how do you know when you're normal/healthy again?

[burnsheepy]

check, having been on meds for 5 years throughout my teenage days, i can honestly say that i have no idea what it's like to be a normal, functioning, happy person. if i am happy, i wonder if its a slight mania. if i'm dazed or tired, i wonder if its as a result of the medication. if i'm sad for no reason, i dont know if its the depression or the side effects of the medication im on for bipolar type 2. nothing makes sense anymore; i dont know when and where my feelings and emotions come from. how will i ever know what it feels like to be normal? because i CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!:weep:

[LaNae]

I don't know why, but I had an urge to send you this. I hope it's not inappropriate.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelellsberg/2011/07/18/how-i-overcame-bipolar-ii/

[macc noodle]

A rational .healthy and sound person is described by medical sciences that he always thinks positively.So if you think like positive person and have positive attitude then you are a healthy person.

Gosh, well then there must be a heck of a lot of people who aren't "a healthy person".

Life is all about ups and downs and I would say that a "normal/healthy" person is someone who can ride the ups and the downs without feeling ill whilst doing so.

The problem I think once you get into the whole arena of treatments for mental health issues, especially depression, is that some health professionals just go for the "neutral" approach whereby you are deemed "cured" if you feel nothing - good or bad - which cannot be good can it?

Macc Noodle
x

[burnsheepy]

Gosh, well then there must be a heck of a lot of people who aren't "a healthy person".

Life is all about ups and downs and I would say that a "normal/healthy" person is someone who can ride the ups and the downs without feeling ill whilst doing so.

The problem I think once you get into the whole arena of treatments for mental health issues, especially depression, is that some health professionals just go for the "neutral" approach whereby you are deemed "cured" if you feel nothing - good or bad - which cannot be good can it?

Macc Noodle
x


i've always just thought that a psychiatrist can't just get into your head, you know? they will NEVER know what it really feels like. "cured" is like saying you dont experience any conflicting emotions, or stressful feelings, or anxiety or depression at all, but these are normal feelings. the problem comes when they start becoming debilitating. i just want to be able to distinguish between "normal" negative feelings and the things im taking medication for. and i dont know if i ll ever get to that point because i dont know what the hell those "normal" ones are supposed to be like.

[burnsheepy]

I don't know why, but I had an urge to send you this. I hope it's not inappropriate.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelellsberg/2011/07/18/how-i-overcame-bipolar-ii/


thanks so much for the effort; its so nice to find supportive people on here.

i read the whole article shaking my head; i had a really bad experience with my father trusting in diet and homeopathic medicine for ten years for what he thought was severe asthma; he ended up in hospital for a week when an attack hit him at home and he couldn't breathe; seeing my role-model like that, in a state of absolute panic, helplessness and no control, killed a little part of my pride and trust in father figure. he didnt do anything wrong; i just never thought he could succumb to anything. he was eventually diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome; a very rare disease that is, as far as i understand it, severe (although life-threatening) asthma that has a mortality rate of something like 15%. he's surviving now though, and experiences very little problems with his lungs, because of the modern, scientifically proven medicine he has been prescribed (although the side effects of the medication are almost as bad as having a disease in any case, so its a crappy situation all round).

my point is, i've never trusted in 'alternative' medicine, or biological remedies to something that is inherently almost uncontrolable.

however, i do exercise regularly and take a wide range of vitamin supplements, my parents forcing me to do this in an attempt to "cure" me of this bipolar 2. i'm on a heavy cocktail of meds as well though; nothing seems to be working. obviously, when things are desperate, you're willing to try anything. i guess my biggest problem is the fact that self medicate (used to be with cocaine, codeine and self-mutilation, but now just alcohol), and i will never get better until i shake this off.

to explain; i'm sitting in my bachelor's flat on campus at Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch. i'm crying because of the quote at the end of the article: "please, don't give up. you can do this." i really, really don't think i can. i've been debilitatingly anxious the whole day and i can see a half bottle of whisky on the floor next to my bed. what else am i supposed to do? i'm fighting it right now; the choice comes down to feeling better now, and feeling worse than before tomorrow, or not feeling better now, and MAYBE feeling better in a month or two when the alcohol fast starts taking effect. this is what i struggle with.

im sorry, i have no idea why i felt the need to tell you that story. but thank you so much for the link in any case...hope that you're situation is improving/has been solved.

[LaNae]

Thank you so much for that story :) I'm not familiar with bipolar but a couple of my relatives (my dad and my sister) are suspected to have it.

For me, sugar appears to make my issues worse (OCD, anxiety) but time will tell if it stops altogether. I don't touch coffee or alcohol anyway!

[mum83]

I'm going through a bit of this right now. I'm on a low dose anti-depressant due to panic attacks waking me up at night. I need it to make me sleep properly. My GP has told me to keep taking it "until I feel ready" ie "When I'm normal again".....but what is normal? I've been a life long worrier, but just lately it's been more than I can handle. I needed help.