Bipolar 2 diagnosis in my 30s.

Hi @MG_bp2 🙂

I'm truly sorry to hear about how you have been feeling. It takes a lot of strength to reach out, so I want to thank you for sharing your story.

I also want to acknowledge the depth of your journey and your resilience in navigating through everything. It sounds like you've been through a lot, and it's completely understandable to feel overwhelmed and uncertain upon receiving a diagnosis that feels like a shift in your understanding of yourself and your future.

The feeling of a life sentence that you described is valid, but I want to reassure you that a diagnosis is just a part of your story, not the entirety of it. I know it might not feel like it at this time but it doesn't define you or dictate your entire life. It's a part of you but not all of you.

Accepting a diagnosis like this can be a long and winding road, filled with ups and downs. It's okay to feel the weight of it all and to mourn the loss of the future you envisioned. But please know that there is still room for hope and growth, even within the confines of a mental health diagnosis.

I encourage you to lean on support networks, both online and offline. Are you currently connected with any professional support?

Take things one day at a time, and be gentle with yourself. Sitting with you 💜

Hi @MG_bp2 , thank you for sharing about your experience and feelings.

I think it would be helpful for you to read about 'radical acceptance', this really helped me on my mental health journey.

https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/what-is-radical-acceptance/#:~:text=At%20its%20most%20basic%2C%20radical,reality%20includes%20pain%20or%20discomfort.

I think that your statement about not having children if you'd known about your diagnosis is really sad as it shows how much you have struggled with the condition but despite this I am sure you have many positive qualities that your children admire about you.

Can you think of any positives to having bi-polar?

Hey there @MG_bp2

I just wanted to pop in here and say that next week we have an upcoming Topic Tuesday that you might be interested in. We will be having a special guest who has lived experience of Bipolar and how they have navigated it throughout different phases and periods of their life. You're welcome to bring along any questions you may have about your own experiences too.

I'll link it here for you

If you are unable to make it on the night of the event, the resource will stay up as a thread that you can read through to gain some more insight if needed.

Hope to see you there,

Amber22

Hi @MG_bp2

It can hit you like a tonne of bricks, when you get that diagnosis. Looking back at all the events with a different perspective again 🩵

It's ok to grieve. It's ok to accept a known thing. Before you didn't really know. Now you do. If it makes you feel better, in 30-50 years, they'll probably have learnt so much more about the brain, and it might not even be what we think it is.. but who knows..? This is today.

Whenever you get worried, just think, "all the people who didn't know were pushing s%$# uphill. Now I'm pushing it uphill with a wheelbarrow" 😉

Sorry for the dark humour. It helps me with my stuff, and I hope it helps you with yours, but I don't mean any disrespect. There's a book called "Learning to be sick" by Toni Bernhard, it really helped me when I needed it. That and a tonne of inappropriate memes.

Thanks @amber22

I’ll see if I can join.

You are not alone @MG_bp2

We are all here to support you.

What are some things you are interested in?

Hi @Jasper_123,

Thanks for your response. I have heard about radical acceptance as I’ve dabbled a bit in Buddhism and it’s a concept that is mentioned there. I will check the article you shared.

Thank you for saying that. I feel constant disappointment in myself that I’m not able to be the mother my children deserve. They are young (5 and 😎 and I’m sure the childhood of dealing with a depressed mother has affected their development more than I even realise.

Sometimes people who have bipolar say it can help them be creative or artistic. I don’t have an artistic bone in my body so I can’t relate to anything positive.
The only thing good about hypomania for me is usually it’s gives me energy to clean a lot, reorganise and declutter. Other than that I just embarrass myself in social situations with excessive talking and waste a lot of money with reckless spending. For me, hypomania is only a few weeks a year, the rest of the time I’m stuck being depressed and I don’t see any huge benefits to that.

The only benefit I can think of is perhaps it’s given me greater empathy towards others as I’m a very sensitive person.

Thank you for your response.

I do have mental health care plan and a psychologist I’m seeing. I had an appointment booked this week. technically I am only supposed to work the equivalent of 4 days per week (I do a half day on Fridays) and I had an appointment booked for Friday afternoon after work. I have been asked by the CEO to present at a Board Meeting this Friday the exact time as my appointment. I spoke to the executive assistant to see if I could present at another time and I just can’t get out of it. My psychologists next free appointment is the 29 April which feels like a long time away.

I hope the forums are a source of support for you even while you are waiting for appointments. Radical acceptance is such an important skill @MG_bp2

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate.

Thank you.

Outside of work and parenting I just don’t feel like I have any time to do anything for enjoyment. I feel like I don’t have any proper interests or hobbies.

I signed up to do a half marathon in July, I thought it would get me out of a rut. I used to be into running before I had kids. I’ve started trying to run again and I have tired to go once a fortnight for the last couple of months. It hasn’t been enjoyable and I’ve hated every run so far (which is probably normal - I don’t think many people would find training for a half marathon enjoyable) haha.