Anonymous asked: I've been suspecting that I may have bipolar for a while, but one thing that makes me think I don't is that my depressive episodes are usually triggered by something (usually my thoughts). Can depressive episodes in bipolar be triggered?
Hey there, Anon.
Everyone’s bipolar is different, and works differently. Some people experience bipolar in fairly regular intervals of time, and will have an episode after X amount of days/weeks/months/years. Other people may have irregular amounts of time between episodes, especially if they have another disorder along with their bipolar.
I know that my PTSD can sometimes break me out of a hypomanic episode and throw me into a depressive episode, if I’m triggered a certain way.
Ultimately, you can only know for sure if you have bipolar/depression if you’re diagnosed. Especially if you feel like your moods may be triggered more than cycling along, you should talk this over with your doctor.
XX
Sarah
Anonymous asked: What's the deal with dreams? My cyclothymia has been pretty manageable since starting on fluox at Christmas, but lately I'm experiencing full on depressive episodes in my dreams, with exactly the same intensity as real life. These will often happen even when I've been reasonably fine during the day. Have you heard of this before?
Hey there, Anon.
There are many theories on dreams and why we have them, but studies seem to suggest that they’re our subconscious ways of working through mental worries. Studies have shown that women who had nightmares after giving birth were significantly less likely to have post-partum depression than women who took sleeping medicine to avoid nightmares.
Maybe your dreams are attempting to sort through some aspects of your depression. What’s important is whether or not you feel alright when you wake up. But as long as the dreams are just dreams, I think you’ll be ok.
XX
Sarah
Anonymous asked: Hi. I'm 19 and have bipolar 1, and was hospitalized for it two months ago. Now I live with my boyfriend and work full time, fiscally supporting myself and being in a serious relationship. I don't know if am healthy enough to handle all this though. I have no space and time to process the mass of thoughts and feelings I have on a daily basis. Sometimes I want to go back to the hospital just to get a break. I feel bad because I do care about my boyfriend, I just feel suffocated. What should I do?
Hey there, Anon.
First, I want to say congratulations for being able to successfully juggle all of those responsibilies thus far. That takes an amazing amount of devotion to your tasks, and most neuro-typical people would be hard-put to keep up with that.
If I were you, I would talk to your boyfriend about it. Your love for him is clear, and you obviously want nothing but the best for him. If you include him in the conversation, you both can discuss options together. Maybe there are things you can both do together that will help the feelings of suffocation.
XX
Sarah
Anonymous asked: I haven't been diagnosed and I can't talk to anyone professional about this because I don't have the money to seek professional help but I might have something along the lines of depression? I've lost interest in the things I used to like. For example I wanted to go to school for art but I lost the passion to and now I don't know what I wanna do with my life. I feel inferior to my family and friends. I cry often and a lot. I also feel self hatred, low self esteem and low confidence. Any advice?
Hey there, Anon.
First of all, I want you to know that there are free resources available for those with depression, as well as other disorders. These will vary state by state, but you can definitely find them online. I know that Safe Horizon was a good organization that I went to in NY, and many organizations will offer the ability to help you locate resources; I went to a Planned Parenthood for a health checkup, and when I told them about some of my trauma, they gave me lists of free organizations for counseling/support groups for youths. You can find free professional help if you reach out for it.
I also want you to know that the depressive episodes that we experience can be devastating. Anyone on this blog can relate to those feelings, and understand - without judging you - what that’s like. We love you. You are not weak. You are not broken. You may feel cut off from it right now, but you have passion and feelings that matter, and thousands of things about you as an individual that no one else has. Not in the whole world.
Stay strong, Anon. We got your back.
XX
Sarah
Anonymous asked: hey, so i've been to a psychiatrist who said she thought i was bipolar. she told my mom, and my mom didn't believe her so she made me go to a different one. i'm over 18 but still financially dependent on my parents so i don't really have a say on what psychiatrist/psychologist i see. i definitely think i need help but my mom won't let me have help. any advice?
Hey there, Anon.
Well, if you have bipolar, no matter what psychologist/psychiatrist your mother switches you to, the diagnosis should remain the same. Maybe she needs to hear multiple confirmations before she can accept the diagnosis as truth. If your mother trusts the opinion of this new doctor, and they confirm you with bipolar, they have the potential to be an ally. Perhaps you could invite your mother to sit in on a therapy session, and allow her to talk to your doctor afterwards.
XX
Sarah
In terms of medicated vs not, who is the “real” you? have you struggled with taking medication because you feel it alters who you are?
“Taking medication to calm down and be normal just assures me if I do change it would be an artificial me, and that I’ll always be this ugly thing deep down”,
This is a quote from an ask I received recently. What is your opinion on this line of thinking? This is something that I still struggle with and because of that I’m having some difficultly answering the ask, though it’s really touched me and I want to respond. So I’m hoping to get some personal takes on the topic to help organize and gather my thoughts.
thank you
xx Dev
I’m taking a break from answering asks tonight because I’m a little warn out but there is something I’ve been thinking about all day that I wanted to share with you all.
My goal for the month of May (which I set about three days ago) is to improve FYBO and make it closer to everything it could be and should be. In order to make this happen, I plan on editing and improving the majority of the links we already have, but I also want to add some things.
Now most of you are well aware of my stance on this blog giving medication advice. There are a few reasons behind this, the main one being that if you are on medication then you are probably at least semi regularly seeing a medical professional. I am not a professional by any means, so the doctors are the ones who should be addressed with these questions. I understand that some questions are embarrassing, but this is your health we’re talking about. You need to be able to ask them. And if not, there’s always Google. But I’m a huge supporter of honest relationships with the medical professionals in your life. Full disclosure honesty. But moving on, the reason I bring this up is because I’ve also “refused” to talk about alternative treatments to bipolar disorder because I don’t talk about medication. I saw it as the same pillow and wanted to be fair. Obviously my opinion on this has changed, so here’s the deal.
Some people can’t take bipolar medication, not ever, not for a short period of time, or a long period of time. I think I had a stigma about those who choose organic treatments and that’s something that’s not OK and is now a thing I have acknowledged and want to change. There are many reasons a person could not be on medication and no matter what this reason is, I still want to encourage everyone to take care of themselves. And those who choose an organic or alternative treatment plan don’t usually have a professional or expert to go to with questions and a google search doesn’t always give the easiest to understand or consistent advice.
What I want to hear from you lovely people is how you cope with bipolar disorder, unmedicated. What helps you in different situations, different moods. What have you found works wonders and what doesn’t work at all? Whether this is teas, books, oils, meditations, exercise, whatever helps you to get through an episode or cope with everyday life. You can write in about specific things like how you find help sleeping or being productive or just general living with bipolar without medication advice. I will collect all of this post it under a new link titled (you guessed it) Organic Owl. Your methods don’t have to be organic, it just rolls off the tongue so well.
I am not currently medicated, but I also just take things as they come, so I don’t feel fit to give advice with much experience and we get a lot of asks about how to cope with things while not on medication. I look forward to hearing from you guys, but please note that anything putting down medications and/or the people who take them, any “big bad pharma” messages, or conspiracy theories or negativity in general will be deleted. This is something I want to help people who have chosen not to take medication or who cannot take medication, not scare off, guilt trip, or sway those who are on medication.
Xx Dev
allthesaintswereschizophrenic asked: allthesaintswereschizophrenic(.)tumblr(.)com/post/50395598769/study-tips-for-those-having-a-tough-time-with-a-mental
allthesaintswereschizophrenic’s study tips
she made a post of all her study tips, if that’s easier for any one to read instead of the long ask, or if you want to book mark it!
-Dev
