phthalocyanine
#005645
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2009
- Messages
- 679
- MBTI Type
- INFP
- Enneagram
- 9w1
- Instinctual Variant
- sx
i'm an enneagram 4w5
Well, I'm bipolar type I, which means I'm more often depressed than manic. I think it's kind of like cyclothymia. Anyway, I would say: 1. find a drug that works for you (lamictal for me), and be committed to it. Also, find the best dose- least amount of side effects coupled with decent mood stability.
Your friend can best support him by acknowledging that it is something that is very real. I am not bipolar to get attention or because I feel sorry for myself. Believe me, it sucks. I do not want it. Some days, even with meds, he is not going to be great. She has to cut him slack in that respect. Also, she needs to realize that it isn't her fault and she needs to try and not take it personally- bipolar can have external triggers- extreme stress, dramatic lifestyle changes, not enough sleep, too much coffee/ alcohol, etc- but it can also just come out of nowhere. That doesn't mean she needs to tiptoe around him however. Meds do make a huge difference (if they are the right ones), and if you are well-educated on it, you can pay attention to your moods/ thoughts and know when things aren't quite right and know that you need to make concrete changes to improve things, which can be as minor as getting a good night's sleep and cutting down on the coffee.
If your friend hasn't already, I would recommend she read a couple of books on bipolar and OCD. I know there are books out there for loved ones which can be helpful.
schizoaffective depressive type. basically its a combination of schizophrenia and major depressive disorder but it cycles so i'm either psychotic or depressed most of the time.
well it's not all the time, and mostly voices and seeing shit but i do have some processing problems because of it like auditory and visual but i don't know how to describe it exactly. and because I'm not bipolar i can't give a good comparison.theirs a few tactile hallucinations like feeling of bugs crawling on me or someone touching me if no ones around.So I'm curious, if you don't mind my asking, how the psychotic symptoms manifest themselves? I'm just trying to delineate the difference between it and bipolar. Thanks
well it's not all the time, and mostly voices and seeing shit but i do have some processing problems because of it like auditory and visual but i don't know how to describe it exactly. and because I'm not bipolar i can't give a good comparison.theirs a few tactile hallucinations like feeling of bugs crawling on me or someone touching me if no ones around.