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View Full Version : Biopolar/Manic depression..do I have it?


girly_girl
03-09-2010, 12:25 AM
BIPOLAR(sorry for spelling in title)
I have suffered from depression since I was 12 and I am 31 now. My first personal experience of mania was when I decided to run my own business. All I knew was that I couldn't sleep and felt so motivated-full of ideas, talking so fast, jumping from one subject to the next-it was like I was on a high. Then the depression came where I could sleep for over 12 hours and couldn't function. I isolated myself from all social situations and lost my confidence.
The last Manic eposode I had was Christmas Eve, the evening before I sat up late with my dad talking about some very severe psychological death situations he has had to face during his life-I had 4 hours sleep that night. Two weeks previously I was averaging 3 hours sleep/night whilst trying to find a home and find myself and my boyfriend a house as we were relocating back to my home town.
Going back to Christmas Eve I think I was having a nervous breakdown. I missed my flight and decided to pay for a taxi from one end of the country to the other. My perspective and mind was severely distorted I know now. The taxi driver and I were talking about spiritualism which I didn't really understand(my mother and sister believe in this and I had to listen to their beliefs and this made me very afraid) his wife was suffering from cancer and I believed that if I visualised the cancer coming out of her I could remove it(previously my mum said that I was psychic)
I was mentally and physcically exausted and kept on trying to keep my thoughts positive and believed if I could visualise a positive outcome e.g. my boyfriend and I staying in a relationship and us having christmas day together it would actually happen. This was amongst other positive and negative thoughts-I was trying to stay positive but then negative thoughts kept creeping in. I was sure that spirits were in the taxi and when I thought of something positive was sure that the taxi driver was nodding his head in agreement:laugh: Also I was sure that if I did not panick and concentrated that I would get a signal on my phone as I though spirits were trying to harm me and control the electrics(my phone, tom tom etc) Then I rang my boyfriend to tell him that I missed my flight and I thought he was lost in a forest in his car. It turned out he parked near a forest and went in a pub but I did not "get" his sarcasm.

When I started thinking of my friend who was raped the taxi driver was being saracastic saying that we were a million miles from my home(as I kept asking him where we were I must have annoyed him)-I thought he WAS GOING TO KILL ME. I decided to get him to drop us off at services for a coffee and whilst he got the coffee I left all of my bellongings in the back of his taxi and crept into a shop. I demanded that they call the police as he was going to kill me. When the police came I thought they were going to lock me up in some hospital so I wouldn't trust them. I ended up calling my family and got into the police car voluntarily so I would be safe and waited at the station until my boyfriend could pick me up miles away!!

Was this a severe manic eposide? It has taken me months to recover and realise that this was all in my mind.

Any comments greatly appreciated:-)

God I was going bonkers

Bleeding Angel
03-09-2010, 12:45 AM
No one here can tell you, really you would have to see a doctor and they would be able to advise you more.

girly_girl
03-09-2010, 12:51 AM
Thank you for replying Bleeding Angel. I will go and see a doctor...just wondering how my mind became so distored or if any one on this forum has been through anything similar/suffers from Mania? It seems a very supportive forum and really need some support. X

Bleeding Angel
03-09-2010, 12:54 AM
Im sure other people who have will be happy to share thier experiance, obviously this is something that concerns you and you understand soemthings not right so its best to talk to your doctor about it as they will be able to offer support and find ways to make sure it wont happen again.

boobie
03-09-2010, 12:59 AM
Hi

obviously i aint a doc and cant diagnosis!!

i deal with periods where i have suffered similar distortions to those you mention, i dont really know whether i would call my experiences mania or not? but i do have the label of bipolar. i am around if you wanna chat? just not sure what your looking for? if you let me know what support your looking for i can try and help??

cath xx

girly_girl
03-09-2010, 01:01 AM
Hi Bleeding Angel
I will go and see my doctor. This is the first step in me doing something about what happened to me as there is a huge stigma attached to having a mental health issues. I've noticed that other people on the forum discuss experiences but I should re-phrase the threat as it reads as if I am looking for a diagnosis. I realise that nobody would want to feel responsible for giving me a diagnosis but a doctor but I would love some sort of feed back or comment no matter how small :-)

girly_girl
03-09-2010, 01:05 AM
Hi

obviously i aint a doc and cant diagnosis!!

i deal with periods where i have suffered similar distortions to those you mention, i dont really know whether i would call my experiences mania or not? but i do have the label of bipolar. i am around if you wanna chat? just not sure what your looking for? if you let me know what support your looking for i can try and help??

cath xx

Thank you so much for replying Cath!! You don't know what it means to me:-) I have felt like I am the only person who has suffered such distortions. Would you mind giving me examples for your distortions? I hope you don't mind..just want to relate really X

boobie
03-09-2010, 01:19 AM
its ok!!
em... really depends i have experienced alsorts over the years!! from what you said... i have experienced the thing you said about taking people literally example i was in a shopping centre and was trying to by a new phone but kept changing my mind and my speach was all over the place and the bloke in the shop said 'your an pain in the neck....i could kill you' totally joking which i can now see but at the time i though he had threatened to kill me and reacted in that way i ran through the busy shopping centre in to a random shop and hide behide a display cabinet.

i have feelings of grandure... spend lots of money i cant afford to, sometime i can stand and talk (to no one really) but think that everyone is listening to me and loves what i am saying!!

there are lots of things really!!! most of which are very embarrassing!!:blush:

cath xx

girly_girl
03-09-2010, 01:30 AM
its ok!!
em... really depends i have experienced alsorts over the years!! from what you said... i have experienced the thing you said about taking people literally example i was in a shopping centre and was trying to by a new phone but kept changing my mind and my speach was all over the place and the bloke in the shop said 'your an pain in the neck....i could kill you' totally joking which i can now see but at the time i though he had threatened to kill me and reacted in that way i ran through the busy shopping centre in to a random shop and hide behide a display cabinet.

i have feelings of grandure... spend lots of money i cant afford to, sometime i can stand and talk (to no one really) but think that everyone is listening to me and loves what i am saying!!

there are lots of things really!!! most of which are very embarrassing!!:blush:

cath xx

boobie
03-09-2010, 01:33 AM
why have you just quoted me?
cath xx

girly_girl
03-09-2010, 01:47 AM
Hi Cath

I am not used to using this forum I quoted you and then was messaging you back and then it logged me out:laugh: have lost my reply too.:laugh: Will try again Xx

girly_girl
03-09-2010, 01:55 AM
Hi Cath
I spent £500 on a taxi that night and didn't care! When I have an idea I speed talk and jump from one subject to the other-no one can follow what I am saying but I feel like what I am saying is important and must be heard-my tone is quite dictative. I get a buzz out of it?
Have you watched SECRET LIFE OF A MANIC DEPRESSIVE by Steven Fry? There were so many qualities I recognised on that Xx

I now realise that stress and doing too much triggers these manic episodes but these manic episodes are when I feel most motivated. The more I think about the distortions I had in the taxi, I didn't feel motivated, I felt terrified, I can't risk something like this happening again.

Plently of bipola (if this is what I have) seem to cope and live productive lives. I want to carry on my business but maybe this is what is making me ill?

I don't want to give up my dream but I can't risk my health deteriating like that again.

How do you cope? Is it possible to work? Are you most motivated when you are manic?

Xx

boobie
03-09-2010, 02:01 AM
i am really bad with spending money! yeah watched that program! some of it rang true with me too! how come you have lived with this for so long? and how come you have never ended up in police custody of the hospital if you are having such serious episodes? when you are having these experiences are you aware you are behaving oddly? sorry for the questions, i dont mind if you dont wanna answer.

cath xx

girly_girl
03-09-2010, 03:53 AM
Hi. Nothing like that has happened since. I explained to the police the stress I had been under and once I calmed down they were really understanding. Gave me chocolates, let me use the phone and even let me have tonnes of cigs outside till by boyfriend arrived. The sergent was lovely. I knew I was safe in the station once I started to relax. Will never let myself get like that again. Was terrifying. Thanks for your support tonight. X