Kind of PO'd and upset, friend who is Bi-Polar

[DomiHentrix]

Quote:
I am sorry but I grew up with a bipolar mother aand this is extremely inaccurate. I have known people with clinical or sever depression and it is 100% different. Those who are bipolar or "manic" depressive go through stages of mania and the opposite spectrum depression. They are often on one end or the other due to a chemical imbalance. They are NOT "crazy" which IMHO is an ignorant word for that people apply to things that they do not understand. Serial Killers are crazy, clinically depressed people are depressed, bipolar people have cyclical episodes that go from mania-depression and everything in between. I am not meaning any of this in a snarky tone, I have just experienced it firsthand for 28+ years and I thought I could help to clear up some of the misconception here.

Thanks and take care, Lara

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Yes, bi-polar means having two opposite poles (or extremes). Like steaming hot and freezing cold. Very little in between. Very unpredictable and devastating.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
The fact that you put the term "bi-polar" in quotation marks betrays your bias on this subject right off the bat. You don't believe that it's even a real disease. Those of us who live with it on a daily basis know better. I'm sorry you had some negative experiences and maybe even some ill-informed doctors, but I ASSURE you, bipolar disorder is very, very real, and most certainly NOT a "self-made problem." If this disease could be beaten by sheer force of will, my husband, a very strong person, would have licked it a long time ago.

They are with out interaction and recreation because noone can stand to be around them anymore. Thats why they used to put crazy people in special places.

They used to put "crazy people" in "special places" because there were no effective treatments available. Thank God that we now HAVE effective treatments that allow those who struggle with mental illness to live and function in the world and have fulfilling lives.

To the best of my knowlage being bi-polar is sever depression with a new name

Let me be as clear as possible about this: "The best of your knowledge" on this point is WRONG. Depression and bipolar disorder are NOT THE SAME THING at all. To be diagnosed as bipolar, a person must exhibit not only severe depression, but also phases of mania or hypomania, in cycles. Some cycles are short, some are long, and some people even have "mixed states," which can be horrible. One thing that complicates diagnosis sometimes is that many bipolar people only seek medical attention when they're in a depressive phase (because hypomania/mania, or the "high" phase can feel pretty good). This can lead to a misdiagnosis of depression, and then if a bipolar person is given an unopposed antidepressant, that can trigger florid mania, even psychosis.

Just as depression runs the gamut from "a little blue" to being downright suicidal, mania runs the gamut from feeling more energized or irritable to being completely out of touch with reality, up to and including full-blown psychosis. You are WILDLY misinformed about this disease.

Personally I think being mad and sad under those conditions and normal,,, the crazy one wouldn't care

Again, you are speaking from a very uninformed perspective here. People with mood disorders don't just "not care" about emotional stimuli--quite the contrary. It hits them many, many times HARDER than it would you or I.

I won't go on, because I have a feeling nothing I say will get through anyway, but this post of yours was extremely hurtful and wrong. Please go to someplace like BPSO and get informed before you speak out this way again.​

 

[mom'sfolly]

Thanks, Ninjapoodles, I wasn't going to touch that one because I didn't think I could be civil. Mental illness is serious, and affects many people, more than most people know. I have friends, family members or friends of family members with host of illnesses including: bi-polar disorder, OCD, eating disorders, alcoholism, schizophrenia, and depression. Saying a disorder doesn't exist because you have had a bad experience with a doctor doesn't mean you're right. Yes, situational depression is a normal response to painful stimulii, but that doesn't mean all depression fits that diagnosis, or that bi-polar disorder is just severe depression.