Debbie Bruce: Addiction or Bipolar I?
Posted March 7, 2009
I have only been diagnosed with bipolar since November 8, 2008. I am 48 years old and have been married since I was 18. I think I was having hypomania since last April when I became involved with 2 other men that I know well. Then last month I had a short fling with a stranger. I feel so guilty, so messed up about this behavior. I have a great psychologist, and 2 counselors who know about this behavior. One is an addiction counselor who says this is normal when clean from drugs, my counselor says it is not acceptable. I wonder if I am totally Bipolar I, as I have been diagnosed, or if the addiction is the problem.
2 Responses to “Debbie Bruce: Addiction or Bipolar I?”
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Debbie,
I don’t know enough about blogs to tell how old our blog is, but I hope you have gotten help soon enough to help you. I have been diagnosed since about 1987 but have gone to therapy since 1985. When I first started going,I was told it was Clinical Depression. I was having a great deal of situations just like you. I was actively drinking. Self-medicating. As I look back, after years of therapy, I understand(and have been advised) that what I was doing is ABSOLUTELY normal. Impulse control is unmanageable during a Bipolar episode. It wasn’t until I received medication directly used for the Disorder that I received help.If you want to email me on a one-to-one basis, I would be glad to discuss it further with you.
Robin
I’m Dana and I’m bipolar and an addict, there are a lot of us out there. Abusing a substance only exacerbated my illness. You’ve got to get both under control and stop self medicating all together. Recovery is possible for both diseases of the brain. I have been living in he’ll throughout my twenties and didn’t get the propped diagnosis because I was using and drinking. I wanted to die all the time , life is still hellish; but I still have hope that I will fully recover and experience true joy in this life