Antennae for droplets of received wisdom

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Transcending Bipolar Disorder

"Just don't even talk about killing yourself. That's your mind off on it's own. The point about living with this "disease" is to recognize that impulses/feelings are not facts. Use your feelings and creativity to your advantage. When in doubt, use your brain, just think about things as logically as possible and make a decision without emotion involved. I am 42 years old, rather succesful, traveled everywhere, and have lived at least 3 lifetimes past the herd. (I have the best stories...) If given the choice between having the "disease" or not, I would choose to have it. However, it really sucks at 15. I truly know: no one diagnosed it back then... Best advice I can give (which may not work for you): figure out what you like to do, work hard, make it your career, and when in doubt, THINK. Having a bunch of ideas is easy; deploying or rejecting them requires discpline. Have fun doing it! (And do yoga- it really works.)"

"Thanks for the valuable account of your own experiences and related thoughts. I very much share your sense that a "bipolar" diagnosis "lacks the subtlety required to transcend that frame," and that the common need, for those having the diagnosis as well as everyone else, is "to take responsibility for oneself and one's moods," using whatever resources are available while recognizing that "moods will always change" and that that is, in and of itself, a positive feature of our lives rather than a negative one."

"Im a 44 yr old male, after being shown this article by a friend, I hungrily read every bit of it.I have been an artist my whole life, and a musician as well. I learned to play guitar by ear, and became very accomplished at it. Everything creative , I have excelled at, ever setting higher, almost unrealistic goals for myself, with the belief that I can do anything.I experience a prophetic high , which comes and goes seemingly without pattern. The spirit goeth where it listeth.This euphoria I have always found myself waiting for, like a drug. There have been many times when I was under its spell and hurriedly and feverishly wrote so that I wouldnt lose the creative thoughts.Unfortunately, these major ups are inevitably coupled with some terrible downs. States of depression and self loathing.In my youth I often thought of suicide to get relief, even attempted it once in my 20s.I believe these cycles have also influenced my voracious appetite for the spiritual, since I voraciously read everything from books on the greek mystery cults to alchemy.
Throughout my life, in times of depression, many people close to me have suggested medication.I would never take their advice, my belief being that I would then lose those periods of what I firmly believe are, truly, divine inspiration(laugh all u want, lol).There is an old saying,.."the moon has no light of its own".Our minds being the impotent moon,and the universal mind being the potent sun.I believe each creative is a conduit or vessel, according to varied capacity, receiving ambrosia from above.The ancient poets and prophets thought this,as well as some artists and poets do today.These periods of inspiration are the poets muse, ever spoken of.
Plato wrote of the archetypal realm of ideas, that hidden and divine source of all knowledge and wisdom.This very realm is the source and fountain from which creatives draw their water.I would have it no other way, and consider it a blessing to partake of that water, as so few are able to.The periods of depression may even be partly because of the great loss felt when that inspiration leaves us.
First we are almost immortal, able to take on anything,and next we are filled with a terrible emptiness. There are times when I look at artwork I have done and think, wow I cant believe I made that, and there are other times when I doubt I even am an artist, and think, "what made you ever think you were?".
I feel strongly that having been blessed/cursed with hypomania has allowed me to know things and do things that the average person cannot even grasp.I feel a kinship with all who have written here. Godbless"

2 comments:

BipolarPorch said...

Excellent post. You are so correct in that it takes hard work. I am a bit curious as to a couple thing though.

1) What type of work are you in now?
2) Why the use of so many quotation marks? It confuses an already confused reader(bipolar confusion that is).

Love the blog though and keep posting. I added it to my site.

Andrew

Visit my Bipolar News Site...

Lumen Drops said...

1) I am retired.
2) I use quotes because they are not my words.

The blog is a despository for positive, reflective thinking. Glad you have found something helpful here.

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