I've heard a lot of bipolar people on KZfaq saying they feel they're a burden when they are depressed and that's exactly how I feel when I'm down.

You guys helped me figure out I’m bipolar and I’ve finally got the help I need. You guys have 100% saved my life, literally!

So good to hear this! I found myself saying “this is me” a lot. Just when my mind plays tricks on me, telling me I am exaggerating my symptoms, I am reminded of how real they are. You have both validated my experiences with BP2. I was misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety, abused drugs and alcohol from a very young age, nearly jumped off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and have had recurring episodes of treatment resistant depression and suicidal thoughts. I relate to the agitation, racing thoughts and sleepless nights. I have found myself writing, recording music and cleaning the house at 2-3am. Never been in a psych ward (yet) but was in rehab and detox for substance abuse. I could go on...

YESS!!! EXACTLY!!! I also switch between different levels of depression and normal, then I got an antidepressant and I got hypomanic. I have mood swings every day and my apart from that medical induced hypomania I always have mixed episodes, where my hypomania is irritability, anxiety, impulsitivity and ANGER! Us people who have mixed episodes + depressions are usually misdiagnosed. They say we are a special subgroup of bipolar 2. Took me 11 years HEAVILY WITHIN the psychiatry (years of in-patient treatment) til they finally listen to me and realised I had bipolar disorder. The difference between me and Meagan is that I haven't found meds that make my mood swings come up in level. I'm still always between normal-light depression and severe depression, never above normal and way too SELDOM normal! My life is a mess. Never worked, live at my mom's at 32, socially isolated, no achievements... I hate it. If I at least had cyklothymia as my core mood, then I'd have more energy. As Meagan said. I'd get up from the sofa once in a while!! I think I wanna finally try Lithium. I've tried almost everything else!

"The medication gets us to a point where we can work really hard." Truth.

This is such a useful video. As you point out at the start (and it still holds up about 6 years later), there isn't much on youtube (from what I've seen) on bipolar / rapid-cycling bipolar. This helped to understand certain things that don't get mentioned in books or articles (that I've seen) on bipolar. Some of the helpful points (to pick out just a few) were: -touching on the difference between mood states between days and the trends that can tie together weeks or longer -touching on how single events can trigger better or worse moods but that the 'background state' is kind of still kind of like the main tide of things -the discussion of medications -seeing how someone else charts their mood was really great to see -actually hearing what a psych ward is like -many more bits too On the bit about psych wards; I've grown up in my adult life basically being terrified of the thought of going to such a ward. If someone had said what you've both put across here, I wouldn't have had periods of paranoia about possibly going to one of these wards at some point. Thanks for a great and helpful video both of you.

You two are warriors. The true gut punch comes the moment when you realize that you can't live up to your responsibilities. That you are incapable of living a "normal" life. And that you may have passed this unrelenting affliction on to your kids. When you know that it will be a battle to the very end.

Megan I understand your pain. I have,suffered for 40 years before I found the correct doctor the right diagnosis and solid emotional support. Best wishes to you God Bless Take care

Thank you this was very helpful. I was just diagnosed with bipolar 2 this week. I been taking lamictal for 2 days and I feel better already. I was misdiagnosed for 23 years! I suffered so much and struggled working full time ever since I graduated from college in 1991. I can only work part time now but I’m hoping I can work up to at least 20-30 hours a week.

How brave of you two to talk about this cruel illness , I'm sure you will help many people, get better understanding of this illness , Thank you to you both . Keep Shining Bright

Thank you Angel and Meagen! Every day is a struggle to keep things going fairly normally (at best). I have a very difficult time trying to explain to people in my life what this is like. Some understand but many don't and they are the ones that offer the stupidest advice that is so annoying. Anyway, thanks again to both of you for sharing. I wish you all the best.

What a sweet positivity both of you have in such a challenging situation. Thanks for the charts.

This is SO helpful, thank you ladies. That chart is great, it helped me think of the last few years for me and visualize the patterns.

this helped tremendously.

I never had any support group in my life and this was extremely helpfull seeing as how I didn't research anything before it was clear I got my diagnosis. Thanks!

I am so grateful for this video!

Thank you so much for this video, it's so helpful. I'm going through the same thing so it's comforting to know i'm not alone.

You ladies seem really nice. That is a nice thing to post videos out here to help people become aware of what they are going through or what their loved ones are going through. :)

Hi, just want to say that I’m super grateful for this video! I’ve been looking for this kind of video for so long and it has really helped me get my thoughts in order. You are doing such a great job!

this is exactly like me, I've been misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder, major depression and severe anxiety. I had to tell my psychiatrist that something wasn't right. none of my medications worked, I've been on so many medications that I've lost count. I've been admitted several times on wards, but every time I was admitted I was depressed, when I was hypomanic/manic I never went to the hospital because I felt to good. now finally, after 5-6 years of shit I finally got my diagnosis bipolar. I'm on Lithium now and it feels like it's somewhat working. thank you for this video.

i want so bad to make a channel but i cant get the nerve. thank you so much . Keep doing what you are doing ! i appreciate it

I've had the wrong diagnosis for 19 yrs at least and 24 yrs if including my anxiety diagnosis in 1994..Im 49 and just been diagnosed with Bipolar2 which is such a relief but anxiety about new meds yet I have to try..🙂 Ive been on antidepressants since 2002 and wondered quite often why they didn't seem affective especially after a couple of years...I acted very strange at times..huge spending sprees..mood problems so on..my suspicion it was bipolar2 was in 2004 but this got dismissed by my doctor...I struggled along terribly then on and just always blamed it on clinical depression and anxiety 😕

Very nice video

Thankyou. This helps me to understand what my friend goes through.

What website was it that you found, so you found ut that it was Bipolar 2? Great video!

I am a bipolar This year I had 5 episodes of depression followed by mania. Please suggest some way of keeping my extreme mood swings I check because I desperately need help I am fine at the moment But depression is so sudden that you never know when my mind will switch to a hopeless state of depression.

I was harassed by bipolar disorder in 2022. I had 7 episodes of mania and 7 episodes of depression. The episode lasted from 50 days to 5 days even 4 hours. After 4 hours I was back on track but I could not control my hyper excitement Every time I come out of the black hole of depression I feel super excited super happy super energetic But one day my mind changes from top gear to reverse gear.i slipped into depression again For 7 days daily every day I was alternately super happy and supersad. Very few doctors have diagnostic skills or simple logic. I mean you are doctor But you want your patients to remain disturbed mentally so that the doctor earns steady income If a patient is intelligent he can suggest a particular medication But the doctor gets furious How can a patient be smarter than me to advice me I am the boss. I will dictate medication This happens which means change the DICTATOR doctor and find humane doctor

So what do you really take for this? I’m not taking a typical antipsychotics. Mine is not bad enough for that. Plus my main problem sadly enough this is a big one, but the main one is my ADD and autism/pervasive developmental disorder but I’m just freaking off you take Wellbutrin to motivate or What’s the other one and if you take Vyvanse for your ADD it sucks because they make you kinda anxious or sleepy. It’s never quite right but at least you’re sore able to function to function in the world unless you’re drinking coffee and send you mega anxiety I just like just a support system, my family still doesn’t understand why can’t just be a successful doctor I don’t understand sometimes I think I’m making all this up, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be and how

To put in one word bipolar is HELL in capital letters.

She's awesome.

Do you not think that the hypersexuality or sex addiction or gambling,shopping or whatever it maybe is more about trying to avoid painful uncomfortable feelings rather than looking for an outlet as such.I just wonder if the symptoms of bi polar are more of a cover for more underlying things to protect the ego in some way against painful or traumatic things.I just wonder what your thought are on this,thats if you are still around.

How is this ultra rapid cycling? I mean this in no offending way, but ultra rapid cycling is within a time period of weeks or days.

Thank you.

What is the website that lead to your breakthrough Meagen?

What about a ketogenic diet ?

I would let u interview me. I am bipolar

We need DBT,it's better than CBT

Anybody Intrested in resolution of thr bpd v can discuss

How do you do the measurements to create that chart?

I hate this so much you guys we can. I have normal life try having this plus some sort of freaking autism and ADD and realize that when you don’t have your parents or someone is translators for the world and when your moods and energy keep shifting life is like a war every day for the simplest things and nightmare and I don’t I don’t know it that strange combination where nothing you do you should be able to do everything but nothing to do last And everything especially have a development disorder as far as executive function, decision steps, knowing how to do things knowing how you’ll feel doing them if you can do them knowing how you communicate and work with people I don’t even wanna go, but that’s just say that I don’t know if I got worse. I just exist and it’s pure like it’s not where you wanna kill yourself but it’s hell where your life why am I alive? I’m just using resources and I’m even if I didn’t feel guilty I just kind of feel poor than helpless. It’s really not cool, I don’t know what we did to deserve this crap but I am so tired and so over it

I wish those who had KZfaq channels would make an effort to speak better, e.g. reduce umpteen “umms” and “uhhs”.

Why do so many people feel a need to make vlogs about this? Is it like a cool thing?