Post by Elizabeth on Apr 20, 2019 8:26:12 GMT 12
About Me
Name: Elizabeth
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Family: 2 Labrador Retrievers and a husband
Home Country: USA (Cleveland Ohio)
Current Country: USA (Cleveland, Ohio)
Hobbies: Blogging, Reading, Cooking, stuff with my dogs
Employment: I'm on Permanent Disability due to Bipolar II Disorder
Profession: Medical Assistant to an Orthopaedic Surgeon
Mental Illnesses: Bipolar II, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, Agoraphobia, Female Infertility
How long have you been diagnosed? What was your experience like getting diagnosed and leading up to it?
I was diagnosed almost three years ago. It was actually a relief when my "new" psychiatrist diagnosed me. For over ten years before this I was with a psychiatrist that claimed I was only suffering from depression and anxiety. I knew it was more than that. So I finally changed psychiatrists and at my first appointment I was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder. Growing up, I knew something was wrong but my parents told me to suck it up and snap out of it. Finally, when I was old enough I chose to see a psychiatrist. The last three years have been the best years of my entire life.
What has been the biggest challenge(s) or in your relationships that you attribute to your illness?
In college, I was very sexually active. Thinking back I believe I was being hypersexual due to being Bipolar (which I didn't know at the time). I couldn't be in a "normal" relationship because I got very clingy and I also argued a lot. My husband is a saint. I am not always the most pleasant person to be around, but I try to control my anger and sadness. Our relationship suffers due to things he does along with my own faults.
What would you like your loved ones to know about your mental disorder that they don’t know or that is hard to talk about?
Having manic depression and severe anxiety, it is something you can't just snap out of and go about your day. It's something you struggle with every single day. Being Bipolar is like being on a rollercoaster...you never know if you are going to be up or down. My moods tend to cycle a lot, so I can be literally unable to get out of bed to being on the go non stop.
What advice would you give to someone struggling with BD as you about managing your illness and their relationships
You have to take it day by day. You can't have expectations about how you are going to feel the next minute or next day. Own your feelings, because that is all you can do. Be open and honest to people that don't know about being Bipolar and explain to them what it's like. Education is important. If you don't believe you were diagnosed properly, find a new doctor. I did and the new medications I've been on the past three years have helped me tremendously.
Please copy and paste the questions and answer them on here by way of reply.
Name: Elizabeth
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Family: 2 Labrador Retrievers and a husband
Home Country: USA (Cleveland Ohio)
Current Country: USA (Cleveland, Ohio)
Hobbies: Blogging, Reading, Cooking, stuff with my dogs
Employment: I'm on Permanent Disability due to Bipolar II Disorder
Profession: Medical Assistant to an Orthopaedic Surgeon
Mental Illnesses: Bipolar II, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, Agoraphobia, Female Infertility
How long have you been diagnosed? What was your experience like getting diagnosed and leading up to it?
I was diagnosed almost three years ago. It was actually a relief when my "new" psychiatrist diagnosed me. For over ten years before this I was with a psychiatrist that claimed I was only suffering from depression and anxiety. I knew it was more than that. So I finally changed psychiatrists and at my first appointment I was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder. Growing up, I knew something was wrong but my parents told me to suck it up and snap out of it. Finally, when I was old enough I chose to see a psychiatrist. The last three years have been the best years of my entire life.
What has been the biggest challenge(s) or in your relationships that you attribute to your illness?
In college, I was very sexually active. Thinking back I believe I was being hypersexual due to being Bipolar (which I didn't know at the time). I couldn't be in a "normal" relationship because I got very clingy and I also argued a lot. My husband is a saint. I am not always the most pleasant person to be around, but I try to control my anger and sadness. Our relationship suffers due to things he does along with my own faults.
What would you like your loved ones to know about your mental disorder that they don’t know or that is hard to talk about?
Having manic depression and severe anxiety, it is something you can't just snap out of and go about your day. It's something you struggle with every single day. Being Bipolar is like being on a rollercoaster...you never know if you are going to be up or down. My moods tend to cycle a lot, so I can be literally unable to get out of bed to being on the go non stop.
What advice would you give to someone struggling with BD as you about managing your illness and their relationships
You have to take it day by day. You can't have expectations about how you are going to feel the next minute or next day. Own your feelings, because that is all you can do. Be open and honest to people that don't know about being Bipolar and explain to them what it's like. Education is important. If you don't believe you were diagnosed properly, find a new doctor. I did and the new medications I've been on the past three years have helped me tremendously.
Please copy and paste the questions and answer them on here by way of reply.
