hi, i'm going to reveal to you something about myself that i share with only the closest to me. after hearing what i have to say, you might be tempted to label or limit me, but i would strongly advise you not to as i'm not bound to live up to, or rather, to live down to your expectations.
with that said, i'd like to tell you that i have a mood disorder.
it will definitely be helpful to understand what a normal mood is to grasp what an abnormal mood is. a normal mood, you feel the highs and lows of life. happiness instills you with a sense of well-being and confidence, you feel good and optimistic. sadness brings you the opposite. you turn inward and are preoccupied with your low thoughts. energy's low, self-doub takes over. these are healthy reactions to life's stresses.
what makes the mood abnormal, giving rise to a mood disorder, is the regulation of mood. imagine a person whose body temperature regulation system doesn't work correctly, you start shivering on a warm day, or you're drenched in sweat. the body thinks its cold when it isn't, or it's a disporportionate reaction. well, a mood disorder is a similar problem with emotional temperature regulation
my mood has become disconnected from my the environment so feelings of happiness and sadness take on rhythms and fluctations of their own. sometimes these fluctations are mild, and i only appear to have more ups and downs than the average person. other times, they are extreme and maladaptive so that my ability to judge reality is shattered.
there are several mood disorders, and the one i have is called bipolar. i'm a classic case of bipolar disorder, meaning that in addition of disconnection of mood, my moods can escalate into either one of the polar extreme of mood, mania or depression. mania is euphoric, hyperactivity, where you're highly optimistic. depression is darkly, inwardly melancholy.
it's lifelong illness. it's not happening all the time, or at least it shouldn't, so i'm often in tune with my environment. we call that stable and being in remission. but there are times when it flares up and i'm out of tune and/or in the extremes.
it's bittersweet though. it's harsh to know that this is what's going on, but at least i know and can take steps to prevent, manage, and help myself. it's now apart of who i am and if it teaches me more about life than i ever could in peace and ease, then why not me? i'm not humming simple plan's untitled, how could this happen to me (!), but matchbox 20's i'm not crazy, i'm just a little unwell but stay awhile and then you'll see a different side of me.
[that's how i plan to present myself to those who need to know. what did/do you guys reveal]
with that said, i'd like to tell you that i have a mood disorder.
it will definitely be helpful to understand what a normal mood is to grasp what an abnormal mood is. a normal mood, you feel the highs and lows of life. happiness instills you with a sense of well-being and confidence, you feel good and optimistic. sadness brings you the opposite. you turn inward and are preoccupied with your low thoughts. energy's low, self-doub takes over. these are healthy reactions to life's stresses.
what makes the mood abnormal, giving rise to a mood disorder, is the regulation of mood. imagine a person whose body temperature regulation system doesn't work correctly, you start shivering on a warm day, or you're drenched in sweat. the body thinks its cold when it isn't, or it's a disporportionate reaction. well, a mood disorder is a similar problem with emotional temperature regulation
my mood has become disconnected from my the environment so feelings of happiness and sadness take on rhythms and fluctations of their own. sometimes these fluctations are mild, and i only appear to have more ups and downs than the average person. other times, they are extreme and maladaptive so that my ability to judge reality is shattered.
there are several mood disorders, and the one i have is called bipolar. i'm a classic case of bipolar disorder, meaning that in addition of disconnection of mood, my moods can escalate into either one of the polar extreme of mood, mania or depression. mania is euphoric, hyperactivity, where you're highly optimistic. depression is darkly, inwardly melancholy.
it's lifelong illness. it's not happening all the time, or at least it shouldn't, so i'm often in tune with my environment. we call that stable and being in remission. but there are times when it flares up and i'm out of tune and/or in the extremes.
it's bittersweet though. it's harsh to know that this is what's going on, but at least i know and can take steps to prevent, manage, and help myself. it's now apart of who i am and if it teaches me more about life than i ever could in peace and ease, then why not me? i'm not humming simple plan's untitled, how could this happen to me (!), but matchbox 20's i'm not crazy, i'm just a little unwell but stay awhile and then you'll see a different side of me.
[that's how i plan to present myself to those who need to know. what did/do you guys reveal]
