Dealing with a bi-polar girlfriend.

[Engel]

Hello, I don't know if I said this before, may have mentioned in a post or two, but not really talked about it, but I am bipolar.


I sometimes have crises, and my SO is really patient with me, he doesn't mind my euphoric crises much, but the depressive ones are tough. I am trying a new medicine at the moment, but it makes me sleep 14 hours a day plus. and all medication my pshychiatrist gives me is like that, sometimes worst. So sometimes I just don't take the medicines. not wise, I know, but I feel drugged and sleepy and just not myself sometimes, so I give a break to be me again, per se.



I am trying the new medicine, and I hope the sleepy effect wears off after my body gets used to it. I just want to be a better person for me SO. I want to be the person I am when I am not having an episode.


Don't expect any advice or anything 9though it would be grand if you had it!), just needed to vent. He is always so patient with me, and I love him so much, that I wish I didnt have this bloody thing, and would make things easier on him.


I get more episodes when Im in Brazil, they get fewer and fewer when Im in Germany. Can love heal? lol


I dont know, the past days, Ive been sleeping a lot because of the medicine, and dizzy around the house. dont know what else to do.

---------- Post added at 08:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:02 PM ----------

Oh, even though my mood can change from mania to depressian quickly or have a mixed state, thanks God I dont have delusions and hallucinations.

Could always be worst, eh? :/

[Sunnyside193]

If he loves you it will be somthing he is willing to put up with. My stepdad also has bi-polar and my mum has also been willing to "put up with it"(not what I mean just couldnt word it better) As long as he knows it's soemthing you can't always control. But he sounds very happy to be there for you.

[Engel]

He is, I showed him what I posted here, and he said he does his best and just wants me to be happy, and if he makes me happy, it makes him even happier, lol


he understands i cant always control it, but i do try my best. we worked it on a way that sometimes i ask for 5 minutes, that can be 10, 15 mnutes, to calm down, and them i get back to normal and go back to talking to him. this seems to work. so i wont say things when i cant think propperly or know im not my normal self

[Minerva]

I'm not bipolar, but I have my own mental issues that cause deep emotional lows, and in the past I've been pretty irrational. I HATE meds -- the two I've tried put weight on me overnight, and the second one made me feel more unstable than before I was on it.

My SO is the strongest man I've ever known. What can I say? He is gentle and kind with me when I feel fragile, gives me space when I'm overwhelmed, and cheers me when I do better. I trust him completely, and he's taken years to earn that trust, and he's gained it by never letting me down.

What helps most is what he says when I'm at my lowest: "we'll get through this." He makes me feel like we're in this together, that it's not my struggles and the guy who loves me putting up with them -- it's the two of us together against my illness.

What also helps is that he leans on me when he needs support too. I think at first he never wanted to burden me, but it helps me to help him. Makes me feel like more of a partner to him than just a headcase.

[Engel]

I'm not bipolar, but I have my own mental issues that cause deep emotional lows, and in the past I've been pretty irrational. I HATE meds -- the two I've tried put weight on me overnight, and the second one made me feel more unstable than before I was on it.

My SO is the strongest man I've ever known. What can I say? He is gentle and kind with me when I feel fragile, gives me space when I'm overwhelmed, and cheers me when I do better. I trust him completely, and he's taken years to earn that trust, and he's gained it by never letting me down.

What helps most is what he says when I'm at my lowest: "we'll get through this." He makes me feel like we're in this together, that it's not my struggles and the guy who loves me putting up with them -- it's the two of us together against my illness.

What also helps is that he leans on me when he needs support too. I think at first he never wanted to burden me, but it helps me to help him. Makes me feel like more of a partner to him than just a headcase.

that is beautiful, thank you for sharing! yes, some meds made me gain on weight, what made me feel even more depressed and take longer to recover when getting on a depressive state.


and i also try and help my SO whwnever he needs, so I guess it makes me feel less guilty for him having to deal with that i guess. cant help feeling a little guilty sometimes, though. even though i know its not something I chose for myself.

[garnet]

My father is bipolar, and my mother would have stayed with him forever had he not cheated and left. She stuck through his highs and lows because she wanted to. She never felt like it was anything extraordinary. She was with who she wanted to be with, that was all. For some people, it just doesn't matter. It's awesome your bf is one of them.

As for the tired, have you tried anything like provigil to help you stay awake? I'm on klonopin up the wazoo and it's the only way I can stay awake to care for my son.

[lucybelle]

My sister's best friend is bipolar to the extreme. But her husband totally balances her out. He's calm and collective and loves her to death.

Everyone has their own quirks. You need to find someone who loves you because of them, not in spite of them. And it seems like you have.

[Caitlin2009]

i dont have bi polar but i do have ADD and for the most part Denise is very patient with me because she knows i cant help what flies out of my mouth, or that my memory really sucks, or that i learn a different way and it sometimes takes a few minutes of explaining something to me before i get it. no matter how long it takes she'll help me understand it until i get it and to me thats the most amazing thing about her. your boyfriend was meant for you because he knows what to look out for and what to do, and have some patience with it and it maybe rough at times but he loves every part of you including your bi polar

[Engel]

My father is bipolar, and my mother would have stayed with him forever had he not cheated and left. She stuck through his highs and lows because she wanted to. She never felt like it was anything extraordinary. She was with who she wanted to be with, that was all. For some people, it just doesn't matter. It's awesome your bf is one of them.

As for the tired, have you tried anything like provigil to help you stay awake? I'm on klonopin up the wazoo and it's the only way I can stay awake to care for my son.

I never heard of those medicines. funny thing is, i have imsomnia when im not on the meds, and sleep a lot when im on them. i never thought it would come the day i would look at meds to keep me awake instead of sleeing pills! haha

but thank you so much, i will take note of those meds and take them to my pshychiatrist!

and thanks for the lovely comment about sometimes not being as huge a deal as it may seem to me for me

---------- Post added at 04:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------

My sister's best friend is bipolar to the extreme. But her husband totally balances her out. He's calm and collective and loves her to death.

Everyone has their own quirks. You need to find someone who loves you because of them, not in spite of them. And it seems like you have.

yes I have. I consider myself very lucky. my SO is usually very calm, doesnt drink much or anything, so he really balances me, my mother thinks he is the best good influence Ive ever had in my whole life! haha

---------- Post added at 04:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 PM ----------

i dont have bi polar but i do have ADD and for the most part Denise is very patient with me because she knows i cant help what flies out of my mouth, or that my memory really sucks, or that i learn a different way and it sometimes takes a few minutes of explaining something to me before i get it. no matter how long it takes she'll help me understand it until i get it and to me thats the most amazing thing about her. your boyfriend was meant for you because he knows what to look out for and what to do, and have some patience with it and it maybe rough at times but he loves every part of you including your bi polar

thank you so much, we are both lucky ladies for having such lovng SO's. <3

[xnavylovex118]

My sister-in-law is bi-polar. My brother says patience is a complete virtue when she has her, what she calls, episodes.
She talks very openly about it, and really brought a wide understanding of what triggers her to have her moods change, and it's really stress. Ever since she married my brother she says that she's been a lot more level headed because he balances her, and is really comforting when it comes to her moods.
That could really have a lot to do with why you feel so much better in Germany is for the fact that you have someone who makes you feel secure with everything.

[Chris516]

My (ex)fiance is Bi-Polar II(she claims). But other mental health professionals I had talked to that either knew her or knew of her, told me that they felt she was Borderline(Personality Disorder). She even told me once before we met(after three months of being in an LDR with her), that she was Bi-Polar, not Borderline, as she had been diagnosed.

[Black_Halloween]

My boyfriend is bi-polar. He'll have his good months then he'll just sink into his depression. It makes me feel so helpless, being so far away. All I want is for him to be happy. <3

[alittlemind]

Between my boyfriend and I, we have quite a list of mental illness. I don't have bipolar disorder, but I do have something called Cyclothymia, which is like bipolar's little sister. Along with this is a Social Anxiety Disorder, as well as a General Anxiety Disorder, and Hypochondria. Those are my diagnosed mental illnesses. My boyfriend has Tourette's Syndrome, ADD, and a mild form of OCD, as well as depressive episodes. We're an interesting pair, to say the least. We help each other along, though. He was the one who helped me not be scared of going to school, and I helped him through his depression and self-harm. It's definitely harder now that we're apart, but I keep reminding myself this is only for a short time, compared to the rest of our lives.