Maybe you are weak in some ways but strong in others. I would bet nearly 100% of people on this planet have some form of weakness they need help with.

However, you have kids and a good life I think you are ahead of the curve.

Medication is a constant reminder that we have some sort of problem. Everybody on earth has big problems but just not the constant reminder of doctors and medicine.

You are strong! This is SPARTA!

It has nothing to do with weakness. It IS a chemical imbalance and like any other illness, it can be aggravated by outside factors. I know that some of my worst symptoms were in the last couple of years in my first marriage. It certainly didn't help that my in-laws treated me like I was the scum under their feet.

You ever hear those neo-conservative people bitch about things like welfare and social security and government programs.

They act like they never needed help in their lives. The $100,000 prep schools and the colleges and the silver spoon lifestyle were no help to them at all I guess.

Thanks, Juice!! You are FAB-A-LUS!! ;)

I've changed my mind, I no longer want to marry Plukk, I want to marry Juice.

you are not weak, chelle. you know, people say things...they don't know. They think they know. But they don't.

YOU know.

I wonder how many (non-bipolar, etc) people are out there living the busy life, popping prozac and xanax and other pills to keep them functioning on "their" level. They are not looked upon as 'weak'. They are looked upon as 'dealing'.

Whatever issues he has with you, Chelle, I doubt he is confronting the Real ones that are in his mind as he perceives you.

Meds do not make us Weak, though they can be overused by some, obviously.

Would he truly prefer that you have another nervous breakdown after trying to 'deal' with things without medicinal help? I don't think so. And those people with our dx simply Do have more trouble dealing with daily life.

I may not Like the idea of meds in general as a solution to all life's problems, but life in general is a Lot more demanding - in different ways - than it used to be. And we have a Lot more people having nervous breakdowns, diving off buildings or shooting up offices as a result of trying to be 'strong' when they perhaps should have gotten meds and Help for their state of mind.

We do what we need to, Chelle. I needed a good nervous breakdown myself before I really Saw that. And now I know.

I saw Juice first!! haha!!

Thanks, Mary Anne. You are so eloquent and hitting home with your words. I suspect that this is not the real issue he has with me or what he perceives me to be. He has been pretty much sober of marijuana in the last few weeks and has been doing a lot of thinking he said. I have not been the perfect mother. God knows that. I had kids too young. I am still just growing up myself in a lot of ways. We all gotta go through some things in life though in order to shape our characters though. Lord knows I have. We all do.

now see, that's Such a bipolar thing :) - taking ooooone little part of my response and thinking about it (like "I" would do)....

You are a strong and encouraging friend around here, Chelle - consistently so! And that comes from your Person, even though there are parts of you we cannot see. Who you Are, is reflected here. And I am Sure you are not weak. :)

Thank God that there are parts of me you cannot see!! ;)

Not weak. At all. I get told that from certain family members and it's utter BS. You are a strong woman. Look at you taking care Dillon! Raising kids, from what I see and understand, is the hardest job on the planet and seems to me you're handling it like a champ. You're far from weak. Many in our lives don't understand and some never will. To overuse an overused phrase, it is what it is.

I meant "taking care of.... " . I can't stand it when i make grammatical errors.

I took meds, because I needed them. I still take lots of meds - for RA or I would be crippled, for high blood pressure to prevent heart disease and strokes, for hypothyroidism, or I would be a cold, tired, sad person. Oh, yes, and I take them for sleeping, or I will be awake all night, and then I will be taking meds when they put me in a psych ward.

So I confess, I am weak. And before I take the cortisone infusion, I am going to take ant-pychotics. Just because I know it does something to my brain, and I don't need to deal with psychosis while I am adjusting to new medications.

Try and remember, bipolar disorder is a disease. We are not people who believe that we caused this disease, because that is part of the stigma. It is also part of the stigma to think that you can overcome it with "will" power. If the chemicals in your brain don't work right, then there is nothing wrong with taken a medicine that will make them work properly.

My husband has major depression, plus major guilt for years that he was so weak and couldn't overcome it. So as a condition of getting back together when we split up 4 years ago, he had to see a pdoc, who prescribed him a max dose of Celexa. Guess what? He not only wasn't depressed, he could function better at work, his cognitive function improved, and he never misses his pill. So he wasn't "weak" he was depressed. You know lack of Serotonin to the brain.

Which is an entirely different proposition than smoking pot - the purpose of that is to make a brain that is functioning properly, feel different. Of course, I should talk, I don't need pot to get high. Hypomania rules.

Hello Zany! Of course I want to tell your son that a chemical imbalance is the reason you "weren't able to handle your life" and things have progressed to where they are today. But, when I think about it for a minute, I have horrible memories of being a smart a** 21 year old who may have said something very similar to what he said. I guess the reason I would have said something like that, at his age, was because life was so difficult and painful up to that point. It was hard to have respect for adults, who, I thought, MUST have it so much better. I had no idea what was to come. Chalk it up to youthful ignorance.