Treating bipolar disorder without medication?

[The Byronic Man]

It will take several weeks for my psychologist (she is a PhD neuropsychologist and conducted a 4-hour battery of tests on me) to determine whether I have bipolar disorder, but this whole pickup thing has been incredibly emotional for me. There are times when I feel like on top of the world, and there are times when I can't focus at work and I even wonder about suicide (my psychologist says it's not urgent as long as I don't think about how to do it). My mood can fluctuate from both extremes of the spectrum in 24 hours, and are not random but reactionary to success/failure. The more emotionally invested, the bigger the emotional impact.

I know Chase treated his depression and social anxiety without medication. Is this possible with bipolar disorder? I told my psychologist that I really do not want to rely on drugs.

For those who don't know, I have Asperger's Syndrome, and have in many ways overcome it. This achievement has made me a strong, confident man (when I'm not going through my negative mood swings).

 

[Thedoctor]

Byronic,

I myself have battled a slew of psychological problems throughout my life (as I'm sure a lot of people on here have as well). When I was younger, I was diagnosed and medicated for OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder for those who don't know). To compound that problem, I also was extremely depressed (even suicidal), I had extremely low self esteem and I had very sporadic mood swings.

I was forced to go see a counselor when I was younger. Some people find this helpful. Personally, I never understood how complaining to someone for an hour a week about your problems is going to make everything better. I wouldn't tell someone not to go to therapy/counselling/psychologist if they think there are positive results. It's just not for me. The only two things you need to overcome any problem are: Motivation and Discipline. I've researched a lot on psychology over the years to try and tackle these problems myself. The more you research it, the more you realize all the similarities in how to address the issue.

The most common model of the mind separates it into three parts. The names and exact roles of each part can vary a bit, but they basically boil down to this:
Your reactive self (This is the part of you that just reacts to everything. This part is responsible for addictions, obsessive thoughts, mood swings etc.)
Your logical self (This is the part of you that knows certain things you do are detrimental to your life. ie: "I know I should stop thinking about this one girl and focus on how many girls are alive in he world today, I shouldn`t eat fast food cause it makes me fat etc.)
Your mental guide (This is the part of you that you engage to change thought patterns, overcome addictions, basically become a new you. For actual proof that this works, do a little research into "neural plasticity" - Amazing stuff!)

Your reactive self isn't the bad guy. He's the guy helped you assess and avoid danger back in the caveman days. Unfortunately, these days, he doesn't realize that you stressing about your job, traffic, or your sports team isn't a life or death thing. That's where your mental guide comes in. He puts a "stop" to any negative thought patterns that your logical self knows aren't good for you. Over time, it just becomes second nature and you can actually re-wire your brain. I won't dive more into this since there are a few real good books and resources that do a far better job explaining this than I do. If anyone has any interest in these resources, PM me.

To give you an update as to where I am today, here it is:
I no longer take any medications whatsoever, the OCD is mostly gone.
My moods are a lot more stable. I've actually had a few girlfriends call me stoic - so I've been working on that.
My self esteem issues are gone.
I still occasionally get a little depressed, but that's why I come here and answer some people's questions. It helps "reset" my brain and focus on my current goals.

But to answer your question about medication. I think medication does have its place in very extreme circumstances. But our society has become obsessed with quick-fix everything. Why actually get to the root of my problem when a little pill will make it all better. So, unless you think you're an "extreme circumstance", then I think you can overcome it without meds. I realize that that response may generate some controversy, but this is a particular subject on which I have a lot of personal experience on. And in my experience, meds are a short term remedy.

Best of luck overcoming it!

-Doc

 

[LucidityComeBackToMe]

I think all of us have a degree of OCD which possibly ties into experiencing depression. Bryonic and I both have Asperger's Syndrome, so we can easily become obsessive over certain things, ideas, behaviors, people, etc. Having an intense narrow focus can be useful if used in a positive way (i.e. technical, creative, and innovative applications) but can also be very harmful if it moves toward a dysfunctional direction. The reactive self will take over at this point. I have had depression on and off since I was in high school. When I was about 23 things changed and I started having anxiety and not so much depression. I had my first panic attack and had lingering anxiety for several years. When you have panic attacks your number one hope is to survive! I remember smoking too much marijuana or eating too much edibles would act as a catalyst for these moderate to severe panic attacks. During these time periods you do not want to die, but when you have depression you no longer care about your own preservation. Seems like the last 2 years depression came back into my life and I cannot recall the last time I had a panic attack (probably 2010). It comes around every few months really bad. In April I totaled my car, struck out with several women in a row, could not stop thinking about another one, and my hair started falling out! (Not balding, I think it was telogen effluvium. I had a horrible flu in January and 3 months later a ton of hair starting shedding and it has since stopped). During that time I could not stop thinking about killing myself and hoping that I just die. I have never actually attempted suicide but will have reactive recurrent thoughts about it as if my mind is trying to convince me to do it.

I always seem to feel better when I just sleep it off and wake up the next morning "reset." Usually after a few weeks the depression will go away for a while but will inevitably come back. I got really depressed during the month of August but it was more low key. Just had more of a I don't give a shit attitude and did not care about my preservation. My diet got really bad and I often skipped meals and did not drink enough water. My apartment was in a state of chaos and very unclean and unorganized. However even when I am depressed I am usually able to conceal this from people. Compared to other Aspies that have dull facial expressions, I developed this awkward use of the smile. I never was able to breathe through my nose properly (life long allergy symptom) and had to breathe through my mouth. I did not want to look retarded so I had to smile a lot or at least so I thought (in any case it's in my muscle memory). People often find it amusing that I have a smirk on my face all the time. I know this is bad though since it makes me seem more of a "nice guy" and not dominant and smooth. The point is that I can be super depressed and thinking about killing myself and many people would never know because I always have a damn smirk on my face haha.

Not sure if this will help anyone else but a friend gave me an extra juicer he had. Like I mentioned above my diet is horrible (typically red meats, white meats, white starch, white bread, salts/sodium, and sweets) and never really bought produce at all. Maybe a banana here and there and a to go salad but that was about it. I initially just juiced fruits but things really took off when I started adding greens. Not sure if this is acting like some sort of placebo effect but it seems to have lowered my depression levels. I am juicing things like kale, red beets, red cabbage, spinach and I definitely feel like I have more mental clarity and care more about my preservation. I have gotten obsessed with juicing the last month and feel good even though I have faced major changes at my place of employment. I have focused my obsession on juicing and learning as much as I can about the phytochemicals and antioxidants in vegetables/fruits. Much better focus then focusing on depression. Maybe you should take a break from the game and find something that will captivate your interest in a positive direction.

 

[Thedoctor]

Yeah, there are many simple "cures" for depression that are often overlooked. Food, exercise, sleep patterns, sunlight, medication etc. Basically your entire lifestyle can exasperate many mental disorders, including depression. Just do any research into how much food affects your serotonin levels (a hormone that controls your mood among other things). I find it astonishing how quickly a doctor will prescribe meds for depression (and other disorders) without asking someone if they sleep three hours a night, drink alcohol like a fish, and live on a diet of cheeseburgers and potato chips.

Running helps, more upbeat music, upbeat tv shows and comedies, being around people that aren't depressing (this can be very difficult, but sometimes it's necessary to limit or even cut off completely how much time you spend with certain people). Even the type of clothes you wear, the cleanliness of the place you live in, decorations etc. The list goes on and on. Every little bit helps.

I'm sure many North American lifestyles sometimes even create these disorders. If you start throwing garbage fuel and oil into a car, it starts running rough or breaks down completely. Same goes for us.

 

[Palpability]

Do you want to talk about it?