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.
i learned about this and did some lessons on this when i was just hospitalized a month ago.
how many have successfully completed it? does it work? where do i find out more about is in my community?
how many have successfully completed it? does it work? where do i find out more about is in my community?
Lou@, you are cracking me up, my friend, ROFL!!!
Don't stress guys, if bp meds kinda work...yr pdoc's may have a clue, y'know...think symptoms can be similiar bp2/borderline sorta kinda
Borderline Personality Disorder
Raising questions, finding answers
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity. Originally thought to be at the "borderline" of psychosis, people with BPD suffer from a disorder of emotion regulation. While less well known than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), BPD is more common, affecting 2 percent of adults, mostly young women.1 There is a high rate of self-injury without suicide intent, as well as a significant rate of suicide attempts and completed suicide in severe cases.2,3 Patients often need extensive mental health services, and account for 20 percent of psychiatric hospitalizations.4 Yet, with help, many improve over time and are eventually able to lead productive lives.
Symptoms
While a person with depression or bipolar disorder typically endures the same mood for weeks, a person with BPD may experience intense bouts of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last only hours, or at most a day.5 These may be associated with episodes of impulsive aggression, self-injury, and drug or alcohol abuse. Distortions in cognition and sense of self can lead to frequent changes in long-term goals, career plans, jobs, friendships, gender identity, and values. Sometimes people with BPD view themselves as fundamentally bad, or unworthy. They may feel unfairly misunderstood or mistreated, bored, empty, and have little idea who they are. Such symptoms are most acute when people with BPD feel isolated and lacking in social support, and may result in frantic efforts to avoid being alone.
People with BPD often have highly unstable patterns of social relationships. While they can develop intense but stormy attachments, their attitudes towards family, friends, and loved ones may suddenly shift from idealization (great admiration and love) to devaluation (intense anger and dislike). Thus, they may form an immediate attachment and idealize the other person, but when a slight separation or conflict occurs, they switch unexpectedly to the other extreme and angrily accuse the other person of not caring for them at all. Even with family members, individuals with BPD are highly sensitive to rejection, reacting with anger and distress to such mild separations as a vacation, a business trip, or a sudden change in plans. These fears of abandonment seem to be related to difficulties feeling emotionally connected to important persons when they are physically absent, leaving the individual with BPD feeling lost and perhaps worthless. Suicide threats and attempts may occur along with anger at perceived abandonment and disappointments.
People with BPD exhibit other impulsive behaviors, such as excessive spending, binge eating and risky sex. BPD often occurs together with other psychiatric problems, particularly bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and other personality disorders
Do you guys have a book? He's just doing handouts.
http://www.4degreez.com/misc/personality_disorder_test.mv
obviously there is many personality disorders out there I never knew this.. I have tested Very High for almost all of them... Not quite all but many... scarry
This is a true story of something that happened to me in 2005 ...
Her Name was Elizabeth
Mike and I were in Key West for Fantasy Fest. There were 100s of people in the crowds or was it 1000s, it didnt matter. She was standing up against a wall of a building, fear and hopelessness was all I could see in her eyes. Her mouth was trembling. I could sense her breath was short. She appeared like a lost child.
I approached her and with pure freight in her voice she asked do you have a phone I can use? Im lost and I dont know where my friends are. I didnt have a phone but I had a hand I could extend to her. I knew what it felt like to be scared and lost in a world full of strangers. I spent the majority of my life feeling this way.
I introduced myself and she said with a small smile my name is Elizabeth too. I knew instantly what was happening here. God was handing me a mirror.
Elizabeth was a 20 year old from Miami Florida, with no money, no car keys, and no way out of this situation until she catches back up with her friends. She appeared hopeless and frightened, at least that's how she saw things. I didnt accept what appeared to be but rather I kept saying to myself that Gods love will see us this thru.
Mike and I kept asking people if they had a phone we could let Elizabeth borrow. That was in between Mike trying to convenience her to breath and me assuring her we werent going to leave her. Watching peoples reactions was interesting too. There were those who let us use their phones but we couldnt reach Elizabeths friends. There were those who didnt have a phone but reached out to Elizabeth in a kind word of hope. There were those who walked by even quicker, so as not to get caught in a trap.
Then there were those who I could sense were toxic. I think Elizabeth could too because she told us with tears streaming down her face my name is Elizabeth xxxxx, if you read anything in tomorrows paper, I knew what she was implying, the situation we were in could very easily had led to a nightmare for her.
Elizabeth eventually said I think if I walk down the road I'll find my friends. I wasnt about to leave this Child to walk alone so we walked with her. Elizabeths emotions were clearly visible and with Mike and I walking with her I kept thinking how horrid this must all appear to be.
Then 2 couples approached Elizabeth and asked whats wrong? and Elizabeth began to tell her story. One of the woman talked to Elizabeth and I was standing beside her listening. The woman was so gentle and loving towards Elizabeth. I could almost sense this woman taking Elizabeth under her wing. She kept assuring Elizabeth that she was fine and that she should go with them. Before Elizabeth agreed she asked you wont hurt me, right?. I thought to myself, how many times have I looked at Love and wondered the same thing. The woman smiled and said weve rescued many people from Devol Street. Elizabeth said okay. I hugged Elizabeth and whispered into her ear I dont know you but I love you. A part of me didnt want to let her go. But thats part of universal knowledge, knowing when to let go.
We said goodbye to the two couples and one of the men said You did a good job. You did right. With the emotional rush of the situation and feeling Gods love and innocence thru Elizabeth, both the internal one and the one standing in front of me, I couldnt help but think it was God speaking thru him.
As we walked away I just smiled. Later when we caught up with our friend Tom he made the comment the egos out tonite I said yea, and thought to myself and so is Gods love.
I learned a lot that nite.
The nite God handed me a mirror.
I completed the course two years ago and have been med free for two years and other than my post the other night I have done great.
If you can get into the course I highly recommend it. Try getting into it through your pdoc or a mental health unit.