Anyone Here Mentally Ill?

Options
1…457910…15

Replies

  • Beastmilk
    Beastmilk Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    I'm not mentally ill, but I've had many bouts of depression and severe anxiety throughout my life. It's helpful, first of all, not to call yourself mentally ill - that gives your problems more power. Though it's really hard to eat right and exercise when you feel so mentally f**cked in the head, think of exercising and eating right as therapy - you're treating yourself right because you deserve it. What has helped me most and gotten me on the right track is getting up every morning, doing 20 minutes of easy yoga and meditating for a little bit. If you start your day off in a calm and centered place it sets the tone for the rest of the day. Believe me, I never thought I'd be that person doing yoga and meditating but it's changed my life and I no longer need any medication.

    Good luck on your journey. You'll be surprised how much changing your body can change your mind. :smile:
  • noexcuses1218
    noexcuses1218 Posts: 332 Member
    Options
    Bipolar. After a Really Bad Time in '08, the details of which I'll spare you unless you really want to hear them, I tried therapy for several months then my counselor saw me in a borderline hypomanic/manic state and pegged the diagnosis, finally. went to a fantastic psychiatrist and we worked for something like five years to get the medication cocktail right. Some meds will, indeed, cause lethargy and weight gain. Some won't. The only way to figure it out is to try it, under a doctor's care, so if you freak out, you'll have a safety net.

    I totally understand your decision to manage without meds. I used to feel that I could manage it with exercise, a daily routine, fixing the environmental factors, etc., but when I tried that for months and realized that I was still experiencing a lot of mixed states and rapid cycling, I thought it would be best to try the meds, for my own safety. I have a kid. I wasn't going to risk her being left without a mom at two years old.

    So yeah, short answer is, a lot of us here are dealing with some form of mental illness to greater and lesser degrees. You are *definitely* not alone, girl. Welcome to the madhouse! Sometimes they give us smoothies...
  • ipsamet
    ipsamet Posts: 436 Member
    Options
    I'm surprised to see so many members with bipolar! My doctors just figured out that the depression I've been treated for the last 10 years was misdiagnosed, and I actually have bipolar II. Now that I am on the right meds, it has made a HUGE difference and was one of the things that pushed me on the road to my physical health. Nice to see that I'm not alone on here!
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,012 Member
    Options
    my 15 yr old son has bipolar, he is on lithium. it makes life both interesting and stressful at times
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Options
    Nope. Perfectly sane, nothing wrong with me at all. Just ask the local disability office.

    *shrug* Never mind that I'd rather shoot myself in the head than be forced to socialize every day. I suppose they're hoping that turning me down means I will finally go shoot myself in the head. One less non-productive little worker to worry about.

    They can't help it, though, they're just little ants on the hill, too.
  • Axels91
    Axels91 Posts: 213
    Options
    I can't bear the medical names - in the end looks like we are a ****load of stuff but *normal*
    A friend call such "being disbalanced" I think he's right, it's just a mental impairment. I refused to be on medications - sometimes even worse imho. But eh, i won the race as a spermatozoid, so I just..take it for granted

    if you don't believe in labels, why do you believe that you have bipolar?
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
    Options
    Yes! a broken robot since I'm born ahah
    Bipolar (never been diagnosed such but I've all the symptoms unfortunately)

    i'd wait for a formal diagnosis before telling anyone that. just to be on the safe side.

    Diagnoses mean very little sometimes... functionality is what's at stake. Labels are essentially nothing.

    i agree, but you need to know what you are treating. bipolar disorder is just a description of a group of symptoms. which is why so many people with organic causes (thyroid conditions) get misdiagnosed with it. if you give someone with a thyroid condition mood stabilizers, it could be detrimental.

    You can't always know what you're treating. It would be nice. And when you bring drugs into play, crazy things can happen. But if you focus on functionality and tiptoe through the minefield of diagnostic labels... it's best, in my experience.
  • Jadbaa
    Jadbaa Posts: 129 Member
    Options
    I have Depression. After I had my son 12 years ago I had Post Partum Depression. I didn't know what was wrong with me at the time since nobody told me about it. I suffered through it for 6 months before I got on medication. I have had depression since then. Right now I'm not on medication so I have been feeling pretty bad. Exercise does help some but I don't feel "normal" I don't think I will ever feel "normal". My husband doesn't even try to understand what I'm going through or what I'm feeling. He just tells me it's all in my head. I was talking to a friend the other day about it and was thinking that I don't ever remember being really happy :( I've had happy moments but never happy. It's hard so it's nice to be around people that understand.
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
    Options
    I can't bear the medical names - in the end looks like we are a ****load of stuff but *normal*
    A friend call such "being disbalanced" I think he's right, it's just a mental impairment. I refused to be on medications - sometimes even worse imho. But eh, i won the race as a spermatozoid, so I just..take it for granted

    if you don't believe in labels, why do you believe that you have bipolar?

    I think if you kept your thread open for people to share their experience... though it may not mesh with your own, in particular... it would be more beneficial for all.
  • Axels91
    Axels91 Posts: 213
    Options
    Yes! a broken robot since I'm born ahah
    Bipolar (never been diagnosed such but I've all the symptoms unfortunately)

    i'd wait for a formal diagnosis before telling anyone that. just to be on the safe side.

    Diagnoses mean very little sometimes... functionality is what's at stake. Labels are essentially nothing.

    i agree, but you need to know what you are treating. bipolar disorder is just a description of a group of symptoms. which is why so many people with organic causes (thyroid conditions) get misdiagnosed with it. if you give someone with a thyroid condition mood stabilizers, it could be detrimental.

    You can't always know what you're treating. It would be nice. And when you bring drugs into play, crazy things can happen. But if you focus on functionality and tiptoe through the minefield of diagnostic labels... it's best, in my experience.

    yes, drugs are very hit and miss. i guess i see what you are saying. however, i don't understand why people are so afraid of labels. we label symptoms, don't we? its the difference between needing antidepressants or lithium.

    if you pump a person with manic depression full of paxil you are not going to get the same effects as you would from giving someone with major depression paxil. individuals respond differenlty to medication, but the individual differences in those with the same disorder are overshadowed by the differences between a group of bipolar people and a group of depressed people.

    and guess what? both clinical depression and manic depression have low functionality during a depresed episode. but we cannot treat them with the same medicine.
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    Options
    Well seems that the label I most fit it. I just fit less in maniac, depressed, anxious, etc...
    Not to mention old anorexia, current OCD, orthorexia, call it what you want; The more time I try to put a word on *it* (so medical word tries) the more time you lose focusing on what matters : be yourself and accept the fact there are things that would never change.
  • Axels91
    Axels91 Posts: 213
    Options
    I can't bear the medical names - in the end looks like we are a ****load of stuff but *normal*
    A friend call such "being disbalanced" I think he's right, it's just a mental impairment. I refused to be on medications - sometimes even worse imho. But eh, i won the race as a spermatozoid, so I just..take it for granted

    if you don't believe in labels, why do you believe that you have bipolar?

    I think if you kept your thread open for people to share their experience... though it may not mesh with your own, in particular... it would be more beneficial for all.

    that was an actual question, not intended to combat what he was saying. i would like to hear his thoughts on it. thats all.
  • alabughosh
    alabughosh Posts: 132 Member
    Options
    Well seems that the label I most fit it. I just fit less in maniac, depressed, anxious, etc...
    Not to mention old anorexia, current OCD, orthorexia, call it what you want; The more time I try to put a word on *it* (so medical word tries) the more time you lose focusing on what matters : be yourself and accept the fact there are things that would never change.

    YES! Thank you. You hit the nail on the head.
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    Options
    I think medics are nothing but a crutch
  • lkblazek
    lkblazek Posts: 36
    Options
    Depression ... Using 300 mg Wellbutrin and 20mg Celexa. Recently tried to go off the Wellbutrin and it wreaked havoc with my eating and sleeping.
  • andreanicole686
    andreanicole686 Posts: 406 Member
    Options
    Generalized anxiety disorder, it eats my life, woooo

    Me too. My anxiety is often all-consuming. People tend to think I'm 'just a worrier' or tell me to 'think positive!'. I wish it was that simple and easy.
    Me three. But exercising has helped greatly. That is a bit different though than other disorders. It goes through phases. Right now I'm doing pretty well. Lexapro does wonders too. lol
  • Axels91
    Axels91 Posts: 213
    Options
    accepting that you have an illness does not mean that you do not have an identity.
  • NeedANewFocus
    NeedANewFocus Posts: 898 Member
    Options
    bump...very interested to read more.

    i battle depression. hospitalized twice in 2007 (one suicide attempt).

    i welcome open conversation from anyone who needs to talk. private message me if you wish.
  • MrsB123111
    MrsB123111 Posts: 535 Member
    Options
    Depression ... Using 300 mg Wellbutrin and 20mg Celexa. Recently tried to go off the Wellbutrin and it wreaked havoc with my eating and sleeping.

    Wellbutrin did the same to me! I didn't want to eat ever and couldn't sleep. I fainted at work one day and promptly called my doctor to switch meds! It did help me quit smoking though...
  • Axels91
    Axels91 Posts: 213
    Options
    Well seems that the label I most fit it. I just fit less in maniac, depressed, anxious, etc...
    Not to mention old anorexia, current OCD, orthorexia, call it what you want; The more time I try to put a word on *it* (so medical word tries) the more time you lose focusing on what matters : be yourself and accept the fact there are things that would never change.

    i understand what you mean. you are saying that we shouldn't trouble ourselves over our diseases, and just live our lives.

    thats not so easy when you are seeing demons and cockroaches all over your walls and hearing radios in your head while you are trying to sleep.

    having a mental illness means that you are ill. it IS a big deal, it DOES matter whether or not you are diagnosed correctly, especially since untreated bipolar disordered people have a 20% suicide rate. higher than that of clinical depression.

    im sorry im just a little miffed about people saying, you are who you are, dont worry about labels. the label isnt whats screwing my life up. the illness is.

Categories