I wanted to commend Private Practice for addressing Bipolar Mood Disorder. I have never had the experience that Sam's sister had, but I have experienced much of the same symptoms. I have been extremely depressed to the point of wanting to either hurt myself, or worse, even kill myself, just to stop the pain. At such times, I could barely get enough energy together to get out of bed. I either didn't want to eat, or I would eat until I would throw up. I would cry for hours.
Then one day I would become incredibly impulsive, and have an excess amount of energy. I would shop and didn't care if we had the money or not. I would go for days without sleeping. Some people experience euphoria and extreme creativity, but I didn't. I would come out of my depression enough to enjoy myself, but quickly the darkness would return. I have what is called rapid cycling bipolar type I.
This means that I cycle between mania and depression at least 4 times per year. For me I cyle much faster than that. I think I have almost twice that many episodes. It really takes a long time to find the right medicines and the right mix. For me, it took about 2 years. I think it is important to mention that for some people, like me, it takes frequent tweaking of meds, and regular counseling for me to stay stable.
In my next post I will discuss post-traumatic-stress disorder and how it affects me.
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