Is it Bipolar II, or Bipolar 2? Hard to get it straight? (Bipolar 2 is what’s all over the net but Bipolar II is what’s in the journals.)
Actually, if you suffer from bipolar II disorder, it’s no laughing matter. It’s a lot like bipolar I, except the highs are much less intense. So we call them hypomanic. Even so, they’re not nothing. Not even close. Living with bipolar 2 is no fun, but with support, medical treatment, and patience with yourself, it can be possible to live an enjoyable life. To be well.
But first, you need to recognize it, then you need the best psychiatrist you can get…right?
How else can you find some leveling out of the horrific ups and downs?
So Charming…almost Irresistible
Sometimes you’re a charmer, and you feel like you’re beautiful to other people, which is awkward when it’s the opposite sex you’re charming. Neither your spouse nor the spouse of the one you’re charming appreciates your beauty…you know?? You feel like you have such gifts to share — and honestly you do — but when hypomania sets in what seems like gifts you give to others, from your perspective, may actually be symptoms. Yep, you heard that right… not really charm or beauty but symptoms of the disorder.
Disappointing, I know. Still you’re a creative, intelligent, giving person when you’re in that in-between place we call “your fun self.” And you really are a lovely person everyone around you cherishes as a friend… and your friends get that you’re living with bipolar 2. They know it’s no piece of cake.
So, what’s it like when your charming and gifted self disappears? Are you sorry to see him go? You can feel so bad about yourself when you’re depressed, and you feel like you’re more likable when you’re charming. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
So think back. How were you feeling a month or two ago? Did you feel charming and gifted? If not, maybe that was a time you weren’t dealing with hypomania…
So let’s say it was four months ago. If you have had 4 or more bouts of hypomania within the last year…then you know you’re a rapid cycler. That means you have these hypomanic episodes more often than some people do with bipolar II. (Still, you’re certainly not competing with anybody!) Mostly it just helps to have a feel for how often this happens so you can recognize it and respond to it, and so those who love you can, too.
And it can help to be in touch with your cycles so you can avoid “mishaps…”
You might even say to your sister or your mom…do I seem hypomanic to you? Or am I just in a good mood?
It’s often easier for the people closest to you to tell the difference than for you. Because for you it might just feel GREAT. Fantastic. Beautiful. Normal. And whether you’re in a great mood or hypomanic, just feeding into a good mood can trigger an episode of hypomania. You stay up later, go out more, get super charged….and before you know it, yikes! Try to put a lid on it, if you’re able to.
In the process of living with bipolar 2, maybe you feel edgy and impatient when you’re energized like this. Instead of feeling charming and gifted and full of energy, maybe you feel more irritable and agitated? This is one form of mixed states, and it’s not much fun, either. (To say the least.) For some people that agitated state lasts longer, but then still for others it can be much shorter. And what are you supposed to do with yourself ….with those irritable, edgy feelings when you have them?
I guess it’s hard not to punch someone, but it’s super good you hold back from doing that. It’s your condition getting you riled up…not really the other person as much. (Although we have to agree that some people are pretty annoying!) It’s a fact of life. Still, it’s important not to punch anyone, right?
What’s it like when that charming feeling goes away? You may feel like your average self. Or…you may feel irritable and edgy. Or you may feel desperately low, sinking down, dark, sad, and angry.
You feel so terribly tired, so defeated, like you want to die... When you’re feeling that way, it’s not so clear to you that the way you feel is a symptom, and it will pass.
And you feel like that for…weeks?? Months?? Do you know what can be done to help you feel better and not feel so terrible for so long?
IV ketamine treatment can make a huge difference when you’re living with bipolar 2 depression.
It works for bipolar depression just as it works for treatment resistant depression ….Imagine what it would be like to have bipolar 2 with no depression?
Oh…It turns out it’s really called bipolar II! Not 2? Yes, not you bipolar 2, even though that’s a quick cute shorthand. It should be Bipolar II.
With IV ketamine treatment, you would get six or eight infusions, roughly, over 2-3 weeks, and you should start to feel better if you do it when you’re depressed. LOTS better. Most people do. Just like with major depression, the dendrites at the synapses become pruned and broken and thinned out from the stress of the disorder. Ketamine restores them, builds them back up using brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor(BDNF). Ketamine sails through your lateral habenula and tamps down the bursting cells that prevent you from enjoying pleasure. Those G proteins slide off the lipid rafts in the cell membrane and get the neurotransmitters moving so signals shoot around your brain again, making you feel good. Happy. Creative.
You know, ketamine can stop those thoughts…the suicidal ones. Very quickly in our hands and in our office. Treatment doesn’t affect your memory …and suicidal thoughts can stop within a few short hours.
Maybe you should think about IV ketamine treatment if you start feeling down again. And there are now more ways to get financing to pay for medical treatments like this.
If you’ve actually had suicidal thoughts and images in the past, you know how serious that can be.
Just remember that there’s ketamine treatment if you get that down again. It can be like hope in a jar.
You shouldn’t have to live with terrible depression.
At Innovative Psychiatry, we see patients with bipolar II every day, and ketamine infusions help them feel so much better so much of the time. Not all, of course. But most. We treat their hypomania and mixed states separately from the depression. We watch them transform from burdened and depressed to walking with a spring in their step and chatting with ease. IV ketamine can do that.
If you struggle and suffer from Bipolar II disorder, the symptoms that can be lifted off you by relieving your depression will make your life so much easier to manage. There are medications that help with hypomania, too. So many people with bipolar II / bipolar 2 have enjoyed the freedom that comes from ketamine treatment.
When you come for treatment, you’ll enjoy a gorgeous, private treatment room where you can lay back and relax to make the most of your treatment. And we’ve gone the extra mile to install plasma cell technology to protect you from infection. This technology, developed by the Department of Defense and NASA, is high tech enough that it destroys 99.999% of viral and bacterial DNA from our indoor air, so we’re as infection-free as you can get. You can feel safe safe, without fear of the delta or mu variant, and become a happier, more relaxed person… free to live and enjoy your life.
Whatever your shorthand is — II or 2 – living with bipolar 2 can be tough. And when it is, remember that IV ketamine’s extraordinary ability to defeat depression could be just the thing to pull you out and help you enjoy a rewarding life.
If you’ve suffered from these symptoms, call us.
Let us help you turn the corner and live again.
To the restoration of your best self,
