I was just diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. I feel scared

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Especially when 50% of people with bipolar disorder attempt suicide, and even worse 19% complete their suicide. If just the diagnosis of bipolar disorder makes my chance of suicide higher, then factor in my already terrible and unlucky life with all these horrible setbacks, issues, injuries and garbage circumstances, then factor in my own suicidality, and its almost guaranteed that im not going to live my whole life.

Personally I never wanted to have bipolar disorder. its one of those disorders everyone associates with being crazy and out of control. now that I have bipolar I feel like im never going to succeed or be the person I want to be

You're not crazy. I don't think crazy is a term that accurately describes any mental illness. I won't sugar-coat it, bipolar disorder is a serious condition but rather than worrying about it, you have to start learning to deal with the symptoms.

Not crazy, not at all. Please don't believe that.

I have a Bipolar diagnosis too, and for a while pre-diagnosis was considering suicide.
But having it recognised opened the way to some very effective counselling and meds treatment.

There is always hope; aim for that.

I'm also bi-polar. You're not crazy. And with the right meds you, like I, can live a pretty normal life.

Do not worry or feel scared.

Bi polar dissorder is simply a chemical inbalance in the brain which can be corrected by adding the correct chemicals to bring things back to normal,which is what the medication is for, and get the dose right and one has a completely normal and happy life.

Both autism and bipolar have highs and lows and (Especially with bipolar) the highs and lows are more extreme then someone who does not suffer with either condition may have. (Not everyone with autistic brains have highs and lows).
The difference between bipolar and autism are that bipolar is said to go from one extreme to the other in a typical period of 4 days, while autism can send the individual from a high to a low or a low to a high several times a day. It is because with bipolar there is a chemical imbalance which takes a while to take place, and with autism it is caused by brain connections which do not connect and during development of the brain it compensates by growing other brain areas instead, so with those on the spectrum who have highs and lows, they can be almost instantanious from a high to a low and back again which is not possible with bipolar (As brain chemicals changing is a much slower process).

It is important to get the right diagnosis as many with autism have been miss diagnosed which can cause them huge issues on top of the ones they already have, because they will be put on medication to stabilize a chemical imbalance which is not there, and it will actually give them a chemical imbalance on top of the autism traits that they already have. (Of course, one can have both conditions).

But the really good news is that whilst autism has no cure solution other then dealing with the side effects that often align themselves up with autism, bipolar is a condition which can be treated via long term carefully adjusted medication. It may take doctors a while to get the medication just right, but when it is right it will make quite a difference to your life, as long as one does not drink too much as bipolar medication does not work so well when mixed with alcohol. (My brothers ex wife has remarried a man who has bipolar issues and each time he has a night out his bipolar plays up due to the effects of mixing alcohol with his medication, so if one does drink alcohol, be aware of this).

So to sum up, it is good to have discovered the issue, and it can be stabilized through medication so it is great news.

Not necessarily.
There is a rapid cycling form of Bipolar which can have you roller-coasting several times a day. Believe me, I know exactly how that feels.

Current thinking is that a chemical imbalance is involved and while medication certainly helps, I'm not so sure the chemical imbalance aspect is proven correct.

A chemical imbalance makes the mood swings probable; it's not a requirement to have a chemical imbalance per mood swing.


Anyway, drifting off topic - this is salad's thread after all - so I'll end now.

Indeed!
Having had several friends who are bipolar and watching their progress, I concur.

As for me, I was misdiagnosed bipolar for a while before being diagnosed autistic.

But those three friends were indeed bipolar and did indeed gain improved lives.

Hang in there, Salad, there is a future for your life.
It might be close to, or it might be quite different, from the one you had envisioned, but even so,
a future is a future.

Thanks to my defective body with its constellation of neurological, endocrine, musculoskeletal, mitochondrial, diseases, & the new neurologist is expecting to find a neurological autoimmune disease, my own future has become very, very, different from what I had imagined/expected.
But, hey, I'll take it and see where it goes and what I can do and who I can meet.

My life as it stands now was arrived at through stress, loss, disease, disruption, even some legal trouble; but, (to use that word again) I've now got a decent place to live, two wonderful cats for pets, the local creative writers group, a small and rather slow-moving model train club (but hey, it is a model train club!), a couple good friends in-person and on the internet, and what hobbies I can still do, and Social Security Disability for at least some income,
and that's enough, I'll take it, and continue down the road to see what the future holds.

And I'm pretty sure that one component of that road, if one chooses to continue down it, is encountering people who have struggles, tests, trials, that your own experience gives some kind of understanding about, some connection with, & be the help large or small, there will be some thing large or small, yet important, that your experience allows you to offer them.
Maybe what your experience offers allows you to ease their own struggle for a day, for a month, maybe for just a moment, but you connected, and it mattered, and they were able to go on.

Will my own life here on this little ball of rock and water improve in the future?
I dunno.
Nobody knows.
But if I don't go the the future, there is no chance of the future.
Yeah, true, my life could get worse in the future but if I don't go to the future I have totally guaranteed it won't get better in the future.
And I'm the curious kind, I gotta go see what happens.

Lots of successful bipolar folks out there. But don't get the idea you can dispense with medical care and therapy. To be one of those successful bipolar folks, you need the help of others.

I'm bipolar, it certainly complicates things but it doesn't have to define your life.

Don't listen to labels so much

Read: 'So they say you're crazy' by Paula J Caplan.

And hang on in there sweetie.

Thanks for all the support WP!! ! I really appreciate it. Seeing all these people here who have Bipolar and who manage fine enough to succeed and thrive gives me hope that I can transcend this illness and be someone who can be my best self no less.

I'm not bipolar but I certainly have my ups and downs. Emotional trauma triggers from C-PTSD can make my mood shift or cycle unpredictably, and I become quite dysregulated at those times. I think it's very positive for you to have a diagnosis. A new label might feel scary, but I hope it will help you to get proper support, medication if needed, and the confidence to know you're in good company with people here who care about you, who are also bipolar. Mental health diagnoses of any type are nothing to be ashamed of. Oftentimes they can be very helpful stepping stones to self-awareness.

I'm sure there are lots of excellent resources, and many people willing to share their experiences or advice.

Hang in there, salad. We've all got your back.

Dear Salad,
I am so happy for you that you have a clear diagnosis!
Have you found a therapist or counselor yet?
Do you have a prescription for the proper meds yet?
Think of this as a condition like diabetes;
You follow the program, you will be able to live a stable life.