Having a name for ^it^ helps me allot, even when it turns out to be the wrong name. Trying to secret ^it^ away never fooled anybody but me in my personal case. Having a name for ^it^ makes it allot easier to talk about and find solutions for, and there are quite allot of solutions to be had. Your feeling of optimism is fully justified.

Both anxiety and depression are on the clinical BP symptom lists, so your thoughts that you were dealing with them remains valid. Gentle support while you find the tools to help you cope.

hi and welcome to the board.

I'd give yourself some time to come to some kind of equilibrium with your diagnosis and over getting on the meds before trying to advocate or educate.

Ok thanks for the advice. You’re right

This is so hard for me to deal with. How will people react? I react so harshly to myself already and I’m so down this morning cuz I got drunk last night. It’s awful

People react in all sorts of ways, some good, some not so good.

So best to work on how you feel about it yourself - you can talk it out here because apart from the spammers and the ones trying to sell us religion we've all been through it.

In the meantime I'd avoid alcohol - it's a depressant and doesn't mix well with meds.

Thanks yeah I told my aunt and she tried to basically tell me that I might be demonically possessed I’m like NO. that I need to seek God. She knows nothing about bipolar or mental health. And I do believe in God but geez that made me mad

Hi Ellie! It sure was a relief to me to finally get a proper diagnosis as well. It’s a game of trial and error with bipolar. We all experience it a little differently yet also much the same. As far as advocating I printed some info for my dad to read and that helped him understand what I go through a little bit. There are real life support groups like NAMI and DBSA which some people find helpful. Personally I prefer the anonymity and convenience of an online support group. I hope you will find yourself amongst friends here

I agree with LadyPromise. I would give yourself some time to think seriously about who you want to share your diagnosis with. Some people don’t understand, may judge and may not take the time to educate themselves. You are not alone & it took me a while before I could really wrap my head around my diagnosis and you will be way ahead of me having this support group now!

Here's the thing, you have an illness, just like anyone else who has an illness, instead of an illness of the body, it's an illness of the brain. Your brain chemistry is out of whack, its literally that easy. You didn't cause it, you didn't add to it, and you didn't have any way to keep it away.....it's an illness.

BiPolar Disorder does not have a cure, but it does have Treatments that can be very effective. The Treatments are a Medication Cocktail, that is something you'll need to work with your Pdoc on. Latuda will be the beginning and then he'll add other meds as needed to get your Cocktail correct. The other part of Treatment is Therapy, and it's just as important as the medication. In Therapy you learn coping skills and ways to deal with all of the crap that comes with BiPolar, you learn how to live life with the disease, instead of trying to fight it.

Drinking while on Psych meds is about the worst decision you can make, and it can kill you. Many of the meds we take for BiPolar are CNS Depressants, meaning they affect your Central Nervous System and the things that make you breathe. When you mix those meds with Alcohol, your body can forget how to breathe. Alcohol is also a Depressant, so when your BiPolar and have Depression and take a Depressant, your just making things worse and causing meds you take not to work properly. Please do not drink while on Psych meds.

As for who you tell that you are BiPolar, that is your choice. I've been BiPolar for 29 years and as I've watched other BiPolar folks, or worked with or mentored other BiPolar folks I've learned that a lot of the time a person's personality is a big part of how they decide who they'll share that news with.

A stronger more confident person, tends to not be so shy or care as much about labels or what people think, where a shy, more introverted person tends to keep it to themselves. For the most part, until you're comfortable and understand it yourself, you really don't need to worry about whether others are. You are your most important person to worry about. When you get to a point where your comfortable and okay saying, I have BiPolar Disorder, then tell the people who are close to you. Its not your job to educate, the Internet is a very big place and people can find education all on their own, its not hard at all. Don't take it all on your shoulders, remember this is not something your "doing" to anyone, it's an illness that your learning to live with.

Welcome to the group and take care,

Kat

yeah i dont know im somewhere in the middle between shy and confident. but yeah. im gonna try not to drink anymore. i did have a drinking problem for a little while but not that long. yeah im just glad im not on an antidepressant anymore as i thought it was making it worse. ill get thru all this, ya know? thanks for your kind words and support. im gonna try a nami group and a couple books too. therapy ive been going to for a while but havent gone in like over a month. so thatd be good. just a lot going on in my life too

Welcome el!

Good for you for taking your diagnosis seriously enough to look for support and help in managing it in the best way possible. Just commiting to finding stability takes you a long way already. It takes time but you'll get there. I feel like alot of the ups and downs naturally tend to even out on their own sometimes, for me at least, and combined with meds and good coping skills this can be controlled.

And it's awesome that you want to advocate and educate. I tend to hide it because then all of my actions will be seen as some sort of "episode" and then I lose alot of what makes me me. But I wish I was as brave about it as you. Bipolar disorder is often so misunderstood, I had the wrong idea about it myself when I was diagnosed. So advocation and education is very important. I thank you on the behalf of the quiet or ashamed.

I too have alot of anxiety and my pdoc added trileptal, tritrating up to 1500 mg, which has helped immensely. Maybe ask about it. It's an anticonvulsant.

thanks.. i really dont care what others think they have no idea what we go thru its awful. if only they knew then they could judge. people are rude and i have been thru the ringer with bosses being not understanding at all. also im a social work major/human services worker. so its one of my passions. so yeah i can have a f**k you attitude sometimes. but yeah it is still hard because of the stigma and stuff people need to learn and we still have a long way to go. but thanks for your help sullen kitty! i will ask my doctor about trileptal. or maybe lithium or something idk. thank you

Knowledge is power! So glad to hear you finally received a correct diagnosis and are on the path to treatment. I would ask your doctor for additional resources, support groups and information. You can also check out your local library for resources. I agree with some of the other posters; I would find out as much info as possible before trying to educate others. Take the time now to concentrate on your own health and once you get more understanding, you can help others to support you on this journey.

thank you! i am reading bipolar disorder for dummies its helpful to me. kinda confusing tho.

hello again seekjoydaily - I see you are recommending Focus on the Family in other replies. Just so you know I have marked those posts as spam.

Can I ask if you are bipolar? If so maybe introduce yourself?