Bipolar disorder. Is it an illness? Disease? Or what?

[mikes]

I've heard folks say that bipolar disorder is a disease, does that mean you can "catch" it? Or bring it on yourself through lifestyle choices? Is it something you are born with? Lots of folks who have never had the opportunity to spend time with people diagnosed with BP seem to classify it as a mental illness, and stigmatize it. Many people live with BP and function at the highest levels.

As this forum is intended to be a place to store, share and display your knowledge and experiences with BP, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject.
Original compositions please, if you have another online article you'd like to share, feel free to give a short description of the article, and post the link to it.

My favorite online resource for BP information is https://harbor-of-refuge.org/

Have fun, Mikey

[mt]

I've been dxd bipolar or schizoaffective since 1976. Don't worry about the stereotype anymore. I have to many other things to worry about although I'm no longer among the "work-force" persay so no need to worry about employer discrimination. I just want to add an often overlooked aspect of bp. None of my 3 siblings nor any of my 3 boys have acute bp symptoms like I've had and I believe my illness, which was obviously predisposed, may have come about do to my experimentation with street drugs when I was young and "invincible".

[mt]

Oh and to expound on Mikes's statement I did become a high functioning bipolar for over 20 years post dx as a mechanical engineer with 9 years in the work force before my disorder derailed me. Thankfully, I am married to a wife who could more than fill in the gaps.

[whimzy]

You are born that way. Think of it like asthma, that is something you are born with. It doesn't always show up for a long time, and when it does, you medicate to keep it under control. & : )

[KatLin]

Well there isn't suppose to be any "mental illness" on my maternal side. Of course I heard that sandwiched between your grandmother used to be up at 3 am scrubbing the floor on here hands and knees. or your mother lost her long distance phone service because she went on a shopping spree yet again. I don't compulsively clean or shoppe at all when I'm manic. not at all......nope not me I function so much better now then when I first came to Harbor. I think I needed to stop asking why or where this came from and just accept that its here and its hard sometimes. I can deal much better with those who see Bipolar as a mental illness when I know I have my Harbor family to come to for the support of those that know at the end of the day. MT I don't believe your not still young and invincible

[Scooby]

I am encouraged to hear from other people about their views about when the genie comes out of the lamp, is it and illness, a disease or caused by experiences like PTSD - pushing the genie out? One thing seems very clear, once the genie is out of the lamp, it's very hard to push him back inside. I remember one fellow in a bipolar support group who was a pilot on a commercial airline (not saying which) and he had a hypomanic to manic episode that grounded him. He knew if he started taking our medly of meds, he would not be able to fly again because he could not pass the blood analysis part of the flight physical required by the FAA. The airlines may say they are in the friendly skies, but they do not want their pilots flying on Prozac. What he did was interesting to me, he sought the doctoring of an orthomolecular psychiatrist and treated it in alternative ways, part of which was to participate in a bipolar group (which was ours).

He passed his physical and is probably now flying somewhere. When he was there in the group, I asked him what would happen if he had another episode and was flying? He responded with a zinger - he said there are three other flight-qualified people in the cockpit with him at all times. Hmm, good answer, I thought.

So what one does to treat the disorder, whether by conventional or unorthodox means, the reality is that something is haywire in our blood chemistry, and I imagine they are now able to isolate which genes with new science methods, the long and short of it is that we need something to balance us out so we can function like the rest of them. Like mt, I was headed in a career direction that just didn't pan out because my medications (and maybe the spirit to do it) weren't quite right. What I have come to believe is that insight-oriented therapies may be right for some, but I'm coming to believe more cognitive-oriented ones are more effective in providing tools we can use on our own.

But I think we'll always have to check in with somebody, and a good somebody I hope, to help us manage our chemical aspects.

[sycamore]

I have agree somewhat with (((mt))) on the street drugs possibly bringing out the illness to its fruition. I also believe that one must be 'pre-disposed' genetically to bipolar and that the choices we make may very well bring on an 'episode', eg. we know high amounts of stress help bring on the illness, so people in stressful jobs, relationships, or life events who are 'predisposed' can easily be more subjected to a meltdown.

[sillycatgrl]

Bipolar. It is just...me. Looking back I can see I was hypomanic for years and depression was my constant mindset. I consider myself mentally ill but I don't look at it as a negative state of being. It's not our fault our brain chemicals are different, or flawed if you will. I am open about it so that others understand me a bit better instead of being puzzled by my often exuberant and goofy as hell self. They know when I am quiet I am down and don't wish to talk. I'm still waiting for one of them to ask me about bipolar disorder. No one ever has. I feel comfortable talking about bipolar because there is no shame for me. I hate it, sometimes I wish it wasn't so, but I know I wouldn't be me without it. Do you ever think of your strength? Your courage? I've always been functional except for two weeks I had to take off in '07 during my first full-blown manic episode. I've always supported myself and the more bipolar people I meet, the more I realize my strength. I consider myself fortunate to be able to work with this disordered brain of mine. So to me, bipolar disorder is just...me.

[Darfstellar]

Bipolar. It is just...me. Looking back I can see I was hypomanic for years and depression was my constant mindset. I consider myself mentally ill but I don't look at it as a negative state of being. It's not our fault our brain chemicals are different, or flawed if you will. I am open about it so that others understand me a bit better instead of being puzzled by my often exuberant and goofy as hell self. They know when I am quiet I am down and don't wish to talk. I'm still waiting for one of them to ask me about bipolar disorder. No one ever has. I feel comfortable talking about bipolar because there is no shame for me. I hate it, sometimes I wish it wasn't so, but I know I wouldn't be me without it. Do you ever think of your strength? Your courage? I've always been functional except for two weeks I had to take off in '07 during my first full-blown manic episode. I've always supported myself and the more bipolar people I meet, the more I realize my strength. I consider myself fortunate to be able to work with this disordered brain of mine. So to me, bipolar disorder is just...me.

Hi sillycatgrl and welcome to the board!. I think we're all who we are, warts, brain chemistry and all. However Bipolar disorder tends to be progressive, it can get worse, so "who we are" changes. This is a different sort of change than one would ordinarily experience as one goes through life. You can actually get apparent changes in personality whereas usually this is constant even into older age. Having a reasonable medication regime and staying with it can keep it all down to a dull roar, especially when going through stressful times (moves, marriages, job changes, etc). I'm as goofy as Anyone, regularly (ask Anyone and she will agree) and I enjoy that side of myself but I know I can't quite trust it too. I wonder sometimes if others lack a sense of humor or is the whole world really that dour? One upside is that I know I can't take myself too seriously. Is it "me" or is it the bipolar? So I hold out for a "normal" self underneath the disease, I wear Bipolar as a cloak. It's more a thing of my body (along with some other diseases, I'm a collector) rather than of my mind. Philosophically it gets sticky. Oh well.

[sillycatgrl]

Thanks for the welcome! I've found as I get older, I get myself better and have a totally different perspective on everything. I've given up trying to please anyone, I've realized if I don't like someone, I don't have to talk to them. Bipolar is my cloak, too. I've also given up trying to decide is it "me" or the BP. It's all me and I'm responsible for everything that comes out of my mouth. Recently I had to tell someone I'm an a@@ at times as an explanation for something I said. I often wonder why everyone can't just say what they mean or explain themselves. I'm so glad I'm not afraid to be me, the real person. I hid myself away for too many years.