Any people with bipolar disorder here?

[LSD-Rumi]

I was recently diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder after suffering a chronic type of depression and some short episodes of hypomania. My mood is very liable and I am semi-depressed. Any tips on how you deal with your disease? I am on 400 mg of lamotrigine and 150mg of effexor.

Thanks

[integral]

Have you tried intensive exercise every time you feel off? I know its hard to feel motivated to do stuff like when in a mood. Exercise completely changes all the hormones in the body. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by integral

[LSD-Rumi]

@Enlightement  Stimulants seem to help me a lot. I don't have a problem with mania, my problem is with depression, it turns me into the worst version of myself.

[LSD-Rumi]

@Enlightement I get depressed quite often and become dysfunctional. I lose all my energy, motivation, and confidence and I become quite sensitive and suicidal. These days my mood is very liable and but still depression is the main theme.

The only thing that really helped me was PCP (3-meo PCE, to be accurate), but I don't have it right now. It was magic, it healed me from everything, From OCD to depression and anxiety.

[integral]

@LSD-Rumi Have you ever exercised? 

[LSD-Rumi]

@integral haha, yeah of course.

Bipolar depression is not like any ordinary depression, even antidepressants fail in treating it. Nothing works really. I have tried everything, excersie, Meditation, personal development, spirituality. Nothing worked except for dissociatives and this medication called lamotrigine. Bipolar depression is a different beast, the last 5 years of my life went trying treating it.

Edited July 1, 2023 by LSD-Rumi

[integral]

@LSD-Rumi Ah i understand, im curious of how the body responds to intense exercise when in the grip of bipolar depression? Do you remain in a depressed state for the entire workout hour and when you lie down to rest your still fully depressed with no motivation? Or is there a small "wake up" then quickly you go back to depression an hour after exercise is over? What does the depression curve look like? 

Edited July 1, 2023 by integral

[LSD-Rumi]

@integral I hit the gym a couple of times for a month or so, it give me a mild relief of symptoms but nothing significant.

[Schizophonia]

Can bipolar disorder be on very short cycles? Like a few hours to a few days?

[Michael569]

On 01/07/2023 at 8:59 PM, LSD-Rumi said:

I hit the gym a couple of times for a month or so, it give me a mild relief of symptoms but nothing significant.

It needs to be 4-6 times a week for to feel a significant difference. The neuroplastic effects of weight-bearing exercise are sooooo underappreciated man. People have cured their depressions, their anxities and panic disorders doing this. 

I've had guys with depression, panic disorders, MS, PTSD, RA and all sorts of other chronic conditions and all of them started improving the moment they introduced serious physical activity. 

Not everyone will but few times a month is not enough. If you are on meds that help you stabilise your mood then you need to use that and get your ass back to the gym and lift as if your life depended on it....I know that's some serious David Goggin bro trash talk but trust me on this. Give it 3 months of high intensity. 

There is so much research on depression (including BD) in relation to exercise and how people are just exponentially improving from doing this a few times a week. And I'm not even talking about the anecdotal evidence from guys all around the world. 

Ofcourse when you feel the lowest you can't but if the meds help keep you stable make the most of that stability to work on your neuroplasticity. 

While you do that, keep working on your mindfulness, building positive habits, healthy diet, keep taking your meds , optimise your vitamin D and Omega 3 status, work on your gut health & microbiota diversity and all of that but you gotta be active as hell. There is just no way around it. The mind-body-skeletal muscle connection might even be more powerful than the whole overrated HPA axis when it comes to mental health. 

The benefits stack up so you don't feel it early on but you will in a while. At this point its not about becoming big and bulky, that's like the least interesting thing. Its about the systemic effect of this. Think of each exercise session as if you just injected a gigantic dose of nootropic cocktail right into your spinal cord. Nothing out there can match the cognitive and psychological benefits of it - no amount of nootropics from China come even 5% close to what this stuff does to your brain. The deeper I dig in the literature the more my mind is being blown away. 

Also, I saw you raise a post on alcohol - I know it was experimental but don't you dare walk down that path!!! 

Basically with mental health, you can't afford to just do nothing. Even if you are on meds. The meds are there to lift same way the car mechanic uses the hydraulic machine to lift the car so that he can look underneath and fix the real issue. 

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by Michael569

[LSD-Rumi]

@Michael569 Sounds interesting. But weight lifitng makes my muscle sore and uncomfortable, is not cardio enough? 

 

[Michael569]

@LSD-Rumi give it time, the soreness dissapears about 2 weeks in once your muscles get a bit more accustomed.

From experience I'll say cardio is nice and good for your cardiopulmonary system but not enough for cognitive/ mental health 

[LSD-Rumi]

@Michael569 Thanks Michael, I really hate gyms, but I will see if I can force myself to go 

[Wyeth]

what everyone else is saying about exercise is extremely accurate. It is the #1 most important habit for keeping the depression away. I am not diagnosed but bipolar is common within my family and I usually go through at least one depressive spell and one hypomanic episode per year. I have gotten very good at fighting the depression, ever since I found my life purpose and began the process of actualizing it along with working out 3-5x a week I pretty much never get depressed anymore, whereas before I would become suicidally depressed in my episodes when I felt no purpose in life, was not working out, and had bad routines and habits. 

I would be curious to know what your hypomanias are like? These are the episodes that have the potential to be harmful if you aren't aware what can trigger it and when it is coming on.

[Yimpa]

I do not, I have ADHD and OCD.

[Brandon Nankivell]

Very familiar with it. Grew up with a bipolar mother, saw her deeply depressed for years in total. Another close loved one has it, have been the one to aid them during manic episodes etc, seen it all. Experienced some severe depression myself but not bipolar related. It's an ongoing thing I am dedicated to helping my loved ones conquer. From my observations, direct experience, and current understanding:

• Want to not be depressed
• Run every day for weeks for 15 minutes like your life depends on it
• Have a small goal for each day, small steps

 

[Inliytened1]

On 7/5/2023 at 3:11 PM, LSD-Rumi said:

@Michael569 Thanks Michael, I really hate gyms, but I will see if I can force myself to go 

I would add 4 sauna sessions a week to this regiment ?

[Carl-Richard]

3 hours ago, Inliytened1 said:

I would add 4 sauna sessions a week to this regiment ?

I do 15 minutes of sauna at the end of my gym sessions, so 3.5 times a week, and it really puts the cherry on top.

[Inliytened1]

1 hour ago, Carl-Richard said:

I do 15 minutes of sauna at the end of my gym sessions, so 3.5 times a week, and it really puts the cherry on top.

Nice

 

[Yimpa]

Whatever mental disorder you have, don’t let it define you absolutely. You can still have mental disorder without letting it rule over you. You can also work on your disorder from a more nuanced perspective. 

I see the beauty in the disorder