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sunshower
Ethereality
Joined: Aug 18, 2006
Age: 113
Posts: 4379
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 Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 5:11 pm Post subject: Bipolar/Aspergers support and chat thread |
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Hi all! I've noticed there are a lot of us on here, and thus a lot of repeat thread postings, so I thought maybe I'd try creating a special thread for us to communicate with each other, seek advice, and so forth.
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TeaEarlGreyHot
Your Maya
Joined: Jul 05, 2010
Age: 30
Posts: 28106
Location: California
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 7:45 am Post subject: |
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*peeks in*
I think I'm slowly going mad.
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Hal420
Hummingbird
Joined: Dec 02, 2011
Posts: 21
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Here I am. New to this world here, age 26, diagnosed with bipolar type I in 2004 and self-diagnosed Asperger one month ago. Asperger explained why my ADD treatment went so wrong and I had this bizarre social problems. I also have diagnosed general anxiety disorder and social phobia. Was searching for other autistic bipolar people. The natural bipolar people seem to exist on a different planet where I do not belong. |
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sunshower
Ethereality
Joined: Aug 18, 2006
Age: 113
Posts: 4379
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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| TeaEarlGreyHot wrote: | *peeks in*
I think I'm slowly going mad. |
It's too late, I'm already there. 
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sunshower
Ethereality
Joined: Aug 18, 2006
Age: 113
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Hal420 wrote: | | Here I am. New to this world here, age 26, diagnosed with bipolar type I in 2004 and self-diagnosed Asperger one month ago. Asperger explained why my ADD treatment went so wrong and I had this bizarre social problems. I also have diagnosed general anxiety disorder and social phobia. Was searching for other autistic bipolar people. The natural bipolar people seem to exist on a different planet where I do not belong. |
Welcome!  Other bipolar/AS people have said the same, although I am newly diagnosed bipolar and I've never actually met any straight bipolar people. Except maybe my mum who we suspect may have undiagnosed bipolar (she is definitely NT). When she swings she has a tendency to be extremely manipulative and verbally abusive - sometimes borderline sociopathic - but with NO insight whatsoever (she is downright delusional). To clarify, my mum is a very loving and truly wonderful person who has this come over her once every few years, like a sickness, and I have learned to not hold her responsible for her actions during this time (zero insight/delusional).
I however am currently an ultra ultra rapid cycler (several times a day), although this is not actually the difference between us. When I cycle I become extremely childlike - either on a "red cordial" high or curled up in a corner crying/hating myself/wanting to die low. Very occasionally I get bursts of anger but they present similar to a meltdown where I'm crying, quickly becoming incoherent, and rocking. The manipulativeness just doesn't happen. In fact, when I swing I seem LESS manipulative than usual and more like pure emotion. Its like I become more autistic.
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TallyMan
Rebooting
Joined: Mar 31, 2008
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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Just chipping in and saying 'Hi'. I don't have bipolar but cyclothymia - its more gentle cousin so I can relate to what a number of people have said about bipolar in this forum. The main difference seems to be that I don't have any hallucinations or delusional thinking. There can be a small element of paranoia sometimes, but it isn't significant and I am usually aware when such thoughts enter my head and can generally dismiss them. The main area of common ground between cyclothymia and bipolar seems to be the swings in mood from high to low, sometimes with very little or no trigger. By mood swings I don't mean I'm a moody person - I dislike people who are friendly one time and hostile another, can't cope with people like that. I'm not a "moody person". What I personally mean by mood swings is more a matter of optimism / pessimism. I can be full of enthusiasm and loving life, dynamic and quite chatty; then suddenly I'm almost suicidally low, full of pessimism and getting no joy out of anything in life. The swings can sometimes occur several times a day, but generally last several days or even weeks in each cycle.
I don't generally take any medication but my doctor prescribed veratran clotiazepam as a mood stabiliser which seems to work quite quickly but also fades fairly quickly too. I'm trying to only take it now if I'm going into a down cycle. Is anyone else familiar with this drug?
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Angel_ryan
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 20, 2010
Age: 24
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Location: Ontario Canada
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Hal420 wrote: | | Was searching for other autistic bipolar people. The natural bipolar people seem to exist on a different planet where I do not belong. |
I feel the same
| sunshower wrote: |
Welcome! alien Other bipolar/AS people have said the same, although I am newly diagnosed bipolar and I've never actually met any straight bipolar people. Except maybe my mum who we suspect may have undiagnosed bipolar (she is definitely NT). When she swings she has a tendency to be extremely manipulative and verbally abusive - sometimes borderline sociopathic - but with NO insight whatsoever (she is downright delusional). To clarify, my mum is a very loving and truly wonderful person who has this come over her once every few years, like a sickness, and I have learned to not hold her responsible for her actions during this time (zero insight/delusional).
I however am currently an ultra ultra rapid cycler (several times a day), although this is not actually the difference between us. When I cycle I become extremely childlike - either on a "red cordial" high or curled up in a corner crying/hating myself/wanting to die low. Very occasionally I get bursts of anger but they present similar to a meltdown where I'm crying, quickly becoming incoherent, and rocking. The manipulativeness just doesn't happen. In fact, when I swing I seem LESS manipulative than usual and more like pure emotion. Its like I become more autistic. |
My mom is pretty crazy too. She's very verbally abusive and hates it when I have sensory overload. She doesn't stop yelling at me when I beg her to stop or when I shut down completely. I'd be able to manage it better if I got away from her but it's hard to do with my LDs and depression. I also cycle very rapidly as well. I don't experience complete detachment from reality so I have insight into my delusions/paranoia. I'm usually depressed or sometimes hypo manic. |
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TeaEarlGreyHot
Your Maya
Joined: Jul 05, 2010
Age: 30
Posts: 28106
Location: California
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 1:22 am Post subject: |
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| sunshower wrote: | | TeaEarlGreyHot wrote: | *peeks in*
I think I'm slowly going mad. |
It's too late, I'm already there. |
Sadly, I was being very serious here. Bad manic episode. 
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TeaEarlGreyHot
Your Maya
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Age: 30
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Location: California
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 1:23 am Post subject: |
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| TallyMan wrote: | Just chipping in and saying 'Hi'. I don't have bipolar but cyclothymia - its more gentle cousin so I can relate to what a number of people have said about bipolar in this forum. The main difference seems to be that I don't have any hallucinations or delusional thinking. There can be a small element of paranoia sometimes, but it isn't significant and I am usually aware when such thoughts enter my head and can generally dismiss them. The main area of common ground between cyclothymia and bipolar seems to be the swings in mood from high to low, sometimes with very little or no trigger. By mood swings I don't mean I'm a moody person - I dislike people who are friendly one time and hostile another, can't cope with people like that. I'm not a "moody person". What I personally mean by mood swings is more a matter of optimism / pessimism. I can be full of enthusiasm and loving life, dynamic and quite chatty; then suddenly I'm almost suicidally low, full of pessimism and getting no joy out of anything in life. The swings can sometimes occur several times a day, but generally last several days or even weeks in each cycle.
I don't generally take any medication but my doctor prescribed veratran clotiazepam as a mood stabiliser which seems to work quite quickly but also fades fairly quickly too. I'm trying to only take it now if I'm going into a down cycle. Is anyone else familiar with this drug? |
This sounds like Bipolar type 2.
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TallyMan
Rebooting
Joined: Mar 31, 2008
Posts: 36766
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:07 am Post subject: |
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| TeaEarlGreyHot wrote: | | TallyMan wrote: | Just chipping in and saying 'Hi'. I don't have bipolar but cyclothymia - its more gentle cousin so I can relate to what a number of people have said about bipolar in this forum. The main difference seems to be that I don't have any hallucinations or delusional thinking. There can be a small element of paranoia sometimes, but it isn't significant and I am usually aware when such thoughts enter my head and can generally dismiss them. The main area of common ground between cyclothymia and bipolar seems to be the swings in mood from high to low, sometimes with very little or no trigger. By mood swings I don't mean I'm a moody person - I dislike people who are friendly one time and hostile another, can't cope with people like that. I'm not a "moody person". What I personally mean by mood swings is more a matter of optimism / pessimism. I can be full of enthusiasm and loving life, dynamic and quite chatty; then suddenly I'm almost suicidally low, full of pessimism and getting no joy out of anything in life. The swings can sometimes occur several times a day, but generally last several days or even weeks in each cycle.
I don't generally take any medication but my doctor prescribed veratran clotiazepam as a mood stabiliser which seems to work quite quickly but also fades fairly quickly too. I'm trying to only take it now if I'm going into a down cycle. Is anyone else familiar with this drug? |
This sounds like Bipolar type 2. |
I'm no expert but I get the impression they are very similar; the main difference being that the bipolar highs and lows are generally more profound than with cyclothymia. They do appear to be on a continuum though.
People with cyclothymia can sometimes go on to develop bipolar type 2.
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TeaEarlGreyHot
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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That's quite interesting, TallyMan. Thank you.
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sunshower
Ethereality
Joined: Aug 18, 2006
Age: 113
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry - had a lot of hypomania lately so I'm a regular joker
| TeaEarlGreyHot wrote: | | That's quite interesting, TallyMan. Thank you. |
The difference between Bipolar 2 and Cyclothymia is that to have Bipolar 2 you have to have experienced at least one episode of clinical major depression, whereas for Cylothymia the depression doesn't meet full criteria for that. Otherwise they are the same.
I have the Bipolar 2 diagnosis as I have been professionally diagnosed with having at least one Major Depression episode in the past.
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TallyMan
Rebooting
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| sunshower wrote: | Sorry - had a lot of hypomania lately so I'm a regular joker
| TeaEarlGreyHot wrote: | | That's quite interesting, TallyMan. Thank you. |
The difference between Bipolar 2 and Cyclothymia is that to have Bipolar 2 you have to have experienced at least one episode of clinical major depression, whereas for Cylothymia the depression doesn't meet full criteria for that. Otherwise they are the same.
I have the Bipolar 2 diagnosis as I have been professionally diagnosed with having at least one Major Depression episode in the past. |
I get the impression that the difference between cyclothymia and bipolar 2 is somewhat artificial as they seem to be on a continuum rather than distinct and differ only in severity. I've had bouts of depression all my life, but I don't think they were severe enough / long enough to be described as being a "major depression episode" as I read the definition of it anyway. One thing I read today did disturb me; apparently 50% of people with cyclothymia go on to develop full blown bipolar 2.
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sunshower
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| TallyMan wrote: | | sunshower wrote: | Sorry - had a lot of hypomania lately so I'm a regular joker
| TeaEarlGreyHot wrote: | | That's quite interesting, TallyMan. Thank you. |
The difference between Bipolar 2 and Cyclothymia is that to have Bipolar 2 you have to have experienced at least one episode of clinical major depression, whereas for Cylothymia the depression doesn't meet full criteria for that. Otherwise they are the same.
I have the Bipolar 2 diagnosis as I have been professionally diagnosed with having at least one Major Depression episode in the past. |
I get the impression that the difference between cyclothymia and bipolar 2 is somewhat artificial as they seem to be on a continuum rather than distinct and differ only in severity. I've had bouts of depression all my life, but I don't think they were severe enough / long enough to be described as being a "major depression episode" as I read the definition of it anyway. One thing I read today did disturb me; apparently 50% of people with cyclothymia go on to develop full blown bipolar 2. |
I don't know, I was just going by the DSM-IV. But I think that cyclothymia generally does not meet the criteria for full-blown bipolar due to the length of the episodes being too short as opposed to continuum severity, - but I wouldn't quote me on that as my copy of the DSM-IV is currently at my parents place, plus they're making drastic changes to the DSM next year anyway in the bipolar section because the current diagnostic criteria are simply contradictory and ineffectual.
I know in terms of myself that although I have developed ultra ultra rapid cycling this year and basically became an invalid for an entire year being cared for by my parents (which made me realize that yes, there was something severely wrong with me), prior to that I had been diagnosed with Major depression (I have experienced full blown episodes of major depression in the past) and now, looking back, I can isolate episodes of hypomania also (a classic example being "Swotvac" - the week before uni exams where everyone desperately tries to do their final revising. That one year for the entire week I was euphoric and high as a kite. I was so excited about studying I didn't even want to waste time eating or speaking to anybody, and I was so pumped and full of energy I went running several times a day every day.)
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Hal420
Hummingbird
Joined: Dec 02, 2011
Posts: 21
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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| TallyMan wrote: | | sunshower wrote: | Sorry - had a lot of hypomania lately so I'm a regular joker
| TeaEarlGreyHot wrote: | | That's quite interesting, TallyMan. Thank you. |
The difference between Bipolar 2 and Cyclothymia is that to have Bipolar 2 you have to have experienced at least one episode of clinical major depression, whereas for Cylothymia the depression doesn't meet full criteria for that. Otherwise they are the same.
I have the Bipolar 2 diagnosis as I have been professionally diagnosed with having at least one Major Depression episode in the past. |
I get the impression that the difference between cyclothymia and bipolar 2 is somewhat artificial as they seem to be on a continuum rather than distinct and differ only in severity. I've had bouts of depression all my life, but I don't think they were severe enough / long enough to be described as being a "major depression episode" as I read the definition of it anyway. One thing I read today did disturb me; apparently 50% of people with cyclothymia go on to develop full blown bipolar 2. |
The whole bipolar concept is artificial. It only can be seen as an continuum and science is doing that more and more. |
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