Topic : 08/01 Extreme Highs and Lows

I happened to see her speak in person ten years ago, and found her story inspirational.  ( My mother with bipolar never has been very functional, so I am always amazed by the people who manage to accomplish things.  That is when I bought the two books.  I have a habit of buying self-help books.  It was nice to have all the resources and ideas she offered in one place.  If finances are a problem, you probably can find similar information for free on the internet.  Or if you have another similar book it probably offers similar things.  In the "Living Without Depression and Manic Depression" I liked her chapters on Lifestyle (Developing  a Lifestyle jThat Enhances Wellness, Fine-Tuning your Lifestyle, and Creating a Career that Works).  I thought that the How to Advocate Effectively for Yourself chapter would be good for someone with bipolar. (I so far only have unipolar depression, although I often worry I will get it too.)  It has a chapter on creating a support network, eliminating the physical causes of mood disorders, and taking medication safely.  (Keep in mind, many new meds have come out since this book was first published).  She has chapters that work on Minimizing Negative Influences from the Past, Resolving Trauma, Making the Most of Counseling, Focusing on what's Really Bothering you, Using Your Journal for Release, and Raising your Self-Esteem.  (Of course, entire books have been written about many of these subjects.)  I really liked her section on Preventing depression, and responding to the symptoms of depression.  She also had chapters on preventing mania and responding to the symptoms of mania.   

She has similar things in the first book, The Depression Workbook.  Basically, keeping a mood chart or diary, and watching for your personal warning signs that you are slipping into one or the other in order to help you keep your moods controlled.  She has worksheets  & checklists throughout the book for all this stuff, to help YOU identify, what is helpful to YOU, combined with suggestions from her and all the other people with bipolar who contributed ideas.  She has  good chapters about using relaxation exercises to stabilize moods, diet, exercise, four chapters about support and finding appropriate heatlh care professionals.  She has a chapter on "New Ways of Thinking" to help you find distorted thoughts and replace them.   

I hope this was helpful.  My main problem is sticking to the program.  I stop exercising, and relapse & eat crap, even though I know I feel better when I exercise and eat right.  I start a mood chart or diary, but stop after a few weeks.  Good luck! 

Yes, people can cycle that quickly.  It is called rapid cycling.  In extreme cases it is called ultraradian rapid cycling. 

And mania isn't always happy.  People can have dysphoric mania and they can get very ugly and angry, like the woman on the show. 

I have BP2 and was dxd with every personality disorder in the book.  In the end, all I had was an imbalance in my brain.  I take meds and am doing great.  BP2 often looks like borderline and many people with BP2 are misdiagnosed as borderline, especially when they are rapid cyclers. 

DBT can work for people with BP2 to control mood swings and is used, but BP2 and borderline are two separate illnesses.   

Also, people can have borderline traits without being full blown borderline. 

Additionally, neither guest was dxd by Dr. Phil.  They had both been in treatment for many years. 

The make guest looked very type 1 to me.  Many people with type 1 have delusions. 

I hope that people who suffer with bi-polar are able to find this site and converse with other people with the same disorder. A very dear friend of mine  has this terrible disorder. Its amazing how it can manipulate the mind. He is such a Brilliant man. He was in Vietnam and suffers from many other illnesses. He has Hep C, borderline Schizophrenia, diabetes, cushings syndrome and more plus is bi-polar on top of it. He often has problems taking meds because they counter act with his bi-polar meds. His family doesn't understand the pain and suffering he is going through and until recently didn't even believe anything was wrong with him. Then his doctors threatened to get a restraining order on his wife because they felt she was abusive to his mental state.
Please I urge anyone who has a loved one who suffers with this disease, take them seriously. Learn more about it. Dr. Phil didn't cover even 20% of the symptoms or what it does to a person. It is different for every person. Please support your loved ones because if the lows get low enough you may loose them. My friend has had those kind of lows twice in the 10 years I have known him, and believe me you don't want to "ignore" a problem like this because IT WILL NOT go away and your loved one could hurt themselves or someone else, maybe even someone else you love, or a family member. 

maybe try to have your dr recommend it, be worthwhile to ask your dr,  

then insurance would probably cover it also 

My mother is bipolar, and she has caused much grief for my grandma and me.  My mom sent me to my grandma when I was a toddler, and she raised me.  My mom moved in when I was in kindergarden and they have been together most of the time since.  My mom also has difficulty showing gratitude.  Often, she will not remember her mother's birthday.  And if my grandmother complains, my mom will go on a tirade about how the things she does is not being appreciated.  (Now that my grandmother is elderly, my mom is trying her best to help out by cooking etc--but has been on SSI most of her life.)  I believe my grandmother tries to be controlling and my mom rebels against that.  She has paranoid ideas that she can't control--delusions.  The medicine helps some, but has never made her normal.  There were times when she would hate my grandma.  I just wanted you to know that you are not alone.  I have not had children of my own, just step-kids, because of fears that my child would turn out like my mother and I would have another burden to bear.  Sometimes is is best to lower your expectations. It is hard to tell when they have control or don't.  I would set limits with her, but not to the point of completely cutting off contact.  I very much recommend finding help at the websites the other person told you about--you have to know how to treat a person with bipolar to minimize exacerbating outbursts.   

You can't change how she behaves, you can only change how you respond to her.  Try being always respectful, and don't yell back.  Right or wrong, my favorite coping mechanism is to withdraw from the situation until things are calmer--leave the room or house, hang up the phone when she is abusive.  In turn, avoid things that irritate her.  Moms have a way of doing that without even knowing it.  I've found that people respond better if you give them choices, and treat them with respect, and remain calm if they start freaking out.  Validate her feeling when appropriate.   

I think a support group for family of mentally ill might be very helpful to you in trying to understand your daughter's illness and how to cope with it.  www.nami.org may be helpful in finding one.  Regarding SSI, if your daughter is as volatile as I imagine, I don't know how she could hold a job whild having temper outbursts.  Keep trying.  Perhaps nami will have some ideas.  Perhaps if she tries to work and gets fired enought they would figure it out.   Also, some people have been helped by Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, (DBT).  My mom most likely wouldn't do it, as she hates psychologists, but if your daughter has any hope of controlling herself, this is the way to learn those skills.  (Such as if she has a component of Borderline Personality Disorder--just something to think about).   

Good Luck.  Sorry to have gone on so long.