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@chickenbutt wrote:Hey Noel! Exactly!
At times, when dealing with such a patient, I actually wondered how the mania must feel, just being one with PTSD and depression. It's like the opposite of how I've ever felt. Not to make light, of course, but it's a curiosity to know how somebody is feeling in a given scenario and how one can find a way to help them understand that they are not ok and need help.
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Many feel a rush, excited and almost high. Very happy, which is a relief to them since it's not the depression phase. But, they can also do rash things during a manic phase like gamble or spend a lot of money.
And as we all know, they can also go off their meds because some are tricked into feeling they are OK now, the meds cured them. They are not responsible for that decision. Mentally ill people cannot be counted on to make rational decisions.
Noel7 wrote:
chickenbutt wrote:Hey Noel! Exactly!
At times, when dealing with such a patient, I actually wondered how the mania must feel, just being one with PTSD and depression. It's like the opposite of how I've ever felt. Not to make light, of course, but it's a curiosity to know how somebody is feeling in a given scenario and how one can find a way to help them understand that they are not ok and need help.
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Many feel a rush, excited and almost high. Very happy, which is a relief to them since it's not the depression phase. But, they can also do rash things during a manic phase like gamble or spend a lot of money.
And as we all know, they can also go off their meds because some are tricked into feeling they are OK now, the meds cured them. They are not responsible for that decision. Mentally ill people cannot be counted on to make rational decisions.
Oh, I know 'how' they feel but I think my curiosity was more about wondering to the extent that I could actually FEEL how that felt, you know? It's really very interesting and I think that was why I spent so much time in studying this particular phenomenon back in the day. I learned a lot.
Sometimes you just kind of wish you could absorb exactly the feeling to help you know how to help. I was always somebody who wanted to help. It was actually with this illness that I learned that you cannot always help.
@chickenbutt wrote:
Oh, I know 'how' they feel but I think my curiosity was more about wondering to the extent that I could actually FEEL how that felt, you know? It's really very interesting and I think that was why I spent so much time in studying this particular phenomenon back in the day. I learned a lot.
Sometimes you just kind of wish you could absorb exactly the feeling to help you know how to help. I was always somebody who wanted to help. It was actually with this illness that I learned that you cannot always help.
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Yes, I guess we can only imagine 
Great euphoria, and a feeling that anything is possible, apparently.
I have two close friends who had bipolar kids. It was sad seeing the day to day side of it, not just the clinical end. As a young adult, one did go off his meds a couple of times. During one manic phase he charged thousands of dollars worth of gifts on his parent's CC and gave them all away.
Noel7 wrote:
chickenbutt wrote:
Oh, I know 'how' they feel but I think my curiosity was more about wondering to the extent that I could actually FEEL how that felt, you know? It's really very interesting and I think that was why I spent so much time in studying this particular phenomenon back in the day. I learned a lot.
Sometimes you just kind of wish you could absorb exactly the feeling to help you know how to help. I was always somebody who wanted to help. It was actually with this illness that I learned that you cannot always help.
*********************************
Yes, I guess we can only imagine
I have two close friends who had bipolar kids. It was sad seeing the day to day side of it, not just the clinical end. As a young adult, one did go off his meds a couple of times. During one manic phase he charged thousands of dollars worth of gifts on his parent's CC and gave them all away.
Mania always reminded me of the Michael Keaton character in the old Ronnie Howard movie, 'Night Shift'. Love that movie - Ronnie Howard's directorial debut.
Anyway, the Keaton character was an 'idea man' - always had more ideas than he could possibly get down and none of them ever happened.
One experience I had was with a friend who was so severely bi-polar that they just could not get his meds right. Even when he was taking them he was frequently delusional. Literally delusional to the nth degree.
One time he told me that Pres. Clinton had invited him to go on Air Force One and become his counsel (he was a well-thought-of attorney before he was no longer able to work in that capacity). He invited me to go along. There was no convincing him that none of this was true. It was just another delusion, but he believed it to the tips of his toes. 
@chickenbutt wrote:
@chickenbutt
Mania always reminded me of the Michael Keaton character in the old Ronnie Howard movie, 'Night Shift'. Love that movie - Ronnie Howard's directorial debut.
Anyway, the Keaton character was an 'idea man' - always had more ideas than he could possibly get down and none of them ever happened.
One experience I had was with a friend who was so severely bi-polar that they just could not get his meds right. Even when he was taking them he was frequently delusional. Literally delusional to the nth degree.
One time he told me that Pres. Clinton had invited him to go on Air Force One and become his counsel (he was a well-thought-of attorney before he was no longer able to work in that capacity). He invited me to go along. There was no convincing him that none of this was true. It was just another delusion, but he believed it to the tips of his toes.
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It can take years to get the combination of meds right, and different for different people. Your poor friend
You are a good friend, but I knew that. A lot of people drop those who are bipolar.
Noel - Well, I have to be 100% and admit that I really TRIED to be a good friend. I tried for a long time and it dragged me down. One person with PTSD and severe clinical depression is probably not a good mix with somebody who has severe bi-polar.
All the volatility and the frustration of not being able to help - it actually led to the last time I attempted suicide. For whatever combination of things that existed between my friend's severe condition and mine - it just all blew up for me and I couldn't handle it.
I tried to my very core. I failed. But, yeah, poor guy just went from the top of living life to the bottom because of his condition and their inability to control it properly.
@chickenbutt wrote:Noel - Well, I have to be 100% and admit that I really TRIED to be a good friend. I tried for a long time and it dragged me down. One person with PTSD and severe clinical depression is probably not a good mix with somebody who has severe bi-polar.
All the volatility and the frustration of not being able to help - it actually led to the last time I attempted suicide. For whatever combination of things that existed between my friend's severe condition and mine - it just all blew up for me and I couldn't handle it.
I tried to my very core. I failed.
You didn't fail.....having bi-polar disease is due to the chemistry in the brain and all the helping in the world won't fix it. Medications and keeping the patient compliant with medication is what works. Please do not blame yourself. No one can fix disordered brain chemistry but medication. You can support the patient in staying compliant with their treatment plan but you have no ability to fix what is wrong.
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