Need someone with BD type 2 to chat

Hey Sheryne. Sorry to hear you are struggling. I was diagnosed bipolar 2 with mixed features back in 2010. I have been really struggling with it lately too. I am probably not be the best one to give advice on how to accept the diagnosis and manage it. I am currently on the fence about going to get proper help again. I know deep down going to see a psychiatrist and then start up therapy again is the best course of action. I have been there before and it really helped. But at the same time I am super scared to do so. Idk why I'm so resistant to it when I know its the right thing to do and would advise everyone else do it to. (I could go on and on about going to get help and why I'm hesitant to do so.... thats about all I've been thinking about this past month.) Anyway...so while I may not best the on how to manage bipolar....I have lived with it for over a decade and can probably relate to what experiences your going through. For me it is very helpful knowing that I'm not crazy, I'm not making this up, it's not just having a bad day and we can just snap out of it. For me it's helpful to hear that my feelings, emotions, and experiences are valid and real in a world of chaos. There are so many people out there in the world that don't know you....but they know your story, they can relate to your experiences, and they are there to support you when build up the courage to ask for it. Which you have done...thats a big scary step to take. (At least for me it is) So congratulations to you for doing it. I don't know you. But I support you, and firmly believe that our lives are worth living, wonderful and beautiful, even among the chaos and darkness that can plague our minds.

@sheryne Hey! I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 last year at 21 and know exactly how isolating and heavy it can feel. No one in my family has a history of mental illness, and prior to my diagnosis, I knew nothing about Bipolar Disorder. I've been through it all over the past year. My first manic episode, psychosis, an involuntary hospitalisation, being in two psychiatric wards and losing myself entirely. I wasn't aware of how much trauma I have from the experience, but it's something I'm still trying to work through. I have a psychiatrist and a psychologist, a supportive group of friends and two very lovely parents, but it's still not enough. This disorder pulls the rug from right under your feet. It leaves you absolutely disgusted with yourself, buries insecurities deep in your soul and shuts the gates to your heart. I was so against psychiatry and being on medication prior to my hospitalisation, but I had no choice. I was forced onto them, tried so many until they found the right mix. The side-effects are painful. Drowsiness, sleeping too much, body aches, sedation, insomnia – it goes on. No one around me has this disorder, and though my friends and family can offer their empathy and kindness, no one can truly understand what it means to lose yourself. When I was manic, I became a different person entirely. I was more confident, exuberant, flirtatious, needy and obsessive than I'd ever been. I experienced such a pure state of euphoria, it was like reverting back to childhood. It lasted for two weeks. I had theories on how the world worked, on what happened after we died, I thought my mood controlled the weather and by the end of it all, I thought I lived in a simulation and I was a messiah. I messaged so many people, people I wasn't even that close with and said things I now regret. No one prepares you for the comedown from mania. It feels like being in a vacuum – no air, no gravity, nothing to support you. I felt so much remorse and guilt, I couldn't even bear to look at my own reflection. I withdrew from everyone, forgot how to speak to people, even those closest to me. I would spend more hours asleep than awake. Through it all, I remembered everything I'd done and said while I was manic, and it would play in my head, like a roll of film, day-in and day-out. I was at the mercy of my thoughts. I'd never felt more alone. The only way to work through the shame and stigma of the illness is to let yourself experience it. There is no guide-book, no one to hold your hand. Eventually you learn to step up and be there for yourself. Time helps, so does being on the right medication. Meds won't solve all your problems, but they will put you in the right state of mind to solve them yourself. It's been almost a year since my diagnosis, and I'm still trying to come to terms with everything, but I will say I am in a much better place than I was last year. I didn't choose this illness, neither did you. No one is to blame. I think in this lifetime, I want to learn as much as I can from it. You will live a life so much richer than you can imagine. You will be put in predicaments you can't even imagine, and you will get yourself through it. You will learn to handle life's knocks, and become so much more resilient for it.
Sorry if it's all a bit rambly, I have many thoughts about Bipolar! Happy to talk more, hope my words resonate :)

Hello there, I'm BP 2 but I my experience has been different, it could be because in top of everything I have Chronic Depression, so I have "normal" no so much a maniac state and I have downs, downs so bad that well, I don't know if downs are "normal downs" or worse for the depression, I have been better, thanks to medications... We can talk... If you wish, let me know, I check this app regularly

Hey @sheryne I'm so sorry that you're struggling right now. I'm 29 and I got diagnosed when I was 18, though I really only started to take it seriously last year. I'm here if you have any questions or just need to chat ❤️