"The War On Drugs"

[Kid Dynamite 7029]

You're right on several fronts here. I would say that regular meditation, sleep hygiene, moderate exercise and diet are at least as important collectively as medication.

 

We are, as a society, extremely overmedicated in the west. And I would highly recommend exploring all other options available to people (as long as it's not life-or-death) before going the medical route. There's plenty of downsides to medicating.

 

Having said that, I wish someone had recognised and medicated my condition at 15. I spent a long time searching for answers, self-medicating, and ultimately living like a monk for a year before I accepted that maybe I needed to look into medication. My life has probably been dramatically worse than it needed to be due to attitudes to mental illness back then, and to a lesser extent now.

 

I think what you're experiencing here is called something like the fallacy of the beard. Basically you're seeing something that exists on a broad spectrum as the same thing because we don't really have a way to accurately measure the levels being experienced.

 

Let's talk about it in simpler terms. Some type II diabetics (who are still producing some insulin) could survive by adapting their diet and exercising, but they ultimately "choose" to enjoy their food and life the way they want to and take the pills/injections instead. Some other type IIs get away with lifestyle improvements. But there are also type I/plenty of type II diabetics who have to take insulin no matter how "good" they are.

 

As to how long I've been 'wrong in the head', it's complicated, but ultimately as long as I can remember.

 

Oh, and from the description of your own symptoms, I would highly recommend an immediate and heavy dose of ketamine.

Fuck the meds off, get some emotional regulation work done through primary care. Your GP can refer you.

 

There's debate over whether Bipolar Type 2 is even a proper diagnosis. That's not to belittle your suffering but does it really matter what label is attached to something? Mental Health doesn't fit into structured diagnostic boxes, you can have multiple parts of different diagnoses, it's all on a spectrum.

 

Did you have any particularly traumatic experiences as a kid? A bereavement, parents divorced etc? If your predisposed to a wider swing in moods than joe public and you chuck in some psychological trauma as youre growing up and learning to deal with your emotions/learning coping strategies it can chuck a spanner in the works as you get into adulthood.

 

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosocial_theory)

 

You can be taught to control your highs and lows to a certain degree though

[Dr Gloom 21924]

The drugs don't work, they just make you worse.

[adios 717]

Fuck the meds off, get some emotional regulation work done through primary care. Your GP can refer you.

 

There's debate over whether Bipolar Type 2 is even a proper diagnosis. That's not to belittle your suffering but does it really matter what label is attached to something? Mental Health doesn't fit into structured diagnostic boxes, you can have multiple parts of different diagnoses, it's all on a spectrum.

 

Did you have any particularly traumatic experiences as a kid? A bereavement, parents divorced etc? If your predisposed to a wider swing in moods than joe public and you chuck in some psychological trauma as youre growing up and learning to deal with your emotions/learning coping strategies it can chuck a spanner in the works as you get into adulthood.

 

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosocial_theory)

 

You can be taught to control your highs and lows to a certain degree though

Thanks for the advice, and the link.  I did a lot of talk therapy/CBT before I would even consider meds.  I think it had some value in clearing up what was/wasn't just chemistry, and I'm always open to new ways of dealing with it.

 

With meds, at best, if you're working with a wizard you mix up a cocktail that takes months of tailoring and then you get a few years of stability.   At least in my case.  But I will say I've just been through a few years that were better than I ever expected to be possible, so there's that.

 

And if parents' divorcing is to be classed as a traumatic experience, we're all pretty fucked.  It wasn't great, but it could have been a lot worse.

[ewerk 30611]

Irish parents divorcing? Wow, you must've been the butt of all the jokes at school.

 

But please go on to tell all your childhood traumas to internet randoms. FFS, J69.

[adios 717]

My parents were never married, can you imagine!

 

I'm happy to talk about it tbf, I feel sort of a responsibility to be open about it (but would rather not bore people to death either).

 

I'm just not really into bad-mouthing people when I've moved on anyway.

[Dr Gloom 21924]

My bother lives in the states, where they love their therapy, and he got into it bigly. Surprise surpise, our mother is apparently the root cause cause of all his problems. And yet I turned out perfectly sane. Baaaaaaaah.

[Rayvin 5223]

I wouldn't say perfectly sane...

[adios 717]

[Howmanheyman 33219]

Psychologist: "In my professional opinion, Mr Gloom, your need of fads like instant boiling water and buying segways despite being a grown man, indicates that your Mam saying, 'if you divvent tidy your bedroom you're going to end up in London when you're older being a tart and probably calling your mates 'guys' and rubbish like that' when you were six years old definitely had a significant impact on your adult life choices."

[adios 717]

How much do you charge for therapy and do you do DBT?

[Kevin Carr's Gloves 3894]

How much do you charge for therapy and do you do DBT?

I think he does DP.

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

Gloom's sudden use of capital letters is displaying a neediness that stems from childhood for sure

[adios 717]

I think he does DP.

I eagerly await @@Kid Dynamite's advice on whether or not that has therapeutic value.

[Dr Gloom 21924]

I'm taking full responsibility for the hover board

 

It's the blame culture in the states that winds me up about the yanks, whether it's therapy or litigation - it's always someone else's fault. A byproduct of their individualist, American dream bullshit.

 

We've all got our issues, my brother has more than most, but it's too easy to blame your parents for how you fucked up your own life. That's what people want to hear and too often what the shrinks are happy to confirm.

[adios 717]

I don't think that's just an American phenomenon anymore.

 

Free will is an illusion anyway, so it doesn't really make sense to assign blame.  Ultimately you figure out where you are and what the best route is to wherever you need to get.

 

Opening a can of worms there like.

[Kid Dynamite 7029]

How much do you charge for therapy and do you do DBT?

I trained in DBT for a year now you mention it

[Tooj 17]

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/music-festivals-poised-allow-revellers-061644766.html

[Tooj 17]

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2017/07/04/Doctors-to-research-MDMA-effects-on-curing-alcoholism/1841499148061/

[strawb 4251]

Haven't read the article and I know this is no joking matter but as soon as I drop,  alcohol tastes like shite to me. End up drinking Liptons usually

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

Smoke more tabs when you're off your lips though. 

[strawb 4251]

Gave them up when I got cancer mate so it's not a big issue for me

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

I'd happily double drop right now like, 95% certain I'm getting the boot next week

[strawb 4251]

Worse things happen at sea, maybe you can have a fight with your sisters bf again? See how that goes

[Kid Dynamite 7029]

3 hours ago, Tooj said:

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2017/07/04/Doctors-to-research-MDMA-effects-on-curing-alcoholism/1841499148061/

 

They need to do something. For all that mental health funding, or lack thereof, is big news these days they would save as much if not more money in the long term if they pumped funding into drug and alcohol services. Our acute medical ward is like a drunk tank most mornings

[Tooj 17]

Interesting to hear from somebody who sees this day to day.