel good, I feel blessed, amen thank U God. I saw things that would make people jump out of their skin and run away in fear, but I did not run, because i have seen these things before. I almost felt at home there but knew exactly why I had come, the get help for my medication and the issues I found I needed to talk about in earnest to deal with them. One day at a time, one moment too, one hug for you, and one hug for me too. thanks everyone, Nica