Bipolar Disorder: 7 Things We Might Not Tell You!

[Music] today I'd like to talk about seven things people with bipolar disorder don't tell everyone things we might not want you to know I'm no stranger to tackling difficult topics on this channel and take pride in being very transparent about my bipolar experiences if there's something important you feel I missed join the conversation in the comments I'd love to hear your thoughts and hope you feel very welcome here number one we're scared of our symptoms too I struggle with a lot of guilt loss and shame from my actions when I wasn't well I know from experience that there is a certain threshold where my emotions take over and all rational thinking stops I'm scared of spending all my savings on another million-dollar idea that goes nowhere I'm scared of driving when I'm over stimulated and angry I'm scared of hurting a best friend's feelings and having to say I'm sorry again I'm terrified of panic attacks or being hospitalized I'm scared of how I'm gonna feel the next week after being manic for a while I'm scared of not living as long because of the stress that bipolar puts on my body so yes we get scared of symptoms too number two sex can cause a lot of stress for us there's nothing worse than forcing intimacy when you feel depressed it's like forcing food down when your stomach is painfully stuffed it's awkward and self-defeating when medications prevent you from becoming aroused I've had partners wonder if I was cheating because I'd lose my sex drive during episodes I've been cheated on myself because my life-saving medications impacted my ability to satisfy a spouse this creates a lot of fear and insecurities now there's a flipside to this and that would be hyper sexuality I have a whole video dedicated to this one I've slept with people when I was manic and spent weeks waiting in fear for an STD test results to come back I'm terrified of making a mistake while I'm manic and having to tell my partner what I did the next day bipolar disorder majorly impacts our sex lives and honestly sucks to have fear attached to something as special as physical love number three we have no idea what the hell we're doing most of the time here's the reality of bipolar treatment our episodes can be like trying to predict the weather most of the medications we take were designed for something completely different like epilepsy or schizophrenia we have no idea if the meds are gonna work and the side effects of the wrong med can make life even worse it's beyond frustrating when you have these dangling hopes that life is finally going to get better and then treatment makes things worse doctors spend very little time with us and most of us have been misdiagnosed at some point this isn't like treating diabetes or the flu it takes a true polar warrior to fight through all of these challenges and find the stability we deserve that being said we really can be strong and resilient people number four we don't need and usually don't even have a reason for being upset if our reasons don't make sense to those around us it's probably because we're having a hard time processing the feelings ourselves when something hurts it eases the pain if we have a reason for it that makes sense when we can't explain our feelings our mind will come up with a story to fill in the blanks it's like this subconscious psychological survival mechanism I know how confusing and frustrating this can be to those around us especially if these feelings get misdirected towards others it's just not fair to anyone involved I encourage our loved ones to take a step back and see the situation for what it is someone is suffering has no idea why and is desperately trying to make sense of it all keep in mind that it makes us trust people less when they try to force reasons out of us if we knew what was wrong we'd be doing something to fix it number five just because we share the same condition does not mean we share the same capabilities there's a reason why I haven't made of video talking about famous people with bipolar disorder on this channel yet there are so many famous musicians writers artists athletes and more who have bipolar disorder it's kind of a blessing and a curse to hurt to hear about them I hear things all the time like doesn't Mariah Carey or that one guy from that one movie have bipolar disorder this is almost like telling someone in a wheelchair about a famous athlete that learned to walk again it's a nice gesture but I'll say it again just because we share the same condition does not mean that we share the same capabilities the first thing that always comes to my mind when I hear about someone famous is it must be nice to have access to the best doctors brand name designer drugs the most expensive food massage therapists on stressful days and to live in a mansion that might help me be more capable too I also try to remember that even if I did have all those things there would still be plenty of days where my world would be falling apart and none of that would matter it's just good to keep all of this in mind number six we live our lives under a giant magnifying glass the good and the bad all of our moods feelings emotions and aspirations are amplified during episodes beyond the threshold that most people could even imagine the average ups and downs that rock people's lives are ten times stronger for us I know suffering is relative but when a friend tells me that they have anxiety because of the weather or they're depressed about not getting a job they wanted I'm almost envious of their suffering when I get depressed I'm afraid of waking up in the hospital when I'm having a bad week I might quit my job break up with my partner and move to a new town instead of just have a healthy cry when I'm depressed and someone passes away it feels like I lost everyone I know the weight of the world feels a lot heavier for us that being said when you see us having a really hard time picture that giant magnifying glass being held over our heads number seven we all have our own brand of bipolar disorder comparing us to your quote crazy zany uncle or your moody neighbor is just not fair I really like using reading glasses as an analogy for the way people experience bipolar disorder if I put my partner's glasses on I'd run into a wall the way we experience life with bipolar disorder is almost as unique as our eyes our fingerprints are sure we all experience the ups and downs that got us a bipolar diagnosis in the first place but that's about where the similarities stop beyond that we all have different tolerances and reactions to treatment we all have different thresholds for suffering and even abilities to cope with it I mentioned in number five that we all have different capabilities - I have immediate family members who are in denial while I'm running the largest bipolar youtube channel out there it's also very relative if you're new to learning about bipolar disorder I'm so glad that you found my channel and I hope you feel very welcome here if these free videos are making a positive impact in your life please help me to keep a good thing going if just one out of 10 subscribers donated just $1 a month I'd be able to dedicate all my time to producing these life-saving videos it just comes down to time and resources there's a link at the top of every video description where you can donate if you can't donate you can also make a big difference by just interacting with my videos the more people like comment and share my videos the more YouTube will show them to people looking for resources like this so thank you so much take gentle care of yourselves this week and I'll be back here soon with more polar warrior videos [Music]

Channel: Polar Warriors

Views: 230,389

Rating: 4.9698114 out of 5

Keywords: Bipolar Disorder, Polar Warriors, Bipolar Support, Bipolar Tips, Bipolar Friends & Family, Bipolar Husband, Bipolar Wife, Bipolar Spouse, Bipolar Help, Bipolar Relationships, 7 Things Bipolar, Signs of Bipolar Disorder

Id: Quf2jfiQhOk

Length: 8min 58sec (538 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 04 2019