|
what is the purpose of bipolar?
Hi,
Warning: Mildly depressed, stressed, tired as all get out, and p*ssed about an 8:00am meeting "tomorrow." Anyone remember the purpose of bipolar? I seem to remember an evolutionary explanation one time -- that mild bipolar helped the human species survive. Sometimes the bipolar manifests in horrible ways, but in not enough people to effect the species. Not sure if I said that right or if it is any truth. How about on an individual level? Why do I have it? What am I supposed to do with my life now? Now that my life is bound by bipolar (and I don't kid myself because I certainly am limited), what am I supposed to do within these limitations to make my life meaningful to myself? Or to anyone else? Or should I be looking for a different path, one beyond "meaning"? Mari |
possible evolutionary purpose for depression
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_...08_cr_dep.html
PARTS OF THE BRAIN THAT SLOW DOWN OR SPEED UP IN DEPRESSION includes some pics Quote:
Past time for sleep. I wish all my friends wellness. Mari |
Depression is a very dibilitating state of mind....
some people are depresed from situational circumstances while others are chronically. It has been said before that being bipolar sets us up to having emotional responces to things at a greater intensity...we feel things greter. I wonder if this is why there is such a greater risk for suicide in bipolar people than the "norm" I do not know the purpose of bipolarism.... (((HUGS))) bizi |
Hi Mari
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Please be well. Hope your day went ok. ~ waves ~ |
Bizi,
One of my friends who was a psych nurse said that people try S when then are moving between moods. When we are depressed, we are too depressed. But when people start to get the energy of mania and come out of the depression....The same with coming down into a mania. ..a good reason to stay stable I guess. Yeah, I do think I/we feel things greater than for example most people I work with. I have to shield myself by opting out of activites (christmas parties, most meetings...) But I feel the same with people I don't know. I interact with them as little as possible (by staying home). I don't want to be brought into their sphere because I feel too much. And I am sensitive when I hear people use bad language toward others and stuff like that. (I am the queen of bad language but I don't use it toward another person...) Not sure if that makes sense. mari |
Hi, Waves,
I pushed the words/ideas of "purpose" and "reason" together without thinking. I guess I was wondering what purpose/reason it serves us as a species AND as indiviuals to have the bipolar genes report to duty. Quote:
I can live in ambiguity. That is part of my sickness. I would love to live more clearly in the here or the there. ....Not in two or three places/ways at the same time. I embrace ambiguity and make life more complicated. I am comfortable with muted shades. Is this bipolar? Is this a gift? HA? Should I try to see it that way?????? :confused: But these muted shades make life harder. How does it work for the other folks who see things as one way or another and not .....well, NOT? Also, last week, my accupuncturist told me how she handles the 3 or so "blue" days she gets each week. She literally snaps her fingers and tells herslef to snap out of it. She suggested I do the same. :eek: ...problems getting into see the dentist for routine visit. His office keeps canceling -- or worse, not showing up...seems he is having personal problems....but I don't wanna know about them.. I just want my teeth cleaned and I want the teeth grinding at night to stop. Ok...waaaaaaaay more than you asked. I am going to go find something to do. Mari |
Hi Mari
Hi Mari,
i saw this the other day but hoped to be able to respond better. Hopefully soon. I am a bit thought-dead right now... :o btw, a lot more than i asked, naaah... it was an open question. and enjoyed reading response. hence want to address it properly. i am concerned about that "snapping" hypnotherapist. yeah. :eek: is right. take care of yourself. ~ waves ~ |
Quote:
I am sorry that I was confusing. The hypnotherapist is very good. The accupunturist suggested snapping because it works for her. I don't mind that the accupunturist doesn't "get" depression. She can still be very helpful. I'm having a medical issue right now that I don't want to talk about here yet. Mari |
bipolar, etc.
hello, all. i'm somewhat new to this, learning as i go, but the subjects raised here hold a fascination difficult to skip past. still unclear to me is the meaning of "bipolar," though it comes through in context to mean, i would guess, what the older term "schizophrenia" once did. a professor i knew believed this condition to spring from what he called "the double bind." that is, a child whose upbringing is rife with enforced ambiguities, split loyalties, divisiveness, hot/cold, guilt/grandeur, and the like, develops unweighted thought processes, and begins to mirror the self-absorption which lies at the heart of this. but understanding the gobbledegook doesn't make for a cure. depression is pretty good at trumping intellect. habits of mind are hard to break. but new habits of mind can be formed. Dr. Vaillant once said, "Don't think less of yourself, just think of yourself less." it's good advice. tv, movies,diversions help us do this, but so do other more productive activities: learning by rote, solving puzzles, assembling things, designing, creating, singing, the list is endless. the power of ambiguity should be at the end of this food chain, not the beginning. when our minds are sown with doubt, and fear, and shame before they're equipped to handle these bogeys, it's a tough trail ahead. i've been on it, i know. please help with comments if you wish. i'm delighted for this forum and to be part of it. thanks. robert.
|
WElcome Robert,
Glad that you found our happy home here in the cyber world. Let us know how we can help you. Sometimes it is quiet on the weekends here and then again there are some who are night owls.... There is a chat room area here at these boards the link is at the top of the bar on the right...my bar is blue yours may be tan or other color depending on what color scheme you have chosen. Great that you joined us! bizi |
Quote:
Dear Mair, I guess I wanted to respond to this part. There are alot people who live in the black and white world....it is easier! However I do believe that the world is actually filled with gray! Somewhere between black and white. Living within the gray matter is much more difficult. There can not be absolutes...sometimes yes sometimes no..... I think living with shades is actually living more in reality than not...at a more evolved level.... does that make sense? bizi |
Dear Robert,
OK. I learned something tonight because I looked up Dr. Vaillant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eman_Vaillant He publishes on adult development and the recovery process of schizophrenia, heroin addiction, alcoholism, personality disorder, and aging... But the wikipedia site says that the article needs "clean up." Have you ever worked on a wikipedia article? I haven't. Too much brain fog. mari |
Quote:
You make a lot of sense. Sometimes I wish I could see the world in clear colors because then my life might be easier. I would get things done faster because I would put less thought into them, I'd make decisions more easily, and..... But I end up embracing abiquity and even ambivalence because, well, that's how I see things. And it would be too hard to change a world view. And if I need carity on an important issue, I can always ask one of those black and white thinking people for help! Maybe we are both making sense? Mari |
yes we are making perfect sense this morning...which then makes it difficult to make decisions...this is where learning to answer the best way that we can based on the knowledge that we have at that moment...was the best decision...I may come upon other info later and change my mind which is totally acceptable...see the flux...
I think that the more flexible we are....the easier making decisions can be. |
Quote:
Yeah, I reserve the right to change my mind. It makes coming to a decision easier. I remind other people that things are usually not chiseled in marble for crying out loud. We can change/modify or forget about whatever we want. mari |
bipolar
dear mari and bizi,
you all have a great dialogue going. thanks for the smile. i've made only a small emendation to a wiki article so far- on the ancient Hebrew word "selah"-but may venture there again sometime if the spirit calls. yes, lots of brain fog; but cutting through it is half the fun! sometimes...eek!... the other half comes from making fog. what is wrong with us, we ask? certainly one state of our existence is predominently dualistic; but not all are. if we were perfectly organized our capacities for love, reason, instinct, and imagination would flourish unhindered, would act in harmony. instead, small decisions acquire a life-or-death magnitude; they exploit our qualms with a serpent-like knowledge of our vulnerability. look how easily we fall back into this "dualism" while trying to escape it. bizi says "living with shades is more living in reality than not" but replaces the old dualism (black/white) with a new one (shaded/not shaded). our minds get really dug in at a basic level. i think several things can help out with this. i like examples from life best: the simplest fables, wisest proverbs, basic stories, folk tales. things that are proven through time to be universally true & form a basis in memory will be drawn upon instinctively in the proportion they are loved and embraced. i learn more from the fox, the chicken, and the farmer than i do from the latest craze in psychobabble or celebrities charming us with their reinventions of the wheel. in any event, mari, i think our goal is to become proficient decision-makers, not perfect ones. the promises we make, the expectations we have, all challenge us in the basic premises we hold about life: do we understand its simple rules? are we equipped to climb the mountain? if not, the "nearer your destination, the more you're slip-slidin' away" kind-of-thing takes control. we trip over the ambiguities until we learn their proper place in the scheme of things; it's all about mental organization to some degree & your friend who suggested the snapping-of-fingers was on to something (behavioral conditioning); and though that particular modus may not play to your hand, it's well within your power to discover one or several or many that do. we'll never understand everything, but we should never be timid about our desire to do so ("If the fool would persist in his folly, he would become wise" Blake, The Marraige of Heaven and Hell). living in dishonest times only makes the job harder. they say diogenes combed the streets of Athens looking for an honest man, and he probably still is. too many of us are too in love with our own fear to answer the door. not that we need to be purely honest 24/7. that would burn us out. just enough to light the wick, to let our friends know we're here. excuse me for rambling. once i get started...well, i've got to learn more flexibility myself! thanks, all. will try to stop by again. robert. (bizi, i think i opened the chat room, but it seemed empty. is that unusual?) |
Dear Robert,
Your post shows that you are thinking through lots of things. I think that it is beyond me to come up with an adequate response tonight. I do want you to know that I am reading. Quote:
Maybe certain times of the day are better. Mari |
dear robert,
When ever I want to chat with someone I bump up or create a new thread saying "Chat?" that way it is an open invitation...I also PM someone letting them know that i want to chat with them. and yes it is frequently empty. bizi |
[ ("If the fool would persist in his folly, he would become wise" Blake, The Marraige of Heaven and Hell). living in dishonest times only makes the job harder. they say diogenes combed the streets of Athens looking for an honest man, and he probably still is. too many of us are too in love with our own fear to answer the door. not that we need to be purely honest 24/7. that would burn us out. just enough to light the wick, to let our friends know we're here.
who is blake that you mention?author of the book? bizi |
William Blake, author of The Marraige of Heaven and Hell. Within that work is a subsection called "The Proverbs of Hell". He lived 1757-1827.
|
|
Sure. i'll try to wire through thurs and/or fri. evening. not sure how to do it, though. is it the chat room on this site, or some other mechanism? i also have yahoo messenger but have never used it. robert.
|
yes
the chat room is accessable through the link at the top of this page.... I don't have yahoo messenger, it makes my computer freeze up the 2 times i tried to install it...not a good thing for this tech challenged woman! Hubby is the computer guy of the family ...thank goodness! Hope to catch you some time this week too. bizi |
Wanted to bump this up a bit....
|
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:16 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin • Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
vBulletin Optimisation provided by
vB Optimise (Lite) -
vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.