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

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

#51

Post by limeblack »

dbasedweeb wrote: post #49
bitL wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "borderline" is what is now the sweeping diagnosis for everything that can't be boxed properly to any of the available shelves, and that one might be overused more. When you know some true BPDs in real-life, it's not fun at all - cut wrists, irreversible body modifications, constant threats of suicide, used as a back-up when important plans fail, use of other people for validation, inability to hold consisten…

BPD is a really specific personality disorder with fairly clear characteristics. While personality orders in general are somewhat controversial, and notoriously difficult to treat, I’d be interested in seeing evidence of overdiagnosis. Depression on its own can be crippling and lethal, so complicating it with an addictive, potentially reckless or even psychotic second state is a nightmare. Mania is often misunderstoo…

> In extremes mania leads to a psychotic break to the point of being difficult to distinguish (even in a clinical setting) from schizophrenia.

If you read some of my other posts on this page this is exactly my frustration with the current diagnosis. People who should be diagnosed with borderline Schizophrenia(hallucinations and/or voices) are being bundled with those that simply are getting angry.

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

#52

Post by [deleted] »

phkahler wrote: post #36
bpchaps wrote: post #24

Good. The stigma around bipolar is absolute hell for those of us who have it. 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. Hopefully the social stigma around even discussing mental health wil…

>> 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…

[deleted]

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

#53

Post by baus »

ModernMech wrote: post #33
baus wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not a psychiatrist, but it does sound like you have bipolar symptoms, especially if you have the hypo-maniac episodes. Bipolar is sometimes misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder, because the mania doesn't seem like a problem. Who doesn't want to feel more productive and on top of the world? I know I've failed to recognize a manic episode, and wow did I end up paying the price when the pendulum swung the othe…

> because the mania doesn't seem like a problem. To be clear, the feeling of being on top of the world and superhuman is hypomania, and not full blown mania (hypo indicating "less than" mania), which from my experience, is far and away worse than the depressive episodes. Don't get me wrong, depression is bad and you can literally end up dead from it. Not going to minimize that. But the mania I've experienced? Watch o…

Point taken regarding the difference between hypomania and mania symptoms. But not everyone, including those with BP2, experience the extremes of mania.

From my own experience I failed to recognize a hypomanic episode until it was far too late because I felt great and didn't realize something was wrong.

It ended with one of the most severe manic/mixed episodes I've ever experienced. It was one of those experiences you hear can happen to BP patients, but you don't believe can happen to you until it does.

When I finally snapped out of it, I was pretty damn shaken up about what had happened, and probably for the first time I came to terms with how dangerous this disorder can be.

So I agree, I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone

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

#54

Post by DoreenMichele »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #50
ModernMech wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because the mania doesn't seem like a problem. To be clear, the feeling of being on top of the world and superhuman is hypomania, and not full blown mania (hypo indicating "less than" mania), which from my experience, is far and away worse than the depressive episodes. Don't get me wrong, depression is bad and you can literally end up dead from it. Not going to minimize that. But the mania I've experienced? Watch o…

> To be clear, the feeling of being on top of the world and superhuman is hypomania, and not full blown mania (hypo indicating "less than" mania) Which, unrelatedly, always confused me. "Hypo" in medicine usually means "a dangerous lack of something"--hypoxia, hypothyroid--not "too much of something, but not way too much." The first time I heard "hypomania," I assumed it meant depression! It seems like "semi-manic" o…

Hypo just means low. Hypoglycemia is low blood sugar. Hyperglycemia is high blood sugar aka diabetes. Hypomania would be low mania. It's kind of like saying a little bit of mania.

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

#55

Post by apotheothesomai »

bipolarengineer wrote: post #16
DoreenMichele wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to post a link to it on HN, but I have a discontinued food blog with some information potentially relevant to you. The tldr: I am often suddenly suicidal. I have essentially a salt wasting condition. There is a salt and lithium connection and I have found it really helpful at times to eat a meat and potatoes meal to mediate the salt-lithium connection when I am under stress and expecting to soon fall of…

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 _that_ angry.

With the proper meds, life isn't perfect, but I have the kind of peace of which I dreamt for decades...and without being zombified. I can actually hold down a job.

Friends, roommates, and noise generated by other people, still a big no. I live alone up in the hills and wfh. I like it that way.

As for meds, should you try any again,

Forget lithium. The best mood stabilizer I know is Lamotragine. If you are in the US, fill your prescription through canadadrugs.com. It's too expensive in the US.

As for anti-depressants, the Serotonin-based drugs never worked for me, but I take Viibryd now, which isn't Serotonin-based.

As for ensuring that you sleep (I was an insomniac for much of 20 years), Trazadone is an old, cheap, and non-addictive sleeping pill. It has nothing to do with ephedrine or melatonin, and won't mess you up at all.

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

#56

Post by beenBoutIT »

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/...

According to the experts at Stanford at least 25% of people diagnosed with ADHD/ADD are actually misdiagnosed Narcoleptics. Anyone diagnosed with ADHD/ADD could easily rule this out with a simple sleep study. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sleep-newzzz/201305/...

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

#58

Post by xor1 »

phkahler wrote: post #36
bpchaps wrote: post #24

Good. The stigma around bipolar is absolute hell for those of us who have it. 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. Hopefully the social stigma around even discussing mental health wil…

>> 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…

>I'm wondering what the stigma is.

I think a major part of the stigma is people thinking that borderline personality disorder and bipolar are the same thing, primarily because they have the same acronym. As a result, people wrongly associate Cluster B symptoms/behavior with bipolar.

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

#59

Post by cecja »

limeblack wrote: post #9
marojejian wrote: post #2

FYI - I am Daniel's co-founder, if you have any questions on Campfire or whatev's.

In the same way that ADHD is very much agreed to be over diagnosed, do you believe bipolar might also be over diagnosed? I have seen family members conditions worsen after treatment(which may just be a coincidence), or maybe the inadequacy and/or causation of treatment.

bipolar is under diagnosed 70% of people with bipolar disorder get never diagnosed or misdiagnosed as depressive.

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

#60

Post by aoner »

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 disorder on using medication. When do you recommend it and what do you recommend? What would you recommend my friend to do?
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