Topic: Bipolar Disorder

I was wondering if you sleuths might dig up any alternative explanations for Bipolar disorder.  Having been diagnosed with this, I am seeking a different explanation for why people seem to begin alternating between severe depression and severe mania in their early adult years.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Peace and good vibes,
WMHAOI
Who am I?

Though it may divide us, energy will eventually unite us.

Re: Bipolar Disorder

Just some brainstorming:
Severe depression may be the result of hyperdimensional attacks on your mind. Perhaps during this attack your mind is prevented from emitting good feelings (energy) towards your body, but perhaps the mind still receives this good energy stream from higher up and it starts building up. When the "pressure" is too high, it explodes and an overdosis of good feelings is flushed into the body, but the body cannot handle this enormous influx and acts erratic (mania).

3 (edited by ermolai 2004-09-18 04:56:17)

Re: Bipolar Disorder

First of all, it should be said there is no such thing as "Bipolar Disorder". This label was historically introduced by psychiatrists and grouped in the DSM-IV to help them in their job of patients management, it was a way to group together symptoms, but in no way was it supposed to be used for healing, as any good psychiatrist (they are rare nowadays) will tell you.

However in the recent decades pharmacological corporations have tried more and more to make it sound like they represented actual illnesses, just like there are physical illnesses. This lie is used to push the medical ideology (the deception according to which problems come primarily from the material realm) and of course increase the sale of drugs, now worth several billions of dollars a year (Having read so much about conspiracy theories, I do not believe that all these lies are made just for money, there is also a definite interest in disempowerment from the "other side").

Recently a group of mental patients went on hunger strike until the American Psychiatrist Association could prove that any of these "disorders" were due to brain "chemical imbalance" or genetics and of course they could not show such scientific evidence, because they simply do not exist.

Anyway this is not to say that what you and others are experiencing is imaginary or whatever, but merely to put it in proper perspective. From my own experience it really serves in no way to use these labels. I wrote about this recently so I'll copy it here:

In a way to put a name of our condition is useful to understand and accept ourselves. There is some kind of release in being able to put a word on painful conditions. Howevers there are many associated downsides with this choice:

(1) The attachement to the condition and its associated self-pity ("I have a social anxiety disorder, I can't do that"). It gives exuses to avoid facing challenges.

(2) Most labels give a negative twist ("disorder") to mere differences, thus this particular condition is seen mostly on the negative side without the associated positive side (all qualities have advantages and disadvantages). Since the person does not focus on these advantages, s/he cannot make use of them.

(3) A single word cannot account for all the experiences people are going through. Labelling the vastness of the human psyche is a grotesque joke. Psychiatric labels are based on outside symptoms and the inner experience can greatly vary from person to person. This can create a great amount of confusion.

(4) It creates a fragmentation of the psyche, since there is now "me" and "my disorder". Ultimately this separated "disorder" will only heal through transformation, and thus it must be accepted, integrated and transcended.

Anyway, that's it for the labelling thing and how dangerous it is from a metaphysical perspective.

Now for the actual condition and how to cope with it, I have personnaly mostly dealt with depression so I cannot write much on manic-depression on a personal basis. There was some months last year where I was alternating with manic episodes but they were not as brutal as what some other people are going through. I have healed that by seeking more balance on all sides of my life. I keep on having the ups and downs but they generally make sense and I can flow with them and learn much.

Yet, and I think it's important, balance is not always possible or even desirable. There are great many insights to be found in the extremes of the pendulum. Instead of trying to block these movements, I think it's best to bear with them and choose to keep the most of our awareness in order to find the key to our healing and our liberation from the illusion, which are entirely personal.

Pema Ch ¶dr ¶n is a great author writing on this. I discovered her very recently and it is all really on the spot and confirmed much of what I had experienced and intuited. She writes from a buddhist perspective and most of her books focus on people who have much problems to live a normal life. The book I've read so far is "When Things Fall Apart". Very recommended.

I also much recommend the following website, which is made by and for people with bipolar disorders. It has a really good perspective on the subject, since it states that the goal is not to "cure" from the condition but rather to make use of this gift. The two founders also seem like very passionate people.

http://www.theicarusproject.net

And you may want to read some texts I wrote on the subject of healing at:

http://www.reclaimyoursoul.org

The subject is vast, but I hope this somehow helps.

Ermolai.

4 (edited by manyeagles 2004-09-18 07:14:57)

Re: Bipolar Disorder

Sadly, research and real knowledge of mental health has lagged behind other areas of medicine,  I feel we are at the "flat earth" level of understanding at this point in time, and reasons why give much food for thought.  So sad that it's so, but maybe someday we will wake up and smell the roses instead of concentrating on the dog poo we just happened to step on.

Instead, focus appears to be solely on the pharmaceutical mode of treatment modalities sad   Many of the meds in the PDR do not know mechanism  of action as far as how it "works" (and lots of times it just doesn't).  Smacks of an obvious hit and miss effort upon closer inspection, however many do benefit from pharmaceutical intervention, but there's usually a steep price involved (side effects, routine blood work, weight gain, social stigma, to name a few).

Not a lot meds out there for bipolar: now take a look at how many there are for cardiac related problems.  Well hot damn !-  NOT rocket science to even the uneducated or mentally challenged. 

My thought is that maybe it is an allergy, or hypersensitivity to some environmental factor that is increasingly present in this time period.  This appears to have a genetic component from observation, and can be channelled without the usage of meds.  Take a look at percent of great artists, poets, actors afflicted (of have been) with bipolar  "disorder" (and bipolar with mostly depressive component) in history/present time.  EXTREMELY significant compared to the rest of the general population.  Now where would society be without these folks? 

Probably the MCS and PTB have pretty much put a lid on the real answers pertaining to the mental health field.  It's one thing to have a broken arm (easily "fixable"), but a "broken mind" (or even just in need of a few minor adjustments/routine maintenance/individualized care)  seems to be of much greater priority.

Note, Ermolai, haven't gotten to reading sites you contributed, but that's next smile.  Thanks for the contribution.

If there is no time
      Then you have time for everything.
   You're never in a hurry.
That's true freedom.

Re: Bipolar Disorder

The offical "bible" of psychiatry into which all mental disorders are entered is known as the DSM IV.   

Can you guess what the requirement is for a new disease to be entered into the manual, or for certain major changes to be made?

You might guess that many years of detailed study on the illness, it's signs, symptoms, physiological effects and chemical interactions would be needed. 

No, all it takes is a majority vote.  That's it.  Political in its very essence.

Re: Bipolar Disorder

Thank you all for your replies so far, ermolai...

Peace and good vibes,
WMHAOI

Though it may divide us, energy will eventually unite us.

7 (edited by Xenopope 2004-09-18 12:03:20)

Re: Bipolar Disorder

morningsun76 wrote:

Can you guess what the requirement is for a new disease to be entered into the manual, or for certain major changes to be made? all it takes is a majority vote.  That's it.  Political in its very essence.

wow I did not know that.

manyeagles wrote:

Not a lot meds out there for bipolar.

I dunno about the quantity, but I can vouch for the level of potency of one of them. Ever heard of Adorol?

I  knew a guy diagnosed and prescribed meds for bipolar. They gave him double dose Adorol pills (orange ones). I took one to get high once. For those of you who don't know about the severity of these drugs, well, you should know. I have taken crystal methanphetamine (street drug) before and I can tell you that this Adorol pill got me just as high if not higher than meth. It lasted for a good 16 hours and the after effects lasted longer than that. It was very clean and very intense.

Now I know that they say it dosen't make then feel like that if it's prescribed for them because they have a 'disorder'. They say it just makes them feel 'normal'. I don't think so, but I don't know.

I met another one at college who was ADD and bipolar. He took Adorol at least twice a day. He told me that it made his heart beat rapidly and that he had been taking them for a long time.

This is what they're prescribing for our young people because it was voted into existence as a 'condition'? terrible . . .

I am as is Void.

Re: Bipolar Disorder

Xenopope wrote:

I met another one at college who was ADD and bipolar. He took Adorol at least twice a day. He told me that it made his heart beat rapidly and that he had been taking them for a long time.

This is what they're prescribing for our young people because it was voted into existence as a 'condition'? terrible . . .

My comment was regarding the process for including diseases in the DSM generally.  I don't know about bipolar specifically.

Re: Bipolar Disorder

My only concern with my psychiatrist is that he tries to label my relationship with God as a "special relationship" and says that this is bad for my health, mentally and physically. 

I feel that anyone is capable of a special relationship with God and that this and this alone has kept me from doing things which would be detrimental to my health. 

It's funny how they proclaim to love God and try and take Him out of your life at the same time...

Peace and goood vibes,
WMHAOI

Though it may divide us, energy will eventually unite us.

10 (edited by ermolai 2004-09-19 11:02:59)

Re: Bipolar Disorder

wmhaoi,

You may be interested in reading "Re-Visioning Psychology" by James Hillman which is all about the soul. I haven't finished it yet but I'm thinking about it because the author mentions that, despite being almost always seen as "delusion" by psychiatry, personifying is a natural tendency of the psyche/soul to make sense of life. In other words having a relationship with God is a most natural way of healing.

The shamanist perspective is in my opinion even more on the point, since it doesn't split the inner/outer world and plainly state these relationships are completely real. (IE. when I talk to a tree, I do not make up an "imaginary friend" to "cope with difficulties", I really have a dialog with this tree spirit). For shamans there is no such thing as imagination, only the travelling between various realities.

Again this is a vast subject.

As a side funny note, your psychiatrists' ego is probably so big that it may see your relationship with God as a threat to its control over you. Don't tell him this though wink

11 (edited by ermolai 2004-09-19 11:12:53)

Re: Bipolar Disorder

manyeagles,

Many alternatives have been tried and were amazingly successfully (eg. schizophrenia "cured" in a few weeks, while it's officially supposed to be "uncurable") but most were suppressed due to lack of funds and other factors. The thing is, these alternatives were so different from the existing system that there was just no way they could be gradually integrated in it. Why? Because they were all based on love and understanding, while the whole psychiatric system is based on coercion, ridiculization, alienation and soul-breaking. Instead of trying to understand what patients are going through, psychiatrists are basically making up explaination (note the difference between understanding and explaination) and forcing them on patients until they have been fully accepted. This is nothing short of brainwashing.

Re: Bipolar Disorder

Ermolai,

I believe you are right on target, my friend.  Psychiatrists are not focused on healing, they live more closely to this motto which my friend so eloquently put..."It's gonna be alright, it's gonna be okay, we're gonna use your money." 

The dollar sign is all they see.  The more prescriptions they prescribe, the bigger their "bonus" check at the end of  the year.  These men are simply salesman who have been educated in psychiatry, and therefore, have an extreme mental edge. 

Peace and good vibes,
WMHAOI

Though it may divide us, energy will eventually unite us.

Re: Bipolar Disorder

It's been a while since anyone has posted on this, but I'm in quite the predicament at this time. I'll start by explaining that my niece, who is 30 yrs. old, was 'diagnosed' as having 'bipolar' when she was 15 yrs. old. She was taken out of the home because she pulled a knife on her mother and threatened to kill her. She spent almost 2 yrs. in a facility and was given meds for bipolar. I'm not saying if she has it or not, but she was diagnosed as being bipolar. She has not been on any meds for 15 yrs. She has a very bad temper and flies off the handle at a whim. At other times she is as happy as can be. My concern here is that she has threatened to kill me twice, the latest last night. I called the police for I did fear for my life. When she has these outbursts I can not tell if she is seriuos or not, and I do not want to take the chance to find out if she's serious and would carry through with the threats. I have two children to raise of my own. I can not 'fix' her life for her, she has to take responsibility for her actions. I do love her, but I am not going to live in fear! But I also know that all she want's is to be loved, but she will not let me love her. Would it be beneficial for her to see a shaman or something of that affect? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thankyou.

~JOYce~

14 (edited by lyra 2007-08-25 14:52:19)

Re: Bipolar Disorder

Globug, you've posted about your predicament with your niece in previous threads, the same mention of her threatening to kill you, etc.  Now it's happened again, from what you posted.

My advise is probably not what you want to hear - it never is for most people.  But here it is in a nutshell, since you posed this question to the forum:

1.  "! But I also know that all she want's is to be loved, but she will not let me love her."

      -  How do you know that this what she wants?  Has she told you this?  (if she did, you didn't mention it.) Or are you filling in the blanks, seeing what you want to see based on how you are as a person, and what you know of how others are?   

      -  We can't force our love on other people.  And we can't justify forcing it on them by saying "I know that deep down this is what they really want, even though they won't admit it and don't show it and continue to abuse me and act in a mentally unstable manner."   Sometimes "love" is walking away.   I know, because this is coming from somebody who had a crazy mom that would swing back and forth between being calm and normal, and then full of anger and rage, venting her bitter frustrations out on her two kids with emotional, verbal and physical abuse and all around craziness.  She was famous for her "push and pull."  One minute she hated you and was doing everything in her power to push you away - then she was crying and had to have you back.  I hate you, I love you, I hate you, I love you.  The woman was mental, and there's nothing that I could do to change that.   I recognized that as a kid and parted ways with her in life permanently by 19.  She was off her rocker and needed help.  She didn't need a shaman.  She didn't need my insistence of forced love.  She needed something far more powerful than that.  And in the meantime, I had my sanity to protect and my own life to live, so I was atta there, see ya.

2.  "When she has these outbursts I can not tell if she is seriuos or not, and I do not want to take the chance to find out if she's serious and would carry through with the threats. I have two children to raise of my own. I can not 'fix' her life for her, she has to take responsibility for her actions. I do love her, but I am not going to live in fear!"

      - You didn't mention whether she lives with you or not.  Maybe you mentioned it in other threads, but I don't remember.  But if she lives with you, then she needs to get out, NOW, especially if you have two kids.  She's 30 years old, she's an adult, not 5 or 6, so out she goes.  Don't think twice, don't look back.  Out she goes, and before you do it make sure you have assistance on hand to make sure you're protected when she's escorted out and doesn't try to attack you and go down in flames.  Now, if she lives with somebody else and you're seeing her by visiting her, then the visits needs to stop, NOW, since you have two kids and like you said, you can't be sure if she really means it when she says she's going to kill you.  Need motivation to stop the visits?  Envision the faces of your two kids.  That should do it.  But to either kick her out or cease your visitation requires understanding the points made in #1.

So if you're not going to live in fear, as you keep saying............then don't.  Walk away from this situation.

Like I said, my advise is always blunt and to the point, so it's probably not what you want to hear - you want advise about shamans, translation = more options - and you want validation from others that it's the right course of action to keep forcing your love on her, when I'm going to tell you to get the hell away from her, she's old enough to know better, you can't force your love on people, and you have two kids to think about, so snap out of it!  wink   Yes, it's a full moon, what can I say.  But we can't force others to change, and from what you've described in this thread and others, it doesn't sound like she's open to change.....hence my blunt advise that centers around your safety and your children's, versus patient attempts at rehabilitating somebody who doesn't sound, from what you described, to be capable of it, and which would in the meantime only be jeopardizing your safety.

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit ... what a ride!"  - Anonymous
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"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
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Re: Bipolar Disorder

globug wrote:

Would it be beneficial for her to see a shaman or something of that affect? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thankyou.

Hi Globug,

Based on much reading I have done into REAL shamans, I would most definately say yes. Whether your niece would be open to this I don't know. If you were going to explore this, I would do as much homework as you can on the individual, but then that applies to all healing I suppose.

Do take the time to watch these video's, they're fantastic :

http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=munay+ki

also, here's an interview with Dawn Paul. I am currently discussing a plan of action for me with her. She works remotely from anywhere in the world, so maybe you should check out her wesite too :

http://www.liberate-online.co.uk/assets … 481871.mp3

http://www.liberate-online.co.uk/

I have been on the recieving end of extreme mental illness myself. You have my sincerest sympathies.

Lots of love,

Tim.

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.