I am bipolar - AMA

[Sunnyqueen]

Diagnosed bipolar type 1. Ask me anything and I'll answer openly and honestly.

Everyone is different so how does it affect you? Eg in daily life, relationships, work?

Do your meds make you feel disengaged and therefore you're tempted to stop taking them ?

When you are in a manic phase do you experience moments of inspiration and insights

I have to keep a very quiet life and be very careful what I expose myself to keep safe. In relationships I've ended up being the vulnerable one and been taken advantage of so now I'm better off on my own. I darent drive and have a car as I don't trust myself. For work I always worked full time from school right up till the onset which was sudden and intense (late twenties) then a few years of being pretty poorly. I will get there again soon but it is a fear of if its too much for me, things can go wrong really fast when I have come so far.

Certain meds have done and I did stop them and got poorly again. The ones I'm on now are pretty good thankfully.

No insight when in mania but full of inspiration, like lightening bolts of ideas and theories and notions hitting you all the time.

What was your childhood like? Did you experience abuse or neglect? Apologies if this is difficult to talk about

Do you have other neuro divergent diagnoses?
Have you been on Quetimine, did it make you gai weight? Are you drawn to other bipolar people. How have your relationships been?

People don't say 'I am Cancer' so why do you say I am bipolar? I speak as someone who has bipolar. You really shouldn't make it define you.

It was definitely dysfunctional. And there were things that happened that would be considered abusive but, on the whole I knew my parents loved me and I don't feel bad about my childhood. I don't think that's what caused it anyway, it wasn't that bad.

It doesn't define me, anything but. I don't think of it that deeply, I see that as splitting hairs tbh. And I would let people describe themselves however they like without the need to try and correct or dictate. I would dream of telling an autistic person not to say I'm autistic over I have autism for example, that would be for them to decide.

No other diagnosis, no. Yes gained lots of weight on quetiapine 😒
My romantic relationships have all been quite different but without doubt always go hypomanic/hypersexual at the beginning sometimes going in to mania. It's safer for me not to seek a romantic relationship for some years now .

How has it affected your romantic relationships? My DH has bipolar which has resulted in infidelity on his side. He never used it as an excuse but obviously has played a part.

That's good he's not used it as an excuse. It's not a given that people with bipolar will cheat. Out of 4 long term relationships I've cheated one. Hypersexuality is very real though and I've done things when I've been really unwell, completely out of it no idea what I'm doing, like someone else is in the driving seat. It's definitely not the same as making a choice when sane or even making a drunken mistake.

Do you mind me asking what meds you take. I’ve never found anything helps or the side effects particularly or valproate or antipsychotics are shitty