Gift, if you dont to analize bp dont click on discussion please

[Judy W]

I have read a couple of books not related to bp recently. Both said to of course acknowledge and accept an illness (of any kind). Then one went on to encourage you to find a way to see the illness as a gift. So I am just curious if any of you guys here can see bp as a gift.
I guess I would say that I can be a sounding board for people other people with mental illness and that would make me feel useful and hopefully help someone. Hopefully I can learn to be patient and understanding with other people with mental illness and just people with their own little quirks. If you think its all hog wash I understand completely. Hopefully no one gets offended here.

[Summerbreeze]

Hi Judy, I think bipolar is what I am meant to have. I believe that it is like any other disease that someone has, so this is my disease. I don't know if I would use the word GIFT, in my thinking, but I do enjoy being able to help people, and be able to see things from other perspecitves that I might not be able to do, if I weren't bipolar.

[Daisy]

Judy,
Maybe first you have to look at what your gifts are and then decide if any of them are influenced in a positive way by the bipolar.
My gifts include helping others. I've always believed that God has a purpose for my life and that things happen for a reason. When I went through a really deep depression, part of what got me through was the belief that there was a reason for it. In my eating disorder support group there where other women who came through the group who where really depressed and I was the one who could relate to them and it helped them. I would say that this definitely lines up with my gift of helping others and I could not have done it without the bipolar. I've been hypo-manic for most of the last couple of years and I've arranged all kinds of activities for the singles at my church (of a couple thousand people). It has take bipolar courage to do it. That counts as a gift.
It all has to do with how you look at it.

[withavengeance]

I have to say I agree with all three of your comments.

I too have become much more empathetic toward those suffering from mental illness. As a matter of fact, I can spot it a mile away in a person. I don't say anything, though, because it's their private business. Bipolar I can pick up on in a heartbeat!

As far as being a 'gift', this is truly a double edged sword. For instance, the reason I'm writing so much now (including here), I now know is a gift from my bipolar (I think, anyway).

Would I trade it for getting rid of bipolar? I really don't know. If it weren't for the deep depressions, I don't think I'd trade it. Yet when I'm slightly manic, I can write like crazy and some of it's actually good stuff (not all, hehe). When I'm depressed, though, I can't hardly write my name.

Some people who have a true psychic ability (very few do), though, despised their gift at first, then came to embrace it in order to do some good in this world. But of course they don't suffer from the terrible depressions like we do.

I truly ponder if bipolar is a gift. I guess it can be if we can channel it somehow.

[withavengeance]

The good news is that I know some young people in AA that are quite up front about also having bp. They don't think it's a big deal at all. To me, this is a sign that bp won't be such a stigma in the future, as it is today. I rarely disclose to anyone, especially people my own age or thereabouts. And never, ever an employer.

[Judy W]

Thank you for your comments. Honestly, I have to say that I am still trying to come to terms with having the illness. That's why I asked the question to see how other people view it. As far as my gifts I have not sat down and thought about what mine are. At this stage in my life (38) I would like to change careers and help people in some way. I havent decided or felt truly lead to a career yet. And maybe my desire to help may not include a job change but merely trying to conect with people I am in contact with. Or maybe it means finding a place to volunteer.
Thanks again!

[Daisy]

I'm in the same position that you are Judy. I won't be allowed to have ny old job back and in my industry you can't sit still for 5 years and then pick back upvery easil. I've struggled with what skills I have and what other job I can do. I do know what my spiritual gifts are. There is an exam that you can take to identify the ones that you already use but didn't realize were gifts.I've volunteered and it has helped me feel useful but not helped with the career search except that you can try out different types of jobs by volunteering to do them for a church or non-profit for a while.I used to think that I was going to be a project manager, which is one of the things I used to do, and I had planned to ask a non-profit if they would let me manage a single project for them prior to going back to work to help me determine if I was ready to return.
I struggle a lot with this illness also.When I'm hypo-manic I'm fine but the last few days I've started sliding downward so part of the day I'm fine and I can call aspects of it a gift and some hours I hate that part of me..

[Serenity]

I am finding that recently, maybe because of all the media publicity about Bipolar, that people do have a little bit more of a understanding about our illness. Some people that I have met are even asking me questions about Bipolar trying to have a better understanding of me. I know I have told a few people this, and they were really surprised that I made that statement to them. I told them " Because I am Bipolar I have got to experience a lot of things in life that they never will " I'm not sure if that is a GIFT or not. But I think it is a positive way for me to look at my illness. This forum is so fantastic, even if you educate people, we can understand how each others feels as we struggle sometimes.

[My idol]

I think that bipolar is a gift packaged as a challenge. I've made some pretty bad choices over the years because of my bipolar nature. I wasn't wise enough to acknowledge the hold that being bipolar had on me. I just went with the flow, not caring about the consequences. And left unchecked it caused some serious problems.

Fortunately, I have gotten smarter. I'm, much more intuned to my meds, my stressors and indicators (with the help of this forum thank God). So I think I can finally enjoy the hypomanias (I'm rarely ever depressed anymore) with a much more level head. Enjoying the highs, within limits, is a gift that we alone experience.

And i'm not ashamed of this badge I wear. I agree with Pam to be careful who you share it with. But I love to discuss bipolar with anyone who asks me. It is a fascinating disorder after all.

Best wishes,
Linda

[Kelton Smith]

Hello.
I don't think having Bipolar is a gift...I think is it what it is: a mental illness. What I do think is that out of that illness we become more aware of things in a different perspective and use our gifts of understanding and compassion to better our world for others. People are blessed with many types of gifts,,,each using their gifts for the same purpose. I may not be a speaker but I sure can sit down with a friend and hold them while they find out how to cope with this illness; I may not be a scientist but I may be able to legally speak for the MI family as a lawyer; I may be that journalist that keeps the world updated with the illness or I might be that mom who advocates for my child not to be stereotyped in school. I may not be able to tell my family I have the illness but I have friends that can help me get through the next day. The list can go on and on and on...

Am I making any sense or am I way off with the point? The illness is the illness but how we best cope with it is our individual gifts , (I believe given by God) is how we share it with others.

[withavengeance]

Thanks, Kelton, for showing me another way of looking at bp.

Ack! We have a lawyer in our midst! Lawyers are another form of mental illness...just kidding! I used to work as an administrative assistant/paralegal/secretary in law many years ago and for a long time, hehe.

[Kelton Smith]

Glad to help. That's why we're all here.... to help each other with our insights, knowledge and perspectives that we've experienced along this journey that we call life.

Hope you don't think I'm a lawyer because I'm far from it! LOL

[withavengeance]

Huh! Kelton, when you said 'legally speak' earlier, I just assumed (which only makes an ass of u and me) that you were a lawyer <_>