Bipolar Disorder aka Manic Depressive Disorder

This is a prelude to a writing project I have been wanting to do for decades. It is about my bipolar disorder and other mental issues that I have.

I have issues but then again, Don't we all? 

I have been working on each and every one of my issues and will continue to do so until all of them are in control.

  I have less baggage because I finally realized that it does me no good to keep looking back. That is not productive and is not moving forward in my life and I want to keep moving ahead on the path that I have been and the light and good ahead.

  I have been in and out of treatment since I was 10 years old and until I was 22 there was no formal diagnosis for me.

 Newly married and with a small child hearing the words " Manic Depressive" were not a death sentence for the rest of my life and actually a huge relief as I thought I was losing my mind.

   Having bipolar at times can be a joy when you are up and happy and productive but at a level that is balanced.

  Hyper Mania is like being on a roller coaster ride that shuts down and leaves you high in the sky screaming for help.

  Mixed States are miserable to say the least. I am depressed and sad and emotional and angry and hyper all at the same time.

  Sometimes I get annoyed when I share the fact that I have bipolar illness because there are so many ridiculous stereotypes that those that are uneducated tend to hear and believe.

  NO I am not a shopaholic.

  NO I am not a nymphomanic

  NO I am not violent

  NO I AM NOT CRAZY

  So I choose to advocate and educate.

  Bipolar is like being a marionette and times and someone else is pulling the strings and your actions and words are not even your own and you are a prisoner of that.

  I have said things that were horrible, I have acted out and lashed out at those I love.

  I never make excuses and own to it. An a*****e is an a*****e no matter what the diagnosis plain and simple.

  I have been in-patient and NO it is NOT an ASYLUM any longer we refer to it as a psychiatric Facility.That word really irks me.

  I have battled this my entire life and I have found ways to deal with all of my issues and I will continue to do so until I leave this life.

  I have never been ashamed of my issues and I have never hidden them from anyone at all. In Fact I am the person that has no problem discussing them.

 I did not ask for them, most are genetic in nature. The others are a result of things that happened to me that were out of my control but some of them I own to because they were choices I made and that is what it is.

 All of us with mental issues are in this fight together. We have to advocate and educate those that I refer to as ignorant.

  The prejudice costs all of us and not just the ones battling these demons daily.

  With understanding comes balance and with balance comes peace.

 I am going to start writing about some of my experiences when I was in a psychiatric Facility. Some will make you cry, some will make you angry and some will fill you with outrage.

  I am going to let you in to very painful and private times of my life and yes there have been more than one occasion I signed myself in.

  I am doing this in the hope that more will understand and support those like myself.

Peace : ) Lori Jo Switzer.

September 12, 2012

  

  

 

Author's Note

This is my spin on bipolar disorder and other mental issues and a prelude to a project I am starting about my experiences in a Psychiatric Facility