[Caduceus]

Thank you flanders for your very long, informative and thorough write-up.

Just going to add some extra details and my own thoughts on what you wrote:

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Nobody knows what causes it, other than it's extremely heritable.

Yes, if you have bipolar, it's very likely one of your parents and/or grandparents and relatives will also have it. However, the degree to which each person has bipolar (even in the same family) can vary. Just like with autism there is a kind of spectrum with some people having the symptoms much more acutely, and others only having them only mildly. Lifestyle, diet, stress, and overall health is a big factor in how pronounced your bipolar symptoms are.

The most "weak" form of bipolar is called "Cyclothymia"(sometimes informally called type bipolar III)

See here for full description:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclothymia

If you have Cyclothymia, you "only" get hypomania (not full mania) and your depressive periods are "a bit" more manageable. People with Cyclothymia usually don't need to go into a hospital or ward for their symptoms.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

If you are currently manic, you likely won't know it. You'll just feel amazing.

Again, that depends on how strong your bipolar symptoms are. You can be fully aware of being manic, but enjoy it so much you don't really care, cause you've felt shit for so long before.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

If you have ever seen somebody really amped up on cocaine, mania is similar. Full-blown mania is like if cocaine decided to smoke bath salts.

Again, depends on how acute the bipolar condition is. Not all mania's express themselves the same way. Some bipolar people just become incredibly social when manic, flirt with everyone they find attractive (some men can become a super alpha approach machine) spend a shit load of money and go travelling round the world, but are otherwise "normal".

Other people with much stronger bipolar can start ripping their clothes off in public, claim they hear angel/demon voices, or think they are on a special mission from Jesus/God, etc.

Bipolar mania really varies from person to person.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

For gaming as a bipolar male, it depends. Bipolar is an illness, so when you're unwell you probably shouldn't be gaming. You should go to a hospital.

If you are a danger to yourself or others, then yes go to hospital. If your symptoms just make you want to stay indoors and in bed, then many times that can be better than being stuck in a hospital. You can do online game but obviously your depression can result in poor online gaming of girls.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

If you're being treated and are stable then it's much like holding down a job (this is a more relevant question for the thread, really - holding down a job - half of reddit survives on zero pussy, you could easily die without money for food or housing)...

Yes, having a source of steady income when you are bipolar is the most important thing. Many bipolar people live with their parents or relatives because they can't hold down a job. Often it's not the mania that gets them fired, but when you are depressed you don't want to see or talk to anyone for weeks or months. Often even getting out of bed and making a meal for yourself or having a shower just seems pointless.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Women seem to like damaged men and the bipolar men I know who are in LTRs are doing just fine, though that doesn't mean a manic episode can't or won't destroy a marriage.

The problem with being a bipolar man is that it often makes you extremely needy and VERY beta when you are in the "down" phase. You may be game and red pill aware, but the neediness just seeps out of you somehow no matter how hard you try to act alpha. Women pick up on that VERY quickly no matter how hard you try to hide it. Holding frame is almost impossible sometimes cause so many things make you very emotional.

You need to be in a relationship with a VERY patient, loving girl who will tolerate this. (Almost impossible, I know) Otherwise, either your girl will either leave you or cheat on you eventually, cause your bipolar neediness will make her repulsed by you, the same way men get repulsed by fat/ugly/old women.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

There is no cure.

You can change your diet drastically to mute a lot of the symptoms so that you are "almost" normal...but it has to be a lifelong commitment. Meaning you can't ever eat or drink certain things again. (More on diet in my next post)

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Men tend to have worse cases of bipolar than females, though they have arguably more ways to mitigate problems since a woman's hormonal profile, seemingly chronic serotonin deficiency and cravings for sweets doubtless contributes to the severity of their type of bipolar.

Like with most things in life, a woman will get a lot more support from friends and family if she has bipolar. As a man you are often on your own with this. You can't ever cry in front of anyone as a man, especially not your girlfriend or wife. Dry pussy almost forever if you do that.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Kanye West claims it's his superpower. Van Gogh wouldn't have been worth a shit in the art world without it.

Many great artists, composers, painters, writers, politicians and historical figures were bipolar.
How far back in time you can label historical figures in history is another topic.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

It depends on the case. Most of the bipolar people I know are probably two or three standard deviations more intelligent than average though this isn't supported by any data.

Bipolar people usually have 10 thoughts in the same time others have 2 or 3. Or they are many steps ahead in their thought process than others. They can easily spot patterns or symbols (sometimes real/sometimes imaginary) and conceive various endless possibilities and outcomes of any given situation.
It's exhausting to live like that every day,and most bipolar people often wish they could shut down the endless racing thoughts in their mind. They can seem paranoid to others with their theories, worries or predictions, even those times when they turn out to be right in the end.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

.. is it a special power to be managed/used correctly. Nah man, the bipolar uses you, not the other way around.

If you can harness it to create great works or art like many have before, it can be to your benefit.
The main issue is if you can get some form of control and chanel the energies when manic.
Very elusive to be in control when manic...but it is possible.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Pre-agricultural societies had no knowledge of bipolar or schizophrenia. This is doubly interesting considering the disease tends to present itself in the early twenties for most people (well after people had children for the vast majority of human history) and there are no physical markers for the disease, so there was no way for ancient hunter-gatherer societies to remove the mentally ill through infanticide (infanticide was common for birth defects). Extant hunter-gatherer (pre-contact) societies have no bipolar either.

Something more recent is causing it since it makes no sense for a significant chunk of the population (about 3% by most figures) to have large and frequent shifts in mood and energy for no reason. It's not normal for people to be sick like this.

That doesn't mean that bipolar hasn't been around a long time, Herodotus made note of it.

Whether bipolar is "recent" (only from 19th century onwards) mental condition is up for debate. Some have theorised that when people lived in small towns and villages the mood swings would be very useful during the change in seasons. Being manic during the spring and summer and early autumn, and depressed throughout winter. Many bipolar people today report mania being triggered when the seasons change. Back in the days when people were forced to eat different foods in winter may also explain how moods changed in winter.

Other people claim all the saints and prophets mentioned in the Bible & Koran or Hindu/Buddhist monks who heard voices and had visions of divine things were all bipolar in some way.

Other people claim that bipolar people in historical village socities were often chosen to become the village shaman or witch doctor, as they were best in tune with the spirit world and were best suited to feel & understand other people's pain.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

I think this partly ties into SeaFM's comment in some ways. Men do not admit to bipolar because as a man, you're responsible for everything you do even if you were not in your right mind. Women can say the bipolar made them do or say something and it will get them out of whatever trouble they may have been in.

As a bipolar man, you need a lot of self control or you might wind up flat broke, homeless, beaten up, or dead.
Women will always get a pussy pass and someone to save them no matter how much crazy shit they do.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Bipolar is a mood disorder, borderline is a personality disorder, they are not mutually exclusive, so the answer is yes.

Yes, women can have both borderline and bipolar. While I'm not a trained professional, I don't think any of you guys are either. Paging an RVF doctor.

Someone who is a doctor maybe can answer this better if you can be both bipolar and borderline. I still doubt it somehow. I've never heard of a borderline man, or if they exist, I'm thinking it must be very rare for a man to be borderline.
Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

If you have bipolar, 'long periods' of 'no symptoms' is not a guarantee. You could rapid cycle between mania and depression, several times a day, every day, for years. You could have a days, weeks, months, or years long manic episode. There are no hard and fast rules to this.

Bipolar type I usually presents itself first with full mania (in men), then a depressive episode, and usually some period of even mood. Type II can be all over the place. To confound things further, you can have mixed episodes, mixed manic episodes, mood-congruent (or incongruent) psychosis, and all kinds of shit.

Yes, the mania and depressions can take many different forms, but big cycling multiple times in the same day is not part of the official definition of bipolar. It can happen, but is not a normal symptom.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Depression can last years, people can even be doped up on SSRIs for 'treatment resistant depression', not knowing that they actually have bipolar because the manic episode hasn't happened yet. The SSRIs prescribed could then trigger a balls-out manic episode of the "we're hijacking the plane to Mars" variety. A manic episode can also last a lot longer than three months.

Manic episodes longer than 3 months ? That also doesn't fit the official definition of bipolar.
I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's quite rare.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

If someone is rapidly cycling between extreme moods in a single day or week, they may have rapid-cycling bipolar (type II).

You may be thinking of Cyclothymia (often informally called bipolar type III).
But those mood swings are more mild.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

Bipolar is heritable, your ex had bipolar, ergo - one or possibly both of her parents had bipolar, causing the 'chaotic childhood'.
Emotional experiences don't cause brain diseases. Can you give a kid autism by making it watch Sesame Street?

You are right, the experiences themselves don't cause bipolar, but emotional events in your life can bring out the symptoms big time that had been hiding for along time. Often people don't show major symptoms until something very emotionally charged happens to them. Often it first manifests itself in people when they become teenagers and relationships/sex life don't work out the way you want.

[Caduceus]

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

There are ways to reduce 'triggers' (gay word to use). You can eliminate all caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, sugar, sugar alcohols/artificial sweeteners, and avoid everything with a high glycemic index. You also want to take fairly high doses of fish oil (this has been found in several case studies to help all kinds of problems with the brain). That has been found among some people to ease, reduce, or eliminate the severity or frequency of bipolar, whether the classic raging bipolar or the rapid cycling variety.
WWII era asylums in Europe noted that admissions dropped significantly when there were bread shortages, so it's very possible that gluten plays a role.

All correct, expect you forgot one.
DAIRY products

Giving up all forms of dairy products (milk, yogurt, chesse, etc) or foods/drinks with dairy in them (pizza, ice cream, etc) can also make a person's mental health much better. It does not matter if you have an allergy to lactose and/or casein or not...the simple act of cutting out all dairy can do amazing wonders for your mental health. (As a bonus you will feel less bloated and your skin will look a lot healthier too). I used to have paranoid thoughts and/or nasty nightmares many times a week myself and they stopped once I quit dairy products for good.

I can't overstate how much closely examining (and changing) your diet is absolutely VITAL if you have bipolar. If you (or someone you know) has bipolar they really should experiment on their body by leaving out certain food types for 30 to 90 days (or more) to test the way their mind and body reacts. Once you determine which types of foods and drinks cause paranoia, mania, nightmares or depressive thoughts, you have to make a commitment to leave them out of your life forever.

The most important things to try eliminating from your diet if you suffer from bipolar

Sugar (except fresh fruits)
Dairy
Caffeine
Gluten
Alcohol
Nicotine

Of all of these, I would say cutting out ALL forms of sugar (except fresh fruits) is the most important. Sugar is bad for all humans, but for the bipolar person it is pure poison. Sadly, it's becoming harder and harder to do this as more and more products have sugar added to them. Things you would never expect like all breakfast cereals, canned foods, vegetables in jars, ready meals, virtually all non alcoholic drinks. The list is endless.

I have seen bipolar people literally transformed into new stable individuals with only mild symptoms when they managed to radically overhall their diets and stick to it for life. It means changing your deep seated habits and acquiring new ones. Meaning you will have to start cooking yourself at home from scratch, and eating things you didn't have a lot of before like fresh vegetables and various types of FRESH fish. And yes fish oil (cod liver oil) is great for the calming the bipolar brain.

(07-13-2018 05:03 PM)flanders Wrote:  

You could go gluten-free or just say fuck it and do the carnivore diet like Jordan Peterson.

Yes, meat is good, but I would avoid processed meats like sausages, hot dogs, ham, cold cuts, bacon, etc.
Buy your meat in the pure raw state and cook it yourself. It helps if the animals were grass fed and could roam free.

Use pork in moderation because pigs are disgusting animals that wallow in their own digusting filth all day. If you put human piss & shit in front of a pig, it will eat it, and in the olden days they used pigs to clean human toilets in some countries. You don't want to be eating that kind of animal too often.

[kazz]

I met a girl from tinder that had bipoler, she answered the door naked the first time I met her; another time she went through maccas drive through naked, I was the passenger. When she was manic, she was actually really fun.

Its not that she was overly crazy but just very obvious that she would not be someone to have a relationship wish.