I am looking for a support group of people with bipolar disorder. I was diagnosed only two years ago and am still trying to understand this beautiful "dis-ease"!
I have not taken allopathic drugs or medication, but instead use the healing capacity within each of us to try and understand my symptoms and alleviate them using yoga, meditation, pranic healing and ayurveda as alternatives. Things are going great so far! Have just left a long calm phase which earlier would have been a depressive phase and have just entered mania, but a much more mellow mania, which is actually enjoyable, for me, and my family, I think!
Please email me if you would like to share your experiences or use my learnings with bipolar and alternatives!
jsbreckenridge@mac.com
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I would be very interested to know the processes which you underwent to diagnose as bipolar disorder.
BTW, I suppose you checked your thyroid function - since people with bipolar disorder very often have thyroid problems.
My wife has been diagnosed with post-partum psychosis. http://www.pregnancy-info.net/postpartum_psychosis.html.
Now, here the diagnosis was based typically on the clinical observation rather than by precision instruments.
Hi Durgasankar!
Thanks for writing. I am getting goosebumps reading your comment. I had severe post partum depression after the birth of my son 6 years ago. (Actually I was bipolar, but had not been diagnosed) I was in severe mania, lashing out at everyone, and generally drove my parents and husband crazy. On their insistence, I found out about a therapist, and started seeing her. I saw a few therapists and counsellors quite regularly, but no one mentioned bipolar disorder.
2 years ago, while visiting a friend in London, she suggested I see her psychiatrist, as at the time, she felt drugs and medication could do for me what years of psychotherapy were not doing. The psychiatrist there presecribed some blood tests and instantly recommended I start taking a medicine called Depakote. I came back to India and looked at Depakote on the web. I got petrified by the side effects and against all my family's wishes, started my healing with pranic healing, diet, and meditation.
It's been a tough 2 years, but I am so glad I chose this path. In August 2005, when I was diagnosed, I was also pregnant and was not aware of the fact. I just thought I was missing my periods because of all the stress! I found out in October I was pregnant, and had I taken Depakote, one of the side effects is birth defects!!! Liam is now 15 months old, perfectly healthy and a joy... I thank God every day for the blessing.
Please feel free to call me 98186 88388 if you want to discuss this further.
By the way, I am also presenting a paper on Post Partum Depression: The Dis-ease no one talks about at a Birth India conference in Mumbai in November this year, so am very very comfortable with post partum and all its ramifications.
Wishing your wife, you and the family lots of love and healing,
Jhilmil
Also, if your wife wants healing, just send me a photograph and her name, I can give distant pranic healing. It would be best to meet if you would like a complete healing plan incorporating food and exercise ideas, so do let me know if you are planning a trip to Delhi any time soon.
And stay away from the medication if you're ever considering a second baby, the drugs, though easier in the short term, are very damaging.
All the best!
Dear Jhilmil,
Thank you for the response, and for the write up that followed.
Depakote has indeed frightening side effects.
My beliefs are kind of inclusive, and not exclusive. I believe in the usefulness of drugs, I believe in the usefulness of yoga and meditation and weight training and cardio vascular. They are my weapons. I will use them all against an enemy disease.
So, medication is on. And even without medication we would not plan for a second baby. If not for side effects of medicines that might result in birth defects, there could be possibility that the child could also inherit the disease, which we would not want.
We both are very concerned about the side effects of each medicine. And we would read about each of them which is is prescribed to take, and understand their side effects, and quiz the doctor about them before deciding to take them.
All medicines that she is taking now do not have that kind of side effects as Depakote.
Thank you also for the open offer assisting us; we look forward to meeting you sometime - though food and exercises are on. But I personally would like to avoid anything that is connected with the esoteric. Though meditation is fine.
Hi again Durgasankar:
Thanks for your notes. I am glad your wife is using a combination of the medicine and holisitic therapies. The food and yoga are so healing... try an ayurvedic approach to food, it works like a charm.
If she has bipolar, she is probably a vata, but to be sure, go to this site:
http://www.whatsyourdosha.com/quiz/index.html
to see which body type she is (you can see what yours is, too!). If vata, then eat foods and drinks that calm and heal excess vata (in mania, we have excess vata, and in depression, a depletion of it). Brahmi tea or cinnamon tea, which is what I drink now as opposed to regular tea or coffee calms me. Plus so many small changes like that...
I wish you a lot of love and support, in bipolar, I know it's hard on the patient, but in many ways, it's even harder on the people around—you sound like you're strong, brave and kind, and your wife is so lucky and loved. Take care, and if you ever want to compare notes with my husband, and our journey of the last 2 years, please feel free to write to him at djbreckenridge@mac.com
Hope this helps, stay in touch! I'll keep visiting your blog also to see what asanas you're up to, wish my body was that flexible!!! But I've just had surgery and have not done yoga for a month, am really missing it...
Jhilmil
PS: Pranic Healing is not esoteric, but it's okay to be sceptical about it. You both should choose whatever works for you. I am here to support you, in any way, should you need me!
I just sent you a mail.
:). Thank you for your compliments about my flexibility. I lost most of it - through years of non-practice. for example, still I cannot do a split. It will take me about six more months to do that.
I was not able to do the scorpion even a year ago. My mind commanded my body to re-learn. Body is slowly obeying over the last one and half years. I found that applying body weight against its inflexibility works inducing body flexibility.
Since you are a yoga instructor, which I am not, you would know more than I surely - that even after operation you can do non-demanding stuff - depending on where you were operated upon. There are so many of them.
Knowing about your husband I developed profound respect about him. He is surely a very special man. I must congratulate you on having such a wonderful husband.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Hi there,
Finally restarted my yoga practice yesterday, and like a charm, was able to sleep 7 hours! I feel great today!
Stay connected!
Love, Jhilmil
Thanks for writing this.
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