believe Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I had two breakdowns in six years and ended up in hospital for almost three months on both occasions. Ater the second breakdown I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2. Then I realised that I was never a normal person. I have always had major depression and this is like most of you know followed by eating disorders - yes, I eat and purge almost at least 6 times a day.... I push people away from me especially men - I suppose I have always known that I was sick. I so desperately want to get better but I have a question to ask all of you. CAN SOMEONE WITH BIPOLAR EVER BE A NORMAL PERSON? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borzage Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 By "normal" I think you mean "functioning", as in being able to have a meaningful life with good relationships. Well, of course you can. I hope you see that this board is full of people managing their Bipolar and depression and living full lives. It takes a thorough understanding of the illness, and the things you need to do to manage it. You should be in therapy for the eating disorder. I would make it your priority to get over that, while you learn the things you need to do to avoid moodswings and deal with triggers when they come up. Once you are stable, then you can focus on relationships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believe Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 You should be in therapy for the eating disorder. I would make it your priority to get over that, while you learn the things you need to do to avoid moodswings and deal with triggers when they come up. Once you are stable, then you can focus on relationships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borzage Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 believe, I responded to your post because i have recovered from c/o, anorexia and bulimia. One eating disorder just gave way to another one, and I honestly could not stop the binge-purge cycle to save my life. I sought out the help of an experienced therapist, and she helped me to get over it, entirely. If your pdoc says she is unable to take away your eating disorder, then that person is unqualified to help you. A therapist who has experience treating eating disorders (using cognitive behavioral therapy) will help you to see how you use food to deal with stress, to recognize your triggers, and to let go of unrealistic expectations for your body. Ideally, the therapist will teach you constructive ways to deal with stress. MG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Stalin Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I don't think I'll ever feel normal. In honesty, I think I will be able to function in the future, but functioning is not quite life. I function now. I do what I do, fulfill my duties, but I am miserable in the process. I'm at a low point right now, so my outlook isn't very positive. I guess only the individual can answer what you have asked as you know yourself better than anyone. As for me, I can't really see too far into the future. Life is unpredictable, this I learned. So I think as long as you have hope and dedication, you can overcome this. Like the previous poster said, these members are living proof. Sorry for the negativity, its one of those bad habits...Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believe Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 believe, I responded to your post because i have recovered from c/o, anorexia and bulimia. One eating disorder just gave way to another one, and I honestly could not stop the binge-purge cycle to save my life. I sought out the help of an experienced therapist, and she helped me to get over it, entirely. If your pdoc says she is unable to take away your eating disorder, then that person is unqualified to help you. A therapist who has experience treating eating disorders (using cognitive behavioral therapy) will help you to see how you use food to deal with stress, to recognize your triggers, and to let go of unrealistic expectations for your body. Ideally, the therapist will teach you constructive ways to deal with stress. MG MG I really appreciate your advise and I am going to go and look for additional help with my eating disorder because it is really eating away at my life at the moment. My pdoc did not say she could not help me but I found myself lying to her about it and saying that it is better when in actually fact it got worse. Before I knew I had bipolar I knew I was different - I responded differently to stressful situations and I was never really good at the social thing. Everything was always an issue and life was never good for me because I had to do everything absolutely perfectly right - yes, you can call it perfectionist. Looking back I know I was never a normal person. Yes, I am functioning at the moment and I am doing well at work (was employee of the month) and are stable on my meds and at least I know what is wrong with me - but just like Stalin I feel like I will never really be a normal person - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 You might want to have a look at one of the many lists of famous people with bipolar disorder that are floating around the net http://www.mental-health-today.com/bp/famous_people.htm Actors & Actresses Ned Beatty Maurice Bernard, soap opera Jeremy Brett Jim Carey Lisa Nicole Carson Rosemary Clooney, singer Lindsay Crosby Eric Douglas Robert Downey Jr. Patty Duke Carrie Fisher Connie Francis, singer and actress Shecky Greene, comedian Linda Hamilton Moss Hart, actor, director, playright Mariette Hartley Margot Kidder Vivien Leigh Kevin McDonald, comedian Kristy McNichols Burgess Meredith, actor, director Spike Milligan, actor, writer Spike Mulligan, comic actor and writer Nicola Pagett Ben Stiller, actor, director, writer David Strickland Lili Taylor Tracy Ullman Jean-Claude Van Damme Robin Williams Jonathon Winters, comedian Artists Alvin Alley, dancer, choreogapher Ludwig Von Beethoven Tim Burton, artist, director Francis Ford Coppola, director George Fredrick Handel, composer Bill Lichtenstein, producer Joshua Logan, broadway director, producer Vincent Van Gogh, painter Gustav Mahier, composer Francesco Scavullo, artist, photographer Robert Schumann, composer Don Simpson, movie producer Norman Wexler, screenwriter, playwright Entrepreneurs Robert Campeau Pierre Peladeau Heinz C. Prechter Ted Turner, media giant Financiers John Mulheren Murray Pezim Miscellaneous Buzz Aldrin, astronaut Clifford Beers, humanitarian Garnet Coleman, legislator (Texas) Larry Flynt, publisher and activist Kit Gingrich, Newt's mom Phil Graham, owner of Washington Post Peter Gregg, team owner and manager, race car driver Susan Panico (Susan Dime-Meenan), business executive Sol Wachtier, former New York State Chief Judge Musicians Ludwig van Beethoven, composer Alohe Jean Burke, musician, vocalist Rosemary Clooney, singer DMX Earl Simmons, rapper and actor Ray Davies Lenny Dee Gaetano Donizetti, opera singer Peter Gabriel Jimi Hendrix Kristen Hersh (Throwing Muses) Phyllis Hyman Jack Irons Daniel Johnston Otto Klemperer, musician, conductor Oscar Levant, pianist, composer, television Phil Ochs, musician, political activist, poet John Ogden, composer, musician Jaco Pastorius Charley Pride Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) Jeannie C. Riley Alys Robi, vocalist in Canada Axl Rose Nick Traina Del Shannon Phil Spector, musician and producer Sting, Gordon Sumner, musician, composer Tom Waits, musician, composer Brian Wilson, musician, composer, arranger Townes Van Zandt, musician, composer Poets John Berryman C.E. Chaffin, writer, poet Hart Crane Randall Jarrell Jane Kenyon Robert Lowell Sylvia Plath Robert Schumann Delmore Schwartz Political Robert Boorstin, special assistant to President Clinton L. Brent Bozell, political scientist, attorney, writer Bob Bullock, ex secretary of state, state comptroller and lieutenant governer Winston Churchill Kitty Dukasis, former First Lady of Massachusetts Thomas Eagleton, lawyer, former U.S. Senator Lynne Rivers, U.S. Congress Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States Scholars John Strugnell, biblical scholar Scientists Karl Paul Link, chemist Dimitri Mihalas Sports Shelley Beattie, bodybuilding, sailing John Daly, golf Muffin Spencer-Devlin, pro golf Ilie Nastase, tennis Jimmy Piersail, baseball player, Boston Red Sox, sports announcer Barret Robbins, football Wyatt Sexton, football Alonzo Spellman, football Darryl Strawberry, baseball Dimitrius Underwood, football Luther Wright, basketball Bert Yancey, athlete TV & Radio Dick Cavett Jay Marvin, radio, writer Jane Pauley Writers Louis Althusser, philosopher, writer Honors de Balzac Art Buchwald, writer, humorist Neal Cassady Patricia Cornwell Margot Early Kaye Gibbons Johann Goethe Graham Greene Abbie Hoffman, writer, political activist Kay Redfield Jamison, writer, psychologist Peter Nolan Lawrence Frances Lear, writer, editor, women's rights activist Rika Lesser, writer, translator Kate Millet Robert Munsch Margo Orum Edgar Allen Poe Theodore Roethke Lori Schiller, writer, educator Frances Sherwood Scott Simmie, writer, journalist August Strindberg Mark Twain Joseph Vasquez, writer, movie director Mark Vonnegut, doctor, writer Sol Wachtler, writer, judge Mary Jane Ward Virginia Woolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineOutside Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I had two breakdowns in six years and ended up in hospital for almost three months on both occasions. Ater the second breakdown I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2. Then I realised that I was never a normal person. I have always had major depression and this is like most of you know followed by eating disorders - yes, I eat and purge almost at least 6 times a day.... I push people away from me especially men - I suppose I have always known that I was sick. I so desperately want to get better but I have a question to ask all of you. CAN SOMEONE WITH BIPOLAR EVER BE A NORMAL PERSON? I know and understand where you are. I have been there myself. Between the illnesses, medication, and other forms of treatment, it is easy to lose yourself. Your ARE a "normal" person. You and me just have illnesses that are sometimes overwhelming and we can easily get lost in them. I've needed a Pdoc and especially a really good therapist to remind me of who I am. I was lucky to have them know me before the onset of Bipolar II, which turned my world upside down. I did lose myself for a while but with good treatment, I started to recognize myself again. It also helps that I have a couple of good friends that help me to remind myself of who I am inside my heart and body, co-existing with illness. I have been totally non-functional and still not yet fully functionally, but I am much better. This has been and is a hard thing to accept. But as I continue to learn to accept the illnesses, I can better grieve the past, and move forward to treat the illnesses. None of us asked for these illnesses but we do have to learn to accept them and do whatever it is to get better. For me, it has been a very slow progress and I have wanted to give up many times. But then there is that me inside that loves life. I have learned and am still learning to enjoy the good moments and days and let the rest go, knowing that I am doing what I can do to get better, I hope that some of this may be helpful to you. I hope that I may be on target in some areas. I'll be watching for your posts. I hope you find some small way to feel better, one moment or day at a time. Sincerely, Rhonda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believe Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 I had two breakdowns in six years and ended up in hospital for almost three months on both occasions. Ater the second breakdown I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2. Then I realised that I was never a normal person. I have always had major depression and this is like most of you know followed by eating disorders - yes, I eat and purge almost at least 6 times a day.... I push people away from me especially men - I suppose I have always known that I was sick. I so desperately want to get better but I have a question to ask all of you. CAN SOMEONE WITH BIPOLAR EVER BE A NORMAL PERSON? I know and understand where you are. I have been there myself. Between the illnesses, medication, and other forms of treatment, it is easy to lose yourself. Your ARE a "normal" person. You and me just have illnesses that are sometimes overwhelming and we can easily get lost in them. I've needed a Pdoc and especially a really good therapist to remind me of who I am. I was lucky to have them know me before the onset of Bipolar II, which turned my world upside down. I did lose myself for a while but with good treatment, I started to recognize myself again. It also helps that I have a couple of good friends that help me to remind myself of who I am inside my heart and body, co-existing with illness. I have been totally non-functional and still not yet fully functionally, but I am much better. This has been and is a hard thing to accept. But as I continue to learn to accept the illnesses, I can better grieve the past, and move forward to treat the illnesses. None of us asked for these illnesses but we do have to learn to accept them and do whatever it is to get better. For me, it has been a very slow progress and I have wanted to give up many times. But then there is that me inside that loves life. I have learned and am still learning to enjoy the good moments and days and let the rest go, knowing that I am doing what I can do to get better, I hope that some of this may be helpful to you. I hope that I may be on target in some areas. I'll be watching for your posts. I hope you find some small way to feel better, one moment or day at a time. Sincerely, Rhonda Dearest Rhonda Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I am a 28 year old female and it feels like I was given a death sentence when I learned I had bipolar2. My mother tells me excactly the things you just did but you know that it hits home a little more when you hear it from a stranger and especially someone who is also suffering the same fate as you. You have just given me an even bigger reason to fight this thing with everthing I have. BTW... I have not binged and purged in two days already!!!! I think I am going to win this thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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