Posted by Solstice on October 13, 2011, at 23:18:30
In reply to Re: Antidepressant to Geodon... » Solstice, posted by floatingbridge on October 13, 2011, at 21:58:11
> >She tells me that in retrospect she realizes that the hypomania held hands with impulsivity, and she fears doing something she'll regret. She also does Not like feeling like she doesn't have conscious control of herself. I'm hoping that these are signs that she will be med-compliant as an adult, which tends to be a a real problem for those with bipolar.
> >
> > So I think the experience of going from a norm of hypomania to a 'normal' norm of emotions is not so much a matter of going from having emotions to being flat, as it is a
> matter of it taking some time to adjust to a normal range of emotions. At first, it feels like going from 10 to 0, but after a while you realize you only went from 10 to 5 - which is the 'norm'.. and it feels good.
> >
> > Solstice
>
> Sol, these seem like pretty amazing statements for a teen to be making and important realizations. I imagine you are very proud of her. It does sound like she is very likely to be med compliant which I would think would be such a relief to you as a parent. I wonder if she is proud of you for towing the line for her while she struggled with such difficult, introspective issues. I congratulate you on this :-).I agree. Before her bipolar was diagnosed, I was in despair about her future. Her impulsivity was so intense, and the hypomania was so distorting, that she did not have the capacity to give any thought to others.. at all. Her intelligence was apparent from the beginning, which made it all the more difficult to deal with. After she started accepting the effect geodon had on her mood, she told me it was an odd sensation for her to feel things about other people - simple things that we all take for granted like feeling empathy for others. Initially, it was hard for her because the very small discomforts of other people would have her in tears. It was a strange thing for her to feel affection for others, and it felt clumsy to her for a while. It was like she had an arrested development with respect to her relational/emotional functioning. Successfully treating the bipolar might be similar to someone who had never walked suddenly had the ability to walk. But she is very creative and positive, a genuinely delightful person, so she figured it out and caught up.
So yes, I am very proud of her, and am relieved to have the despair I once felt for her future, turn into such confidence in how she's developing.
and.. thank you for your compliment :-)
Solstice
poster:Solstice
thread:999552
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111006/msgs/999668.html