Hello All. This thread is just what the title sez. It's a general topic. I am going to start out by talking about bipolar, because I have bipolar, but anyone can feel free to jump in with any information about illness duration and mental illness.
In several threads Jennisk has brought forward that bipolar is a degenerative illness and that without treatment it can really get worse. She has pointed out that the more damage done to our brains by each episode the harder it is to correct. I couldn't agree more.
There are really only two hard and fast rules for bipolar. 1) The sooner a person gets quality treatment the better the chances for complete recovery and 2) If something is fueling the bipolar episodes than no amount of medication will make you better.
FUEL? What the heck? By fuel I mean outside things that we may control. A toxic marriage, an uncontrolled substance abuse problem, an uncontrolled addiction(gambling etc), a lousy job, rotten living conditions, unrealistic expectations, even friends and relatives can be toxic to our illness if they hinder rather than help.
Example. I have a friend who had several hospitalizations, took a ton of meds and never seemed to get better. Unknown to me, every time he got out of the hospital his spouse would berate him for mths on end and never let him forget that he had blown all of their money. Skip ahead a few years and this guy is now single, rarely has episodes and since he has been stable only takes low amounts of meds when needed.
No I am not advocating leaving one's spouse. Mine helps to keep me alive and is a positive influence.
Some of us will have episodes no matter how hard we try and even when we do everything right of that there is no doubt, but when we add fuel it just makes things worse.
Sometimes our expectations and perceptions can provide fuel for the bipolar fire. I don't how much time I lost trying to get back a life that wasn't coming back. I was like a proof reader who had suddenly went blind and then still expected that I would be able to do my old job and resume my old life. It just wasn't ever going to happen and I was pretty slow on the uptake.
How long will I be ill? The rest of my life. How bad will my episodes be? I don't know. I do know that because I went for so long without treatment and fought so hard against it and did so many foolish things that I am having a much rougher time now. Do I blame myself for all of that? Not in the least. I am human an prone to errors just like the next person. Plus, to be honest, even today, a lot of docs are not really up on the topic of how to get better.
As Jennisk has said in another thread, it is up to ourselves to become experts on the illness. That's not fair, but if life was fair, I wouldn't know all of you nice people, I'd be well. Take Care. paul m
In several threads Jennisk has brought forward that bipolar is a degenerative illness and that without treatment it can really get worse. She has pointed out that the more damage done to our brains by each episode the harder it is to correct. I couldn't agree more.
There are really only two hard and fast rules for bipolar. 1) The sooner a person gets quality treatment the better the chances for complete recovery and 2) If something is fueling the bipolar episodes than no amount of medication will make you better.
FUEL? What the heck? By fuel I mean outside things that we may control. A toxic marriage, an uncontrolled substance abuse problem, an uncontrolled addiction(gambling etc), a lousy job, rotten living conditions, unrealistic expectations, even friends and relatives can be toxic to our illness if they hinder rather than help.
Example. I have a friend who had several hospitalizations, took a ton of meds and never seemed to get better. Unknown to me, every time he got out of the hospital his spouse would berate him for mths on end and never let him forget that he had blown all of their money. Skip ahead a few years and this guy is now single, rarely has episodes and since he has been stable only takes low amounts of meds when needed.
No I am not advocating leaving one's spouse. Mine helps to keep me alive and is a positive influence.
Some of us will have episodes no matter how hard we try and even when we do everything right of that there is no doubt, but when we add fuel it just makes things worse.
Sometimes our expectations and perceptions can provide fuel for the bipolar fire. I don't how much time I lost trying to get back a life that wasn't coming back. I was like a proof reader who had suddenly went blind and then still expected that I would be able to do my old job and resume my old life. It just wasn't ever going to happen and I was pretty slow on the uptake.
How long will I be ill? The rest of my life. How bad will my episodes be? I don't know. I do know that because I went for so long without treatment and fought so hard against it and did so many foolish things that I am having a much rougher time now. Do I blame myself for all of that? Not in the least. I am human an prone to errors just like the next person. Plus, to be honest, even today, a lot of docs are not really up on the topic of how to get better.
As Jennisk has said in another thread, it is up to ourselves to become experts on the illness. That's not fair, but if life was fair, I wouldn't know all of you nice people, I'd be well. Take Care. paul m
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