Bipolar Disorder

Post Reply New Topic

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a condition that causes extreme mood swings characterized by intense emotional episodes (mania or hypomania) followed by inexplicable emotional ‘downs’ (depression).

When you go into depression, you may feel hopeless and sad. You lose your interest in pleasurable activities and feel exhausted most of the time.

Are you bipolar, Pepe?

Why do I get the impression this "research" is not what you say it is?

Theory of mind problems much?

I was doing research and found this.


"Euphoric mania tricks us into thinking that we are ‘finally feeling great,’ when we are really not.



Euphoric hypomania often knocks on my door. I love it for about two hours and then realize it simply wants to make my life difficult and out of control, so I do all I can to get rid of it. Here are three examples of how I manage mania. I do take medications for my manic mood swings, but overall, I try to manage my mania through early detection and prevention.

The euphoric manic surge

Euphoric mania often releases a surge of super human energy that creates a feeling of invincibility. Even if you were unable to function due to depression the day before, this surge creates a positive belief in the world and your ability to get things done. You jump up and get started and no matter what you want to do, it’s done with extreme ease. If you have rapid cycling like I do, this can be extremely frustrating. I was depressed for most of my thirties and forties and I would get these surges of manic energy and start projects where I simply couldn’t maintain the energy to finish as my depression always came back. I call this the deflated balloon syndrome. My balloon that was normally under inflated and just flopping around trying to get the basics done would be filled with a huge amount of air and I would fly into the sky with a great burst of work ability. The problem is that it NEVER lasted.

My depression is much better than it used to be, but the mania surge still stalks me. I’m learning to use it to my advantage whenever possible. Instead of starting projects that simply won’t get finished, I’m working on talking myself into using the energy on a current project. This doesn’t always work, but I know myself and I WILL make it work eventually.

Recognizing these euphoric mania surges as something negative instead of the focusing on how good they make me feel is key.

Euphoric mania and hypersexuality:

I get scary hypersexual when the euphoric mania shows up. I feel like a stalker. In the past, I gave in to this and met any guy I wanted to meet simply because the mania took away my inhibitions and I went after what I wanted. I now control it a lot better. Many of you know that I chose to be celibate for a few years to finally get my manic sexual behavior under control. It’s the smartest thing I ever did. Here’s why. When I get in a certain euphoric episode where men look like candy that I have to eat I know trouble is on the way. As I wrote this paragraph, I was reminded of a time in Starbucks where the hypomania was there, but I was observing it and not giving in to it. I walked into the store and stood in line. There was a guy in front of me in shorts who had obviously been playing some kind of sport.

My mind fixated on his calves and I had the thought, “Would he be upset if I got on my hands and knees and gave those calves a nice licking?!”

Please know that I like guys, but this is not something I could even conjure up for a novel! The manic brain is simply one of a kind and must be controlled. Being celibate gave me the space I needed to observe my behavior and figure out what I thought about guys, instead of just going with what my manic brain told me to think about guys.

Mania and loud music.

My management plan is based off the concept that recognizing, memorizing and ultimately utilizing the earliest signs of a mood swing to get help is the key to successful bipolar disorder management. This is the plan I talk about in all of my books.

Mania has a very small treatment window and the more clues we have that it is starting, the easier it is to get help and stop it from going too far.

One clue I use is music. I lived with very severe depression for over 20 years and as I got older, music had too many depression memories attached to the songs and I finally stopped trying to listen to music as it made me so sad. One of the first signs of mania that I notice before I even think about being manic is my ability to listen to my iPod. I can turn it on and listen to my favorite bands from Joy Division and Jack White to the Artic Monkeys without thinking about how hard my life has been. I can turn on the radio in the car and not slip back into worrisome thoughts and musings. This always seems like something normal, but considering that I can hardly listen to the radio at all, suddenly being able to turn it on with ease is a sign I can’t ignore. Eventually, I have the very obvious sign that I’m euphoric because I play music in the car very, very loud and usually bang my hands on the steering wheel.

My ability to listen to loud music increases 3-4x when I’m manic.

Noticing how I am around music helps me see where I am in terms of my mania so that I can get help before I have all the windows down while yelling to Metallica!

Euphoric mania tricks us into thinking that ‘finally feeling great!! ! !” is a positive. It’s not. It’s just the other side of the bipolar disorder coin. My goal is to get as good at managing mania as I am at managing depression. It’s a work in progress.

I wish you luck in managing mania as well!

Julie "





This is very similar for me

I also found this


"Along with self-injury, some people with bipolar and other psychiatric disorders may be more apt to abuse drugs or alcohol than people without mood disorders. Some experts believe that risky behaviors are related to the patient trying to self-soothe unpleasant mood states, particularly if they feel overwhelmed by distressing emotions.

Like drugs and alcohol, self-injury tends not to be an effective way to try to relieve emotional discomfort. That's why it's important that people with mood disorders -- especially when traumatic events or abuse have occurred in childhood -- talk with their doctors about effective strategies to help manage emotional distress.



Can self-injury lead to suicide?

Suicide is a major risk for people with bipolar disorder. Between 25% and 50% of those with bipolar disorder attempt suicide, and 15% die by suicide. But people who engage in self-injury to get rid of bad feelings are not necessarily suicidal.

Though self-injury and suicide are different, self-injury should not be brushed aside as a small problem. The very nature of self-injury is physical damage to one's body. It's important for the self-injurer to seek help. "

My depression is much better than it used to be, but the mania surge still stalks me. I’m learning to use it to my advantage whenever possible. Instead of starting projects that simply won’t get finished, I’m working on talking myself into using the energy on a current project. This doesn’t always work, but I know myself and I WILL make it work eventually.

My management plan is based off the concept that recognizing, memorizing and ultimately utilizing the earliest signs of a mood swing to get help is the key to successful bipolar disorder management. This is the plan I talk about in all of my books.

I mentioned this before, to you, Tay.
It just seems to be a common-sense approach.
Recognise when the mania is beginning and try and control it with conscious thought, rather than letting one's emotions take over.

This is why I keep hammering on about not taking substances which diminish the cognitive process and amplify emotions.
In essence, in this context, emotions are the enemy, for anyone, but especially when someone is affected by something like bipolar.

Obviously, medication is effective on some people with bipolar.
When my friend goes off his meds, he used to end up in a psychiatric ward.
He is better these days, presumably because it is rare for him to "self-medicate" using alcohol.

"Self-medicate". Yeah, sure.

My cousin is bipolar.

The biggest problem for him is, when a manic phase is starting, the first thing his rapidly expanding confidence says is, "You no longer need your medication". Everything spirals very quickly after that.

So it's worth bearing in mind, the biggest danger point of all, is right at the point you start feeling awesome.

The depressive periods generally last longer than the manic ones. But that's partly because of all the after-effects of the manic phases - debt, misunderstandings, broken promises, family troubles, embarrassment, low self esteem.

Unfortunately people have sometimes taken advantage of his generosity when he's up and then walked away when he's down, too.

He's gradually coming to accept that giving up some of the euphoria is worth it, to also get away from the very big lows that happen afterwards. Both are harmful in their own ways, and deeply interlinked.

Regular exercise seems to help a lot, and meditation / self-reflection / "mindfulness". My Cousin also enjoys working with animals as they're consistent and undemandingly loving. I think he's actually more motivated to manage his bipolar to stay well for the animals than for the people he knows. And as that works well for him, fair enough.