Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

forbes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 73 posts

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#61

Post by bipolarengineer »

apotheothesomai wrote: post #55
bipolarengineer wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i am supposed to be taking lithium but have refused medication for a few reasons. mainly everything i have been prescribed has screwed me up further -- lithium specifically felt absolutely amazing to be on, i felt "content" and started feeling more balanced and creative etc... however i was sleeping until noon and felt a weird fog and felt like i couldn't program well (which is pretty much the only thing i do). edit:…

FWIW, I went 30 years without being diagnosed as or medicated for Bipolar 2. Life was hell, physically tortuous even, and socially and financially devastating. Wrecked my life good. I was around 43, when I found out. I completely understand getting set off. I don't know how many thousands of hours I've lost to excessive anger and irritation. The bitch of it is that there's usually a good reason to be angry, just not…

> around 43

late 30s here.

> there's usually a good reason to be angry, just not _that_ angry

i experience extreme anxiety more than rage

> Friends, roommates, and noise generated by other people

i am similar. thankfully my wife is a very quiet person.

> Viibryd

was on it for over a year -- didn't end well (weaned myself off after running out of insurance)

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#62

Post by bipolarengineer »

ModernMech wrote: post #23
bipolarengineer wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My belief is that everyone has minor bouts of mania and depression, and bipolar people just experience it more extreme if you read about the symptoms of bipolar disorder you will see that it is a bit more complex than this. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index... Take a look at the list of manic / depressive episode symptoms. Every single one of those applies to me in a very extreme way - i…

Sleep. Sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep is the key. I cannot stress that enough. Sleep and schedule. Wake up at the same time every day, no. matter. what. Don't stay out late just cause it's the weekend, don't go out partying just cause your friends are. Don't pull an all-nighter just to get an A on a test or meet a deadline. Once your sleep gets out of whack, a manic bout is not far behind, and that's 6+ months of your…

yes! i agree. i have lots of sleep issues. now i go to sleep early in the evening (nearly right after the sun goes down) and i wake up between 3 and 5am.

my biggest problem right now is work: i have had issues holding a job throughout my life. there was a 6 year stint that i was able to keep 2 jobs, but beyond that i usually quit due to what amounts to nothing in the end. have been trying to get a fully remote position as seclusion seems to help.

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#63

Post by bipolarengineer »

aoner wrote: post #60

I have a friend that is recently diagnosed with a bipolar disorder (he just had a hypomanic episode followed by a psychosis). So I think he should be hospitalized to learn more about his bipolar disorder. The problem is that if he wants to be hospitalized, he needs to take medication (which he is hesitant about). The care is really good and includes psychiatrists. I’d love to hear people’s opinion with a bipolar diso…

your friend should definitely seek professional help. all i can do is share my own experience:

when this happened to me a family member drove me to the hospital and suggested that i check myself in. i filled out paperwork, answered some questions and signed myself in.

then the "fun" began. i was taken to a room where an armed guard watched the door. I was given a robe and they took my wallet and clothes while I waited in a room with a large glass window. in the room across from me was another guy and he was completely losing his shit -- screaming and pounding on the walls.

That first experience felt what i imagine jail feels like and due to my state of mind i was convinced that my family had tricked me and put me in jail. i was very confused and started having a panic attack. eventually i was lead to a room with several hospital beds where i was given a sedative and went to sleep.

later i was lead upstairs, had my face photographed and printed out for a folder. then i was taken to another room where i had to get naked while two male nurses watched and checked me for birth marks and tattoos.

thankfully i was given a single room for the first few days and could keep to myself because i don't do well with others in situations like these.

everything else was pretty much what i expected. i mainly sat around in the rec room on drugs playing cards and chess with the other patients and nurses. there were several homeless guys in there, some people that seemed to be scamming, terrible food, and a really loud television.

They have group shave / haircut sessions, group therapy (which included dancing and some other stuff).

Honestly it didn't really help me cope with my newly discovered mental illness, it just made me feel like i had hit rock bottom. i was given a pile of drugs and sent on my way. the therapist i was assigned to was extremely amateur and his solution for me was "phone apps". The psychiatrist i was assigned to was very hung up on me not doing street drugs (i don't).

none of these humans attempted to get much story about my current life situation or past. they heard me ramble off a bunch of crazy shit and then decided their pre-scripted solutions were best for me, and when it doesn't work then the blame is thrown back on me. very very frustrating process.

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#64

Post by DanBC »

limeblack wrote: post #22
have_faith wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed to be over-diagnosed by who? (genuinely curious)

Many top psychologists have come out suggested ADHD is overdiagnosised. The are numerous articles about the explosion of diagnosis[1]. [1]: http://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/saving-normal/201605/...

But that's because psychology is generally anti-diagnosis, and because psychology rejects diagnosis.

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#65

Post by phkahler »

dindumuffin wrote: post #38
phkahler wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Having rational and largely unemotional conversations about it with friends, family and co-workers is a near constant struggle, when even possible. Just mentioning it is enough to get responses like, "Yeah, but everyone has a mental health disorder!" to change the subject. I'm wondering what the stigma is. From what you said people don't make a big deal of it and may even be dismissive. Or are you saying they refu…

If mental illnesses are underdiagnosed, then it might be that the majority of the population could have some kind of disorder of varying scales on any spectrum. With how many different things can go wrong with our complex neurologies combined with tens of milennia of racial inbreeding it'd be surprising for anyone to have completely spotless mental health, just as few men and women are blessed with perfect bodily hea…

>> So when someone says to me "everyone has a mental health disorder" I just assume that they have a mental disorder and agree with them.

I totally agree with this. If there's no one around you might even say "yeah, wanna share, what's yours?"

"There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who have faced their issues and are a work in progress, and those who have not." Yeah yeah, projection, black and white, all-or-nothing, splitting, etc... It's still a fun thing to say.

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#66

Post by aoner »

bipolarengineer wrote: post #63
aoner wrote: post #60

I have a friend that is recently diagnosed with a bipolar disorder (he just had a hypomanic episode followed by a psychosis). So I think he should be hospitalized to learn more about his bipolar disorder. The problem is that if he wants to be hospitalized, he needs to take medication (which he is hesitant about). The care is really good and includes psychiatrists. I’d love to hear people’s opinion with a bipolar diso…

your friend should definitely seek professional help. all i can do is share my own experience: when this happened to me a family member drove me to the hospital and suggested that i check myself in. i filled out paperwork, answered some questions and signed myself in. then the "fun" began. i was taken to a room where an armed guard watched the door. I was given a robe and they took my wallet and clothes while I waite…

Thanks for sharing, appreciated! My friend is currently in a “normalish” state of mind. I think/hope the care he might receive (academic hospital in the Netherlands) does not resemble your (terrible) experience. I feel a lot of people can’t relate to such states of mind and because of that don’t know how to respond. I’ve done shrooms multiple times and the things people describe during pshychosis/hypomania are more recognizable to me. I think that if you’ve learned how to guide yourself out of a bad trip you can use that knowledge in understanding and helping others.

Are you using any medication right now? What are some things (medication wise) that did or did not help you?

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#67

Post by louithethrid »

ModernMech wrote: post #23
bipolarengineer wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My belief is that everyone has minor bouts of mania and depression, and bipolar people just experience it more extreme if you read about the symptoms of bipolar disorder you will see that it is a bit more complex than this. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index... Take a look at the list of manic / depressive episode symptoms. Every single one of those applies to me in a very extreme way - i…

Sleep. Sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep is the key. I cannot stress that enough. Sleep and schedule. Wake up at the same time every day, no. matter. what. Don't stay out late just cause it's the weekend, don't go out partying just cause your friends are. Don't pull an all-nighter just to get an A on a test or meet a deadline. Once your sleep gets out of whack, a manic bout is not far behind, and that's 6+ months of your…

This guy gets it - although i must admit- the mania sometimes is breath taking. You undertake endavours a rational person would not even attempt. And sometimes you even succeed.

But then comes the day of reckoning, where all beckoning - for "sweet,sweet mania, take me on your wings"- will not be heard- and all that remains, is you, a empty room full of half finnished projects and list of phone numbers that wont pick up.

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#68

Post by throwaway2501 »

Wow! This thread (not the article) has got me questioning if I am in fact bipolar. Up until recently my diagnosis has been depression, but after reading the highs and lows others here experience, it looks more and more like what I in fact go through - and it makes sense, as I usually only see a therapist while depressed, and usually stop when I "feel better", which usually only lasts a few weeks or months. That might explain why it's never been caught.

Up until reading the comments here, I didn't realize that when I feel "normal"/not depressed, it might actually be a mania swing. I feel great, like happy for no reason, I work extended hours without noticing (14-16 hour days). I'm crazy hyper, and during these times are when I express my opinions (usually at work) and piss a lot of people off. These phases are also usually when I actually go out to meet people and/or hookup with women. When I feel like this is usually when I quit a job without considering I have no savings, or how hard it might be to get a new job quick. I day dream about a life outside of software, living in the wild and by myself. I never put 2 and 2 together, but following these super productive weeks is usually a hard swing into depression - the kind where I can barely work at all, and really struggle to get out of bed, take care of my kids, eat, or shower. The downswing into depression usually lasts much longer than the upswing where I feel wonderful, or at least it feels that way. And the entire time I'm wishing I could feel good again like I did the week before when I had no problems working or taking care of myself.

Someone here mentioned a daily mood diary - that's a brilliant idea! I'm going to start tracking my moods and see if I can graph a pattern out of them, or at least be able to tell when swings are coming so I can be prepared for them. I have really bad anxiety, and the constant back and forth really takes its toll on me, which deepens my depression to the point where I've thought about ending it all, but haven't because I have children that need me - but every now and then for 1/4 of a second a quick fantasy of dying will fly through my mind when I'm at a location where it's actually possible to do so - for example hiking to the top of a mountain not but a few weeks ago, taking in the view, and for a brief moment had the urge to just jump off the side onto the rocks below. It scared the shit out of me!

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#69

Post by tobias3 »

bipolarengineer wrote: post #63
aoner wrote: post #60

I have a friend that is recently diagnosed with a bipolar disorder (he just had a hypomanic episode followed by a psychosis). So I think he should be hospitalized to learn more about his bipolar disorder. The problem is that if he wants to be hospitalized, he needs to take medication (which he is hesitant about). The care is really good and includes psychiatrists. I’d love to hear people’s opinion with a bipolar diso…

your friend should definitely seek professional help. all i can do is share my own experience: when this happened to me a family member drove me to the hospital and suggested that i check myself in. i filled out paperwork, answered some questions and signed myself in. then the "fun" began. i was taken to a room where an armed guard watched the door. I was given a robe and they took my wallet and clothes while I waite…

I recently read this: http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/03/22/navigating-and-or-avoid...

(Applies to the US.) Sheds a bit of light on the motivations behind your treatment and how to get better treatment.

Re: Founder who lived with bipolar for years started a company to tackle the stigma

#70

Post by seibelj »

kinkora wrote: post #41
seibelj wrote: post #6

My belief is that everyone has minor bouts of mania and depression, and bipolar people just experience it more extreme. My psychiatrists have flirted with a bipolar diagnosis but ultimately they think it’s standard anxiety / depression. Every few months I go through a week where I barely sleep, my mind is racing, work nonstop, empathy decreases, basically feel on top of the world. And similar every few months I will…

Is it ok if you could detail your "mechanisms" that you use? Just trying to grok against my own which has worked for me for the past decade or so but am struggling with its effectiveness recently.

As I know it goes away in a week or so, I don't get worried or overthink it, as I know it will pass. During mania I don't buy expensive things, start big projects, make life decisions, or do anything that may be tainted by my over optimism.

When I'm feeling low, just try to exercise, eat healthy, think positive, follow all my routines.

Basically I try to keep a rational mindset that I keep separate from my current state, and try to analyze the situation as a neutral third party would. This is a useful technique regardless but especially effective when I feel off.

Post reply on HN