How serious is BP disorder?

I am slightly confused about how my doctor and counselors respond to my diagnosis.

For instance, sure (before meds) I would throw things and cry a lot and be incredibly upset and refuse to go to school and let my grades fall dramatically - but, after those moments I would feel fine - nothing was incredibly wrong...

I did get treatment fairly early - 5 months after my first 'episode'. (Well, I had been depressed for a long time before that, so I don't know...)

I found it hard to believe when, I, after crying and talking super fast (at the same time) at my first appt. with the doct, was watching the doctor say "this is serious business... don't you worry... you're going to be OK... many people who have BP turn out fine in the end." and I was thinking "whoa... what is she talking about? I'm already fine!"

Is BP considered one of the most serious mental illnesses? I am just curious... O.o Of course, my counselor and doc believe my mania isnt at the high end and my depression (well not anymore anyway) was normal for BPers.

Thanks!

bipolar is not serious when compared to the schizoprenia disorders. infact if you search the net there are many more support forums for bp than schizoprenia.
you cant get more serious then schizoprenia. as a schizoprenic i will vouch for that.

Crayon you can find alot of support out there from doctors right the way through to people who employ.
bipolar can be dreadful for some people but its not the worst thing that can happen to someone.
just look to the many famous people who are bipolar. dont forget that there is a cure at the end of the day

stay well

ive done a lot of researching myself - some people consider bipolar on one end of a spectrum opposite schizophrenia. i myself feel i'm somewhere between the two - they call this 'schizoaffective.' i get depressed but manic n sometimes a lil delusional for no apparent reason.

also, bipolar is not just bipolar - there's bipolar 1 and 2, 1 worse than 2, and different adjectives like cyclothymic, rapid-cycling, seasonal - and i guess if ur bipolar youre likely borderline personality like me - i always thought i was just too thoughtful heh.

keep in mind since they dont hav any actual explanation for these 'diseases,' and no real 'cures,' its all relative to the 'sick' person and some people can handle their problem (even schizophrenics), tho most dont even understand what's going on.

Hey, everyone.

Hope it's okay if I jump in. My mother is schizoaffective.

She was first dx manic/depressive, then schizophrenia, and finally, the above. Her Pdoc told me that schizoaffective means she has both schizophrenia and bi polar.

Meaning she has psycotic episodes at both ends of the pole as well as when she is at neither end of the pole.

Luckily, I just got the bi polar (well...sorta lucky - if you count having obssessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder {with dissociating symptoms indicative of dissociative idenity disorder} along with bi polar lucky).

So, see? There are worse things than having bi polar. There's having bi polar in combination with other mental illness.

My best to you
Stolen

Bipolar is probably considered serious because when we cycle into the depressive phase we may try to kill ourselves. If a disease results in death, it is considered serious. Also, when in a high we can spend all of our money, ruin our credit, and ruin our marriages with our strong sex drives.

When I am in a normal phase, I plan for the times when I am too high or too low to function. For example, I only keep enough money around for what I plan on buying. I do not use credit cards unless I can pay them off when the bill arrives. Exercise helps both my highs and lows. I have functioned quite well with my bipolar for many years.
Good Luck,
Jim S

technically, from what i've read and heard, the psychotic disorders are concidered the worst--schizophrenia, schizoaffective and all that. I have schizophrenia myself, and i guess my case is concidered fairly bad, because i've been hospitalized many times, in outpatient programs, dropped out of school because of it, can't work because of it, etc, etc. But i still don't think i have it as severly as some others do--like my aunt. She had one of the most severe cases of schiz i've ever heard of. She was taken into state custody and commited to the psychiatric hospital at the age of 15. She heard voices ALL THE TIME and did anything those voices told her to do, and she was so far gone in her own world, that she hardly even communicated with anyone. She lived out her life in the state hospital, never got better and eventually commited suicide at the age of 48.

In my opinion, it just really all depends on how severe the individual illness is itself. It could be any mental illness. For example, someone with a mild case of schizophrenia wouldn't be as bad off as someone with an extreamly severe case of Bipolar disorder. Bipolar can be very severe itself.

I think the thing about schizophrenia that is so difficult, is it's much more uncommon than bipolar disorder, therefor, most people generally dont understand it and believe many of the myths they've heard about it.

-Becka

I have Bipolar 1 with an Anxiety disorder and when your manic and having a panic attack it can get pretty bad.

Bipolar is considered a psychotic disorder, full mania is on the psychotic scale. Schizophrenia, Schizo-affective Disorder and Bipolar Disorder are considered the 'top 3' by psychiatrists. Of course, you can have less severe Bipolar disorder and more severe, just like you have have less or more severe epilepsy.
Im Bipolar and have been hospitalised 5 times over the past 4 years. Most recently I was hospitalised with severe hulucinations and religious delusions. My mania had become psychotic and I was a very real danger to myself. Bipolar disorder is considered just as severe as sz because it can severely damage your life, but then a much higher percentage of bipolar sufferers have less severe strains of the disorder.

It CAN be very severe, but it can be very mild. Consider yourself lucky you have a less severe form.

BiPolar isn't as serious as you probably think. Disorders like schizophrenia and DID are far worse but then again it depends on the person because each case is different. I have Borderline Personality Disorder which is similar to BiPolar in many ways. For instance we both experience mood swings often etc. To be honest I wouldn't worry too much about it because they have meds for BiPolar disorder and they may help you. They don't help me at all but you could be different.

I agree that some conditions can be worse than others. Bipolar disorder may not be considered to be as "bad" as schizophrenia or schizoaffective, but it still needs to be taken very seriously. It can be extremely dangerous. I had a friend that killed himself, and he had bipolar disorder. So, just because it's not considered to be as "bad" as other things, still don't take it lightly.