Any people with bipolar disorder here?

[LSD-Rumi]

I was recently diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder after suffering a chronic type of depression and some short episodes of hypomania. My mood is very liable and I am semi-depressed. Any tips on how you deal with your disease? I am on 400 mg of lamotrigine and 150mg of effexor.

Thanks

[integral]

Have you tried intensive exercise every time you feel off? I know its hard to feel motivated to do stuff like when in a mood. Exercise completely changes all the hormones in the body. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by integral

[LSD-Rumi]

@Enlightement  Stimulants seem to help me a lot. I don't have a problem with mania, my problem is with depression, it turns me into the worst version of myself.

[LSD-Rumi]

@Enlightement I get depressed quite often and become dysfunctional. I lose all my energy, motivation, and confidence and I become quite sensitive and suicidal. These days my mood is very liable and but still depression is the main theme.

The only thing that really helped me was PCP (3-meo PCE, to be accurate), but I don't have it right now. It was magic, it healed me from everything, From OCD to depression and anxiety.

[integral]

@LSD-Rumi Have you ever exercised? 

[LSD-Rumi]

@integral haha, yeah of course.

Bipolar depression is not like any ordinary depression, even antidepressants fail in treating it. Nothing works really. I have tried everything, excersie, Meditation, personal development, spirituality. Nothing worked except for dissociatives and this medication called lamotrigine. Bipolar depression is a different beast, the last 5 years of my life went trying treating it.

Edited July 1, 2023 by LSD-Rumi

[integral]

@LSD-Rumi Ah i understand, im curious of how the body responds to intense exercise when in the grip of bipolar depression? Do you remain in a depressed state for the entire workout hour and when you lie down to rest your still fully depressed with no motivation? Or is there a small "wake up" then quickly you go back to depression an hour after exercise is over? What does the depression curve look like? 

Edited July 1, 2023 by integral

[LSD-Rumi]

@integral I hit the gym a couple of times for a month or so, it give me a mild relief of symptoms but nothing significant.

[Schizophonia]

Can bipolar disorder be on very short cycles? Like a few hours to a few days?

[LSD-Rumi]

@Michael569 Sounds interesting. But weight lifitng makes my muscle sore and uncomfortable, is not cardio enough? 

 

[LSD-Rumi]

@Michael569 Thanks Michael, I really hate gyms, but I will see if I can force myself to go 

[Wyeth]

what everyone else is saying about exercise is extremely accurate. It is the #1 most important habit for keeping the depression away. I am not diagnosed but bipolar is common within my family and I usually go through at least one depressive spell and one hypomanic episode per year. I have gotten very good at fighting the depression, ever since I found my life purpose and began the process of actualizing it along with working out 3-5x a week I pretty much never get depressed anymore, whereas before I would become suicidally depressed in my episodes when I felt no purpose in life, was not working out, and had bad routines and habits. 

I would be curious to know what your hypomanias are like? These are the episodes that have the potential to be harmful if you aren't aware what can trigger it and when it is coming on.

[Yimpa]

I do not, I have ADHD and OCD.

[Brandon Nankivell]

Very familiar with it. Grew up with a bipolar mother, saw her deeply depressed for years in total. Another close loved one has it, have been the one to aid them during manic episodes etc, seen it all. Experienced some severe depression myself but not bipolar related. It's an ongoing thing I am dedicated to helping my loved ones conquer. From my observations, direct experience, and current understanding:

• Want to not be depressed
• Run every day for weeks for 15 minutes like your life depends on it
• Have a small goal for each day, small steps

 

[Inliytened1]

On 7/5/2023 at 3:11 PM, LSD-Rumi said:

@Michael569 Thanks Michael, I really hate gyms, but I will see if I can force myself to go 

I would add 4 sauna sessions a week to this regiment ?

[Carl-Richard]

3 hours ago, Inliytened1 said:

I would add 4 sauna sessions a week to this regiment ?

I do 15 minutes of sauna at the end of my gym sessions, so 3.5 times a week, and it really puts the cherry on top.

[Inliytened1]

1 hour ago, Carl-Richard said:

I do 15 minutes of sauna at the end of my gym sessions, so 3.5 times a week, and it really puts the cherry on top.

Nice

 

[Yimpa]

Whatever mental disorder you have, don’t let it define you absolutely. You can still have mental disorder without letting it rule over you. You can also work on your disorder from a more nuanced perspective. 

I see the beauty in the disorder 

[ZenSwift]

@BipolarGrowth

[BipolarGrowth]

Spiritual progress is your best bet for improving depressive symptoms, but exercise is quite good also as people have said here. Get more sunlight, or buy a light therapy device (highly recommended). A device for $50 on Amazon works just fine. Go for a walk outside if you can while depressed. Get moving, change your environment, get a haircut. A plant-based diet might help. Keep in mind that sleep is a HUGE factor in bipolar disorder. Less sleep tends to induce mania. Too much sleep tends to induce depression. 
 

Most importantly, it is going to help you more in the long run to find ways to be extremely depressed without it phasing you or causing you to act out against your best interest. 
 

Check out this website: https://www.bipolaradvantage.com/all-courses/bio/

The methodology taught there is based off of increasing your capacity to better handle a greater range of mental and emotional states. You will not become better at living with the disorder if your goal is to remove all symptoms. That will not work. You must instead learn to groove and boogie through life just fine whether in a deep depression or strong manic episode. This is of course easier said than done. 
 

Medication can help a lot, but it took me a lot of spiritual progress before I could tolerate a high amount of medication without the side effects ruining me. If you’re serious about improving your depression, I’d suggest looking into Buddhism and practicing it. The main focus of Buddhism is to solve the problem of suffering which no other major tradition can claim to the same degree. 
 

How I Deal with Depression from Someone Who Has Bipolar Disorder & Pursued Enlightenment for 9 Years

How to Overcome Bipolar Disorder

🍄 Bipolar Disorder & Psychedelics - Should You Do Them? 🤔

Dealing with Bipolar Depression

The Importance of Medication in Bipolar Disorder

How Mood Cycling Occurs in Bipolar Disoder

Those are some of my more direct videos about handling bipolar disorder. There are more on the channel if you find them helpful. 
 

Good luck. You can certainly improve your condition over time.