I was watching some youtube videos on Bipolar disorder and it has made things more clear for me to understand my mania episodes and so on so forth. I have always thought my behavior was normal. But apparently it is not normal for a person to talk to loud like me. And that is probably why people do not like being my friend a lot in high school or when I was younger and college too. I have worked hard on not yelling or talking so loud.

Well this lady was talking about ECT Electroconvulsive Therapy. She had 7 of those and is feeling better and still has to get it done because she is suicidal. I do not know about you guys but that scares me so much! Not that it will happen to me but I really DO NOT WANT THAT HAPPENING TO ME IT IS SO SCARY! I am afraid of that treatment. It looks so abusive to me and immoral.
What do you guys think of that.

Sharla

I'm sure that people are put under for the EST these days. I understand how you feel though. I also understand the talking loud as I do that also; however, I believe there are people who would accept us for the loud talking.

befuddled2

Not many people have accepted me for my loud voice It is hard to control.
And the est is so scary. There is no other way to fix these things?

Sharla

Hello,

Here is my favorite site about bipolar
http://www.psycheducation.org/index.html

It has scientific articles along with articles that are not scientific.

I'm sorry to sound dumb, but I am not sure what you are worried about. Are you saying that you are finding that bipolar can be worse than you thought?


Bipolar is the most treatable mental health condition.
I feel lucky that I have had good drs and good treatments these past 20 years.
(The hardest part about bipolar is getting the right diagnosis. Some people are sick for 10 years before they get a diagnosis.)

Regarding ECT:
It works sometimes.
It's long term side effects can be headaches and memory loss and a few other things.

Regarding loud talking:
Loud talking could be caused by lots of things.
I have never heard that it is a bipolar thing.

Do you talk loud when you are upset or worried or do you talk loud all the time?

We can get through bipolar.
It takes work.

Mari

Please take a deep breath....
we will help walk you thru this new path.
I agree with mari 100%.
ECT treatments are usually the last resort if all other medications, therapy, alternative avenues fail.
Most people who are bipolar find that with the help of therapists, doctors, good nutrition, stress reduction, medications and supplements....their moods stabilize. WE willl always have ups and downs this is normal...but for me with meds the ups and downs are not so up and down...if that makes sense.
bizi

You all are going to think I am nuts but hey I have to get this off my chest.
I was part of this church back in 2004. In the past I was into witch craft and did not believe in God and all that stuff. In 2004 I have had weird things happen to me like my body was being possessed and stuff. So I gave up witch craft because I was tired of the nonsense so called spiritual encounters. After that I joined a church. I got saved and decided to rededicate my life to Jesus Christ. Then two weeks later I woke up at 2am with the most horrible feeling. At the edge of my bed was a white figure, staring at me with it's black eyes. And it a nut shell it attacked me so I could not speak or move. But when I prayed it went away. So are those Hallucinations? The Church told me that because I used to be a witch this is what happens to me. They also told me that the devil is trying to get me for leaving him.
I think the reason why I am scared is because in 2004 and 2005 I have heard voices before I go to sleep. And I saw things that were really weird. When I pray with my ear plugs in I heard a male voice say No! And that happened in a all female dormitory. I then read bible versus out loud and took my ear plugs out. I did not hear those voices again.
I have seen a lot of things that would make you all think WOW GIRL IS A NUT CASE!
I do believe that they were real because I no longer see them anymore. Ever since I started going to the Lutheran Church all the voices and all the demons left me.

Is there something seriously wrong with me.
I am currently not having these issues at all at the moment. I has been few years since I have heard these voices or seen so called demons.
No one in my family has scizophrenia.

Sharla

Hi, Sharla

Regarding seeing things:
This is common believe it or not.
It is common all over the world.

One name for it is "sleep paralysis."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

Look at the pictures. Artists have tried to duplicate their sleep experience.


also

http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/S_P.html
Sleep Paralysis and Associated Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Experiences


http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/prevent.html


Regarding voices before you fall asleep:

I used to hear voices before I slept. My old pdoc did not think that it was a big deal. He explained what was going on in my brain at the time. He had a perfectly good reasonable scientific explanation for it. I half-believed him.

Taking good medications helped both of these go away.
So did prayer. So did a few other things that I do.

Are you still going to this same church that is acting like you brought this stuff on yourself?

People who say things like that to someone who is suffering make me angry.


I'm glad that you are better now.
This has nothing to do with being schizophrenic or psychotic or bipolar. It is a sleep issue mostly.

Mari

Bizi,
Did you have any of these hallucinations while you were sleeping or in bed and awake?

I'm sorry that you had those experiences.
Going through that can change a person.


Mari

oh wow.
I never was put in a hospital when I went through this. Just pray and they went away. I had a feeling that it was hallucinations But the church told me that I can see the unseen. And they kept telling me that over and over again. I did not feel special about it. And I am very skeptical. I went through a lot of the Mania in 2004, 2005 and from 2006 on and off. I would hallucinate on and off. The medications I have tried in those years were Prozac, Effexor, buspar.
They must of made me really manic. When I moved to MI to live with my mom I would get the crying spells where i could not stop crying at all. I would cry for many many hours. I was in such a bad stress house hold that my poor brain could not take it any more and I just cried for hours and days. I would sleep for 13 hours or more sometimes I would sleep the entire day away. It was a good sleep. But I know it was not normal. That was my manic right there. As I went to school things got better and I felt better asl well. And so with I tried to go on some meds and had a bad reaction to zoloft and Ativan. So I gave up meds. I refused to take them because of the dangers it did to me.
So that was my experience.

Sharla

Dear Sharla,
Thanks for sharing.
Those medicines were recipes for disaster.

I'm sorry you had to endure that.

Mari