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.

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Disturbed420 07/12/2010

How many ppl believe or think that is possiable that recreational drugs are part of the cause to your mental illness or contribute to it?

I used to do coke/crack, estasy, shrooms and still smoke weed and used to be a daily pot smoker. Sometimes I think if I didn't do all that stuff that maybe I wouldn't have been soo bad or have gotten bi polar. Prior to all the drugs I suffered from deep depression a lot, so maybe I just made it worse. who knows. Just wanted other ppls take on it.

tommymott 07/12/2010

I think it depends on the person. It didn't help me any. I never did LSD but most people weren't bothered when they took it while some people wound up in hospital in a coma. The odds aren't that good as far as I'm concerned.

Robert29 07/15/2010

Consider that most mental illness onset is in early 20's and I think you can expect people to think drugs made them ill. I think it is pure coincidence. I was diagnosed at 22, and experimented first when I turned 30. Guess Im a late bloomer.

deleted_user 07/16/2010

I took tons of trips and E's when I from about 20-23yrs old as I travelled the UK raving for a few (hazy!) years, had a great time but I too have to accept that though recreational drugs may not have caused my PB (and so much trouble in my life since!) they certainly wouldn't have helped.

On reflection I remember being deppressed as far back as 14yrs old and not feeling like I fitted into youth culture at all, that was until the drug culture surfaced in the UK (late 80's) - THEN I fitted in perfectly. My biggest vice now is coca cola, dark chocolate and decaff cino, even those are doing me no good but I gotta have something! gave up beloved red wine as it made me hyper especially when socializing...:(

Chanel22 07/16/2010

I can honestly say I never did illegal drugs ever. Maybe I should of - like it would of made a difference? Well ok, maybe I shouldn't..

Chanel22 07/16/2010

I am probably the most straightlaced person in my entire family and I have the most severe form of Bipolar too. Go figure.

:-/

deleted_user 07/27/2010

From what I understand the drugs are used, for some people, as an escape from their issues. I know that's what I did. It helped me cope with the onset on my problems. Once I stopped drinking and using my illness was able to take hold of me.

pecos 07/27/2010

My best friend was hospitalized for months and when he got out he didn't touch medicine or anything, became a pot head and shit, and now he's fine, supports himself, and pays for his own college education

I started messing with drugs significantly later than the onset of my symptoms :-/ .....

pecos 07/27/2010

I'm pretty sure that you can manipulate statistics to back up whatever conclusions you make about it. It reminds me of when they found Alzheimer patients to have excess amounts of aluminum in their brains. Immediately everyone decided that was the cause. Much later people found significant evidence that excess aluminum may have been more of an effect than a cause.

I personally self-medicate all the time, and make the conscious decision to use drugs to escape. I find people's morals interesting. What is wrong with escapism? Maybe it's just because I'm not much of an addict, but if I over-use I immediately notice that it's no longer helping and stop, and I've done some of the supposedly "most addictive" drugs there are.

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