Stress As a Scapegoat And Catalysts For Mania Posted: 06-12-07 12:19pm
Hi everyone
I am bipolar and when i recovered from a
serious bout of mania, the general
conclusion seemed to be that stress had
caused the mania. Claims that i was
working too hard and not relaxing led to
insomnia and then led to the symptoms of
mania, which, im sure some of you will
recognise, can be quite enjoyable!
But I would like to raise two points. The
first is regarding the way in which stress
is used to explain illness, in particular
BD. Long term chronic stress increases the
chances of many diseases, colds flus etc,
as well as increasing the likelihood of a
car accident, lowered self esteem etc.
What im tryin to say is - stress is what
the docs talk about when they are unsure
of the underlying factor.
Like I know there is something about me,
in my DNA which means i have BD. This
means, to me, that under certain
conditions (unknown) i will develop signs
of BD. It sounds bad to say that i cant
get stressed out or i have to take things
easy the rest of my life.What if,
hypothetically, i emigrated to a desert
island with lots of nice girls and food
and i lived here without stress...is there
no way in which i could get unwell again?
This leads on to my second point. The idea
that a good thing, a happy thing can cause
me to get unwell. Both time i have been
unwell (manic, psychotic, requiring
hospitalisation) i believe the initial
step was a good thing in my life. Like a
good thing happened to me, which made me
excited and this was maintained over a few
days, maybe weeks. Then, BD kicks in and i
start to feel elated for no real reason.
And before you know it, i have delusions
etc etc
So now what i have to do, is I have to
keep myself in check. lithium will maybe
help me do this. But when a really good
thing happens, i consciously play it down
in my head. Not let myself get carried
away.
Id love to hear if any of you have thought
about these ideas. I am fortunate in that
dont think i have ever suffered the
depressed side of BD. But for sure i know
that the manic side, while being enjoyable
in the early stages but disastrous at the
end, can be facilitated by a "happy
stress".
Thanks
Charlie
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JSG58
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 1
I Know... Posted: 06-25-07 10:08am
Hello Charlie
Yes, I know all abt the curse of "good
stress". What I've found
over time is that my "radar" for all of
this is more and more refined. Sometimes I
resent the fact that I can't be as
spontaneous as others because I need to be
alert to subtle shifts in energy and mood,
and that having too good a time can lead
to a very bad one. It stinks!
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Charlie Anderson
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 3
Posted: 06-25-07 10:32am
Hi JSG58, thanks very much for replying to
my post. I think my subject heading was a
bit off-putting!
But im glad you recognise what I mean.
That situation you may find yourself in,
with a group of people. You are being
funny, the centre of attention but not in
an irritating way, and you get more and
more excited by the fact that people like
you or laugh at your jokes.......before
you know it you are hopping from foot to
foot, almost dancing in front of them,
such is the energy inside? Then they look
at you as if you are from planet Mars, and
you make a mental note to yourself..Calm
Down, Dont talk for 5mins.....
I strongly believe that "good stress" is
what wiilll likely trigger a manic phase
with me. And i mean something as routine
as falling in love with someone, like
starting a relationship, that early
feeling where you are elated...waking up
early etc, so similar to the initial
stages of mania i think.....
So like yourself, i find myself stopping
myself now and then. Bringing myself down
to earth. But I dont mind this. I would
rather have control than it escalate into
something that leads me into hospital. I
am sorry that it makes you feel as if you
cant be spontaneous, i see what you mean.
But, just imagine for a second what the
opposite would be like? To never be
excited about something? To never smile
from ear to ear at the sound of an
excellent song or whatever.
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This page was last updated on June 11, 2008
What I've found
over time is that my "radar" for all of
this is more and more refined. Sometimes I
resent the fact that I can't be as
spontaneous as others because I need to be
alert to subtle shifts in energy and mood,
and that having too good a time can lead
to a very bad one. It stinks!