Bipolar ? Look at the Symtoms !!!

[DeepIron]

I've suffered from cyclothymia, a milder version of bipolarism, for over 30 years. It's a real clinical diagnosis, not the usual "ups and downs" of life thing. No kidding. I get it from my grandmothers side of the family (she and my mother were/are both afflicted), while my brother, who takes more after my grandfathers side, doesn't. The clinical course of action for me, was to use prescription drugs to treat it, possibly for the rest of my life.

I do not take drugs unless the situation is life-threatening.

Instead, I have a very loving, caring and faithful wife of 20+ years who understands my "issues" and THAT my friends, makes a whole whale of a difference. She watches over me, but understands "intervention" is not effective. I always rebound when left to myself and a 'quiet time' I need. I also watch my diet (which has had the side benefit of keeping me fit at 51 so far) and I try to keep my mind engaged and busy.

Do I still suffer from it? Yes. But being able to recognize the onset of an episode and knowing how to deal with it early on lessens the impact. I try and avoid highly stressful, emotional situations and because I drive a semi, loss of sleep can trigger an episode. I know these things can mess me up and I try to be mentally prepared to counteract them.

So far, no thoughts of suicide so I think I'm doing ok.