Affective disorders: depression, bipolar, etc.

I'm starting this to be what I HOPE is an educational thread. As a person who has had to cope with bipolar disorder for many years, I have always sought out information that would help me make the best decisions for my own medical treatment, and to make my life worthwhile (to me, if to no one else).

I think affective (mood) disorders are grossly misunderstood, in general. I hope to open up some discussion here that will make for better understanding. (Yes, that means I'm hoping to gain some support for what I think/know. But I also want to see what I can learn here.)

For starters: There is a book that I credit with saving my life--because I was so close to suicide, & it gave me hope & understanding & methods of coping. That book is Overcoming Depression, by Demitri Papolos (psychiatrist) & Janice Papolos (freelance journalist & the wife of Demitri). I agree with Robert M.A. Hirschfeld, M.D., chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texan at Galveston, who said: "This is the best book on depression for general audiences that I have ever seen . . ."

The point that seems to be hardest to explain to those who haven't "been there" about depression is that it is FAR beyond what most people experience after a traumatic experience. We've all had our own awful things to deal with: the death of a loved one, the loss of someone or something vital to us, things that require us to totally redefine who we are. But there is another element to depression (as a medical condition) that is much harder to explain to anyone who hasn't been there.

From the book: When a person experiences some major disappointment in a career or relationship, the loss is usually followed by a few days of sadness, withdrawal, sleep disturbance, & anxiety, but it is not long before the normal mood is reestablished & the person regroups & goes on with life. When, however, the depressed mood persists, the isolation from others continues, & the individual loses a sense of pleasure & meaning in life & begins to develop physical symptoms such as loss of appetite, a marked interruption in the regular sleep cycle, & a marked decrease in the ordinary level of activity, these signs signal the onset of a CLINICAL DEPRESSION. The person has moved across the boundaries that demarcate normal mood fluctuations to a medical condition. (It should be noted that the clinical syndrome of depression can present itself without any noticeable precipitants such as loss or disappointment.)

This is the first point I hope to make: a clinical (medical) depression is NOT the same as a "normal mood fluctuation." There is a hopelessness & distortion of reality that persists despite any efforts to either ignore it or overcome it.

I am neither lazy nor stupid. But I have been incapacitated at several times in my life by this sense of hopelessness--that generally had no basis in reality.

Please do jump in with observations, questions, whatever.

 

I have several very brilliant friends who are bi-polar. One's a CPA and recounts to me how, as she's been in therapy, how so many things she's thought of as "normal" weren't. (3 day work binges, for instance..)

 

It continues to amaze me how many brilliant, creative people have also suffered from depression or bipolar disorders.

My personal opinion is that both of those illnesses predispose people to being incredibly sensitive (people who feel more deeply than average); & that has a tremendous effect upon their creative work, & how it resonates with those who experience it.

 

wow.. that's cool to know. I find that the only time i'm not depressed is when i'm doing things that are creative. that's for sure.

 

I've delt with depression now for about four years and have never really recovered. I used to think people who claimed depression were just lazy and weak cause I had never experienced anything like it. It is hard to overcome especially for me because I am lazy and weak.

 

AK- Have you ever heard of the diagnosis Bipolar II? It's not the extreme high and lows of Bipolar but the person's mood varies more than the 'normal' person's mood.

 

Yes--that's my diagnosis, actually. My manic phases are relatively mild compared to what some people experience; & they are much easier to control than the depressive episodes.

My lows have always been extremely low; & they tend to last much longer than the highs. My longest manic episode lasted about 2 months. The longest severe depression? Almost 3 fucking years.

I sorta felt I was getting shit by having the "highs" not last nearly as long as the "lows." J/K. The highs DO feel damn good at first; but it disintegrates rapidly into frustration & anger.

 

Others claim "just suck it up at work at it"... well, the analogy was like working out. You have to get through the pain to make a difference. While that may be true, you don't work your biceps 7 days a week, you need to give the rip time to heal and get stronger. Same with the mind. It can't be overworked for long periods of time. It needs some healing time too.

 

Ever tried Depakote/Depakene?

 

Yes--it was a HORRIBLE experience for me, although I've know others who have done very well on it. For me the physical side effects were terrible, & there was no improvement whatsoever in the mood swings. Yet other people I've known have had very good results with it.

That's such a bizarre thing with all mood-stabilizing drugs (that I'm aware of). There can be such widely varying effects, depending on the individual.

I also had a very bad experience with Prozac, & know others who swear by it.

So much of treating affective disorders with medication seems to be trial & error. I don't know of any definitive way to predict how any person will react to a particular drug.

I'm just grateful that there are multiple options. If A doesn't work, B might.