BTS.talk: Life is great!

PODcast: Life is great!
I jsut start talking about how great life is...

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Nice PODcast Mizar.

Sanc'.

PODcast: Life is great! (reply 1)
Life is Great? I'm still thinking about this one.

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I love life, too! I think if we can look at the edge of the tree as it contrasts with the sky and see beauty, then we have the power to be happy nearly all the time, every day.

It all depends on what I choose to concentrate on. If I think about all the crappy parts of the world and of life, the pains, the work, the unfairness, the meanness, sure I'm going to feel like crap. But if I spend my time and energy thinking of the love of my husband, the joy my dogs bring into my life, the warmth of a fire, the taste of really good food, then I'm going to feel great!

Great cast!

I was tempted to ask if you've been dipping into the pain pills...

PODcast: Life is great! (reply 2)
So yeah, this is how it works (sorry about the background noise)

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No Relentless, you do have a choice, you don't have to be a pessimist. Its not always easy to be so positive, but anyone can do it. Sometimes you'll have to push yourself to stay up, but thats ok.
You may have to stand up and smack yourself once in a while, but keeping a positive outlook is the way to go. Its not always going to be easy, and that's just something we'll have to accept.

If people like Mizar and I can keep a positive outlook on life, so can you Relent.

--Kit.

Hello Kit. Yes, I do realize it's a choice, I thought I stated that, but the way I babble, oh well, I guess sometimes I miss my mark.

Anyway, it definately gets harder as you get older and become entrenched in more and more obligations. I think I just am forgetting to choose one way or the other.

I suppose I should also mention that as you get older, you may find that some of your choices are beyond you, for example if you no longer can physically do things you used to be able to.

Guess I don't choose one way or the other, I just go with the flow and take it however it comes. Sometimes life is great, sometimes it's not.

[edit on 12/17/2005 by Relentless]

Originally posted by Relentless
Anyway, it definately gets harder as you get older and become entrenched in more and more obligations.

Really? For me, it seems to get easier as I get older. Maybe it's just become such a habit that it seems easier. I don't care as much what people think of me and I realize more and more what's important to me.

DH gets 'down' sometimes and I find myself thinking, "What? How could you possibly be depressed or down? We've got it made! Life is wonderful"!

But then there are those times when I have a few days where I'd just rather go ahead and feel bad/depressed and let it work through my system. At times like that it's nearly impossible for me to choose happiness. And anybody who suggests that might get a dirty look.

PODcast: Life is great! (reply 3)
Yeppers, I believe in what you say my brother

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I suppose I should go ahead and add that anyone that is happy for 24/7 for 365 days a year should go ahead and see a head doctor. We are all human after all. We all suffer tragedies and have misfortunes.

All i'm trying to say is life in general can be a happy experiance.

Love and light,

Wupy

PODcast: Life is great! (reply 4)
Majic comes to the party all depressed and stuff. Well, in his own way, that is.

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Ah Majic, it's so great that you have such a handle on your bipolar problem You're an inspiration to us all, truely.
I should have my uncle sit down with you, he doesn't deal nearly as well as you seem to. In one of his Manic periods, he decided to move to Florida, then went through a Depression stage, and moved to Alabama, etc. So, yeah, he really hasn't dealt well at all.

Thanks for your inspiring and uplifting podcast, Majic

--Kit.

Originally posted by mrwupy
I suppose I should go ahead and add that anyone that is happy for 24/7 for 365 days a year should go ahead and see a head doctor.

Well, that might be stating it a tad stongly, but Wupy, I think you just hit the nail on the head as to what was nagging at me.

For the most part, I think people view me as a positive person in real life, but I had just come off a horrendous week when I posted my response, and Mizar's podcast left me feeling guilty about it.

Of course the more I think about it, I think we (at least I) need our ups and downs, and I think Majic really brought that one out. The downs almost force us to step back and take inventory, while allowing recovery from incidents beyond our control, so we can recouperate back into our better selves. So, I'm forgiving myself this momentary lapse into negativity till I recharge. This is my choice for the moment, as I know that attempting to be positive in some situations (at least for me) would result in implosion.

Putting A Handle On It

Originally posted by Kitsunegari
Ah Majic, it's so great that you have such a handle on your bipolar problem

You're an inspiration to us all, truely.

Whether I actually have a handle on it or not is a matter of opinion.

I'm lucky in as much as I don't seem to flip out and get really crazy -- unless I take SSRIs. I found out about those the hard way when I was being treated for depression. For me, anyway, they trigger the kind of full-blown mania that could get me a cameo on the evening news.

It was my reaction to an SSRI-like drug (Serzone), ironically enough, that led to my being diagnosed bipolar -- by two psychiatrists and a psychologist who all unanimously agreed -- and still I didn't believe it for several months.

Fortunately, even when I freaked out on SSRIs it was in a relatively safe manner -- if you consider driving for three days straight and getting stuck off-road in the middle of nowhere “safe”.

Under the supervision of several professionals, I've tried every prescription drug available on and off-label for my condition, and nothing worked.

So I finally decided to just learn to live with it, and well, I must say it's better than trying to medicate my personality away.

Of course, even a casual perusal of my posting history on ATS indicates a tendency to deviate wildly from what could be considered “normal” thought.

But then, I'm not so sure that's actually a bad thing.

The Art Of The Deal

Originally posted by Kitsunegari
I should have my uncle sit down with you, he doesn't deal nearly as well as you seem to. In one of his Manic periods, he decided to move to Florida, then went through a Depression stage, and moved to Alabama, etc. So, yeah, he really hasn't dealt well at all.

I am known to do some rather rash things when manic, like buying things I really don't need and having brilliant ideas that later don't turn out to be so brilliant -- or indulging in unorthodox spiritual adventures, like becoming a prophet, though I suspect that's not an unusual trait of historical prophets, to be frank.

But I'm lucky, because I'm not a Type I bipolar. I've known some people who are, and well, that's out of my league. I've had a taste of what that's like (thanks to the SSRIs), but don't tend to fly quite that high in my natural manic states.

I'm more like a Bipolar II or maybe a Cyclothymic, but am “NOS” (Not Otherwise Specified) because no one can really figure out what my problem is.

On the other hand, I don't luck out so much on the depression side. A “good” depressive phase can take me out of action for weeks, and used to do just that quite a bit.

Bipolar depression is nasty.

I still go through the same phases I used to, but since I learned to stop hating myself for being depressed and accept it as part of being me, it's really not so bad.

I like to sleep (when I can), and when I'm depressed, I can really sleep like nobody's business (which reminds me. Hmm, could this be a mixed state? Been sleeping a lot, but just look at me type! Oh well...).

If your uncle is Type I, the best I recommend is to make sure that he and his loved ones learn everything they can about it, and constantly refresh that knowledge.

It is also crucial for people who know him to understand that it's not his choice when his moods will change. That can be extremely difficult, because he's still “him”, except not quite...

Type I manic states are the kinds of states where intravenous injection of Depakote is a favored treatment option, because full-blown mania is a serious condition.

Thankfully, I don't tend to naturally develop that degree of manic intensity. Rather, I tend to experience adrenaline-fueled creative fugues that are far more pleasant than anything any illegal drug can even come close to matching.

Mania is fun!

And therein lies the rub.

Know Thy Other Self

Detecting and dealing with bipolar mood swings is not as easy as it sounds. When my moods change, I generally don't realize it for a few days, even though I've tried to train myself to do so. I just sort of slip into mania or depression and don't notice.

It usually takes something significant to clue me in -- like realizing I've been awake for a couple of days and can't sleep (mania), working obsessively on some project for sixteen hours and suddenly remembering I need to eat something (mania), feeling an overwhelming certainty that there's no point to life whatsoever (depression), or going to sleep and waking up eighteen hours later (depression).

Stuff like that.

I can't overemphasize how hard it is for bipolars to recognize the mood swings, even though it would seem painfully obvious to anyone else. Not knowing seems to be part of the condition, and by the time we figure it out, well...

For as much as I've studied the condition, my behavior and ways of dealing with it, I'm still learning -- and sometimes forgetting -- as I go.

It's an ongoing challenge, and there is no cure.

Ironically, if there was one, I seriously doubt I would want to take advantage of it.

I just gotta be me, and being me means being a wild bipolar maniac who needs to hibernate now and then.

Could be better, I suppose, but all in all, I consider it a good deal.

The Cleverest Of Thefts

Originally posted by Kitsunegari
Thanks for your inspiring and uplifting podcast, Majic

Hey, it's all Mizar's fault.

He started it.

Excellent post.

My mom's a psychometrist, so she's fairly knowledgeable on his condition, but she's in that "Drug him up and he'll be fine" state of mind. You know, the "Drugs solve all our problems" kind of thing, which drives me insane.

Anyway, thanks again for your insights into all of this.

Take care
--Kit.

Yes Majic with a "J", thank you for being so candid with us. I give you A LOT of credit. My sister suffers from bipolar but was not diagnosed till about 3 years ago.

I know it has been very hard for her to accept and adjust, and it amazes me how many people show her "no mercy" for her past which we can obviously say now she often had no control over.

There is a bit of a lore about me and my sisters in the Town we grew up, and I even feel that some of the sisters don't fully understand the condition, only seeing that she does not live up to the expectations of what it means to be one of the ***** girls.

As far as I see it, she is the strongest of us all, in the very fact that she survived this, forgave herself (and that's all that matters) and gets up everyday to face a world that for me would seem insurmountable under her circumstances. (We are strong control freaks - )

I have a lot of respect for you sharing that part of your life with us, thank you.

PODcast: Life is great! (reply 5)
I ramble on today, basically nothign to do with the thread..... Ok so it is realated.

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