How do you deal?

[Jesilyn]

First of all, praise the Lord that this site has support for Bipolar believers! That's been my biggest problem since being diagnosed 2 years ago is finding acceptance. I've found an amazing doctor and she thinks she's found a good balance for my medications. But I'm wondering how others deal with acceptance. How do you let people know about your disorder?

 

[EddiesEpics]

Jesilyn,

While on the one hand we as believers should be very humble, I don't think in the case of our disorder that we should be incredibly open. My good friends know, but I don't let the information out easily because, as I'm sure you've noticed, it's not an easy idea for many believers to accept.

God's graced me with a small group of people that, though they aren't bipolar, have had huge anxiety or depression episodes, so they "understand the language". Outside that circle, I only tell those that have a need to know.

 

[SinkingShip]

I keep my diagnosis "under wraps" as well, usually only sharing with those who are going through incredible trials in their life or who share having a mental or mood disorder. I learned very early on that acceptance of mood/mental disorders is hard to come by (several of my own family refuse to accept that I have a mood disorder and insist its "all in my head") so to me this is my "ultimate secret" that I share with only a few. The rest of the world does not know, and does not need to know as far as I'm concerned. Let them think I'm odd, or volatile, or whatever they want to call me. In the end, I know who my friends are and those people are closer to me than family.

 

[Stephanie2381]

I am currently enduring the 2nd "episode" of my life, the first one I called a "nervous breakdown" -- but when you look those words up online it basically states that the term is not a real illness -- maybe that is why we are "diagnosed" with a condition. I have always thought that I was "depressed" and was put on an anti-depressant at 15 1/2 -- I did not have the episode until I was in my 20's -- I guess that is when BP can manifest? Anyway, what I am trying to get at is the world has made mental health a "bad" deal; its not like we can help having issues and needing medication, and I too only tell certain people about my illness; I feel that he is guiding me to help others, and I have joined two forums and am enjoying being able to interact with those who are like me and struggling, its nice to make someone feel better Keep the faith and be STRONG as you can, I am working on switching meds as Paxil pooped out on me and I am on rollercoaster right now with cycling and waiting for the Cymbalta to kick in and I assume my mood stabilizer to be upped or changed But I have grown closer to GOD because of this fight because I can FEEL him healing me and bringing me up when I am down, out of panic when I have an attack, and out of my moods when they come on.

 

[NewCovenant]

I keep my BPD on a strict "need to know" basis. My family and close friends know and that's about it. If I am developing a close relationship with someone new, I am careful about the timing. But I have been stable for a long time, praise God, so it's not like I'm having episodes all the time. In the beginning, it was harder, because I was in and out of the hospital all the time, and my behavior was so erratic that people knew I had problems.

 

[GaryLee]

Normally when I am manic, I tell everyone as I do not care. But in reality it has hurt
me, especially in business. I would say, do not tell many. Most do not understand
anyway.

 

[mothcorrupteth]

I was diagnosed in January. I've told several people explicitly, I've alluded to the symptoms with others, and with some I just don't talk to them at all because I already know they won't understand.

In the first category, I told my closest friends and the people I seriously offended while I was manic. The worst was a girl in my church that the manic hypersexuality attached to. In my mania, I took a really condescending and obnoxiously flirtatious stance toward her, and she and I haven't really talked for the last few months. I knew that she knew that I had bipolar because her father visited me in the psych ward, so this week I finally got the chutzpah to message her with an apology and explanation. She took it way better than I expected her to, and we're starting to talk again.

In the second category, I kind of talk about it publicly on Facebook, but I'm never explicit. I give just enough detail so that people who are in the know can figure out what I'm talking about, and if anyone who isn't in the know asks for clarification, I give them an answer in terms of neurology and never use the term, "bipolar."

In the third category, there's an elder at my church who quite honestly shouldn't be an elder. He's careless with his words and unrepentant about it. If you sincerely and humbly call his attention to his mistakes, he will bully you and cast all the blame on you. Last summer, while I was depressive, he basically said that the career I'm working toward in psychology was a worthless waste of time, and I felt like killing myself after he said that. I told him I was bipolar while I was still manic and waiting for my Risperdal to kick in, but I haven't talked to him about it since then, nor do I intend to. The man is a pig-headed jerk, and I know that if I try to work out my differences with him, he'll just spew more verbal abuse at me and probably throw my mood toward the suicidal end. I think that's sad and not at all how it should be in the Church, but I've done the math, and I'd rather keep my sanity and NOT offend more people than guilt myself into repeatedly starting discussions that I know won't end well for anybody.