Bipolar disorder is often inherited. It s been treated as a physical illness less than 40 years, and, therefore, many of us were raised among undiagnosed adults with this illness who were abusive, negligent, or substance abusers. Therapists must deal with us clients as they would any adult with similar childhood problems. Bipolar disorder is living with a mind you can t trust. They occur without reason or notice and are completely outside our control.
Thoughts can circle incessantly or clang from one track to another uncontrollably.
Depression leaves you feeling worthless and helpless no place you want to be, nothing you want to do, no one you want to be with. Dishes, laundry, bill-paying, even bathing can become overwhelming. Suicidal feelings come in long sieges, not manic impulses or flashes. Accepting these changes as a physical fact of our lives is against common sense and human instinct. It s one of the things we can learn in therapy.