Bipolar Disorder Support Group
Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.
The non-linquistic definition for "code switching" is:
the modifying of one's behavior, appearance, etc., to adapt to different sociocultural norms.
I'm not entirely sure this is the correct term for what I am doing, but it's the closest thing I could find. Hopefully one of you might know more. I find myself acting or actually being (I'm not sure which) a different person to different people. I don't mean to say that I give a different name or otherwise lie. I simply have a different personality depending on what group of people I happen to be around. With my family I am a cynical jokster. with the elderly whom I play cards, I am an upbeat optimist. at the bank and other businesses, I seem bored and curt. I slip into these other personalities with no thought whatsoever. I can't tell if I am "acting" differently or if I am actually "being" the person I present myself to be at any given moment. another facet of this thing I do is that I almost never show my true emotions, and even then they are muted. Only deep depression and hypo-mania show through, and only just enough for others to barely notice a difference. People are always so surprised when I tell them I am BP.
does anyone have any insight into this?
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Hey All...I hope that you have a lovely, peaceful beginning of your weekI have a bunch of chores that need doing but may put them off til tomorrow and just hang out with my landlord/roomie todayWhat about you?...Anything special going on?Have a great day and take good care of you!!..Xo
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Once again I've had a fever today. I'm not going to the hospital because that's a huge waste of time but I did schedule a dr appointment for Wednesday afternoon.
You don't mention how often you Cycle between the Poles of Bipolar Disorder.
Are you under the care of a Psychiatrist and Therapist? If so this is something you could bring up with one or both of them to try and get a handle on it. Learn other ways to handle the stress of your situation, learn other coping skills. Are you on a Medication Cocktail?
If your not under the care of a Psychiatrist and Therapist I would strongly suggest you see a Psychiatrist.
When someone is in a self-preservation mode and chooses not to show their true emotions, using coping skills like Social and Situational Adaptation keeps them from having to. Usually this is brought on by some sort of trauma.
Take care,
Kat
Only when you get really old can you be obnoxious and grumpy all the time. I'm not scared of death - I remember when he ran around in shorts.
I've learned getting older has some perks!
I don't think I've been through what you might call trauma. part of the reason for what I do may be the simple fact of growing up male. boys are under significant social pressure to be strong emotionally. I was also teased quite a bit for being different. maybe I am just on the extreme end of normal for a man. I don't know.
How you handle your BP is a choice, everyone does it differently, I will admit Therapy doesn't work for everyone. But, you can learn coping skills on your own without a Therapist. And coping skills are pretty important, because regardless, there is a big wild world out there that you have to be able to function in and get along with on most days.
If your meds are causing you to cycle more rapidly that is something you should discuss with your Pdoc. Some med side effects don't go away, and they shouldn't make your BP worse, the goal is for meds to help you be more stable, not the opposite. There are many meds to choose from, so maybe have a talk with your Pdoc and see what he thinks about the Pristiq/Seroquel combo causing the frequent cycling.
As for your personality extremes, 'normal' is relevant, I don't particularly care for the word and don't use it. People are different, your personality, whatever it is, is special unto you. You shouldn't have to or be expected to change it to fit every other person you socialize with or deal with. At some point you have to get comfy with "You" and accept who you are. Once again, Coping Skills.
Take care,
Kat