Conflicted about mood stabilizers

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Since my bipolar became apparent I've been able to observe my own mild manic phase lately, I'm more productive and ambitious with my art, more capable of optimism. On the down side I'm much more agitated and anxious, and I keep getting exhausted. This is also the kind of time I find I'm very easily amused and sing a lot, I actually have fun, albeit a sort of intense, nervous fun.

I feel like clinging so tightly to these rare 'ups' in my life. If they are in fact a mere manic phase, wouldn't taking medication meant to remove mania also remove my creativity, passion and fun?

I've been reading quite a few things saying that yes, people's creativity has been affected but you should still take meds on behalf of your family and loved ones, who are affected especially by your lows.

I'd say two huge aspects of what I'm about are:
I'm an artist
I love my family and hate burdening them.

I hate to think I have to choose on of the above

Now I'm on Depakine for mood stabilization and it makes me drowsy. However, my physician insists on prescribing it. My main problem is concentration and meds are not working for this issue so far. I'm also on Bupropion and Abilify. Anyway, I'm not sure I've given you an exact answer, sorry.

I don't trust the Psychiatric-Industry. I do not trust that the Psycho-Actives actually function as claimed. From my research, psycho-tropic drugs are addictively poisonous-substances, and whether your eating healthily or believe that you have any hope in your life has more to do with your emotions & mental-health. The way I view psycho-tropics is that they're like heroine/cocaine, sure, one can feel better under its influence, but that is more for stopping its withdrawal-symptoms, thus making it more indicative of an addiction to the drug rather than treating any real problems.

swashyrose wrote:

Since my bipolar became apparent I've been able to observe my own mild manic phase lately, I'm more productive and ambitious with my art, more capable of optimism. On the down side I'm much more agitated and anxious, and I keep getting exhausted. This is also the kind of time I find I'm very easily amused and sing a lot, I actually have fun, albeit a sort of intense, nervous fun.

I feel like clinging so tightly to these rare 'ups' in my life. If they are in fact a mere manic phase, wouldn't taking medication meant to remove mania also remove my creativity, passion and fun?

I've been reading quite a few things saying that yes, people's creativity has been affected but you should still take meds on behalf of your family and loved ones, who are affected especially by your lows.

I'd say two huge aspects of what I'm about are:
I'm an artist
I love my family and hate burdening them.

I hate to think I have to choose on of the above

You won't know until you give it a trial run. If you take the meds it's not forever if you don't want it to be. Your creativity may remain unaffected but your down moods may go away. There are many people on mood stabilizers that are thankful for them.

Ban-Dodger,

If those "withdrawal" symptoms are the same as those you had that got you put on the meds in the first place, then that is generally considered to be a return of the symptoms of the illness and not actual withdrawal symptoms.

Anyway, I recommend you read the blog below. It is by a psychiatrist who I think can validate your beliefs regarding bad practices in psychiatry, but who ultimately rejects antipsychiatry.

http://davidmallenmd.blogspot.com

Your physician (as are most if not all promoters of mind-altering psycho-actives) is ignorant.

I got something to add that I've recently come across...