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Being diagnosed withbipolar disordercan set off a flurry of conflicting feelings.
Jocelyn Tsaih
Maybe youre relieved theres an explanation for the sudden mood fluctuations youve experienced.
You may also worry about what the diagnosis means or how others will react to it.
Maybe youre wondering, What will my friends and family think?
Will I feel this way forever?
An appropriate treatment looks different for everyone with bipolar I.
Finding what medications, approaches totherapy, and lifestyle changeswork best for youwill take time.
But the patience it takes to arrive at an effective plan is worth itjust ask people whove been there.
Here, four of them share how treating bipolar I transformed their lives for the better.
Theres no more rage, which is amazing.
I was so angry.
I didnt feel a thing.
After more episodes like this, Mathews knew she needed help.
Mathews says her insurance didnt cover her treatment, which caused her to become spotty withtaking her medication.
So she turned to other types of relief.
I self-medicated with alcohol and ended up in rehab, she says.
(If you cant afford a prescription or therapy, tell your doctors ASAP.
Once she was out of rehab, Mathews knew committing to mental health treatment was her best option.
She was prescribed an antidepressant, which shes still taking today.
Mathews says she still runs hot, but theres no more rage, which is amazing.
They introduced me to so many people [with bipolar disorder], she says.
[They] understand what Im going through.
Now, at 53 years old, Mathews is in control of her bipolar I.
She encourages those whove recently been diagnosed to stay patientand stick to treatment.
If you’re free to just hang in there, you get more comfortable with it.
It felt like someone else was controlling my mind and body.
I was hearing and seeing things, she tells SELF.
I thought I was a millionaire and my money would never end.
I maxed out my credit cards and got into $50,000 [worth of] debt.
Lukosius says she stole from stores, skipped paying at restaurants, and slept at bus stops.
It felt like someone else was controlling my mind and body before she found help, she says.
I am happy that I got the help that I needed.
[My doctors] brought me back to reality.
I was finally able to regulate my emotions.
As a teenager, Felisha Lord was particularly hotheaded.
I got enraged and angry, she tells SELF.
I would break things in the house.
Just as quickly as her rage bubbled up, it dipped into depression.
It made me mellow, Lord explains.
I was finally able to regulate my emotions.
My relationships are better, she says.
There is life and stability beyond the diagnosis.
Tabitha Connelly George was diagnosed with bipolar I in 1997 when she was in middle school.
By the time I was 15, I had been expelled from school twice, she says.
Before she received treatment, George was taken to a hospital for self-harm.
George struggled with the medications prescribed to her at first.
I bounced in and out of residential facilities, she says.
(If a new diagnosis or prescription is confusing or concerning, flag it to your care team ASAP.
If something about treatment feels iffy, chances are its not the right one for you.)
Eventually, George found a therapist in 2017 that prescribed her therapy and mood-stabilizing medication.
I love [my therapist].
I dont know what Id do without her, she says.
While her care is still a work in progress, George is happy with where shes at.
Im successful today, she says.
I co-run a nonprofit organization.
Im in therapy every week.
There is life and stability beyond the diagnosis.
