Bipolar Disorder What Is It?

Bipolar Disorder: What Is It?

Bipolar disorder, sometimes called manic depression, is a disorienting condition that causes extreme shifts in mood. Like riding a slow-motion roller coaster, patients may spend weeks feeling like they're on top of the world before plunging into a relentless depression. 

The length of each high and low varies greatly from person to person. In any given year, bipolar disorder affects more than 2% of American adults.

Bipolar Disorder and Daily Life

Bipolar disorder can disrupt your goals at work and at home. In one survey, 88% of patients said the illness took a toll on their careers. The unpredictable mood swings can drive a wedge between patients and their co-workers or loved ones. In particular, the manic phase may scare off friends and family. People with bipolar disorder also have a higher risk of developing anxiety disorders.

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San Francisco Open Your Golden Gates...

The day this guy almost got creamed......

On arrival in San Francisco back in 1995 I felt an overwhelming sense of adventure heading my way... My naughty boy radar was on high alert....

The City (it’s not called “frisco”) with all its aural and visual delights was beckoning this Bipolar bloke - more than anywhere else I felt I belonged and that “adventures” were at hand....

After sobering up from a week long bender, full of fun, high jinx and a long haul flight that saw me slugging Kahlua on the descent into San Francisco....

My dear long suffering Liz was working at the Bank of America on California Street in San Francisco and I dutifully met her from work for the 10 block long walk back to our apartment on Sutter Street - better known, locally, as Suffer Street because of its high density of medical buildings and dentists.....


I had only been in the United States for three days when I was almost no more.... So close to toast....


Being Bipolar gives me inbuilt coping techniques in differing situations and one of these is simple.... I never cross a road on first green and tend to walk among the middle of fellow road crossers.  It is a safety technique that, basically, stops me getting hit by a car as at times I do not think when crossing a road...


So here I am in San Francisco where everyone drives on the other side of the road setting my road crossing technique on “high alert”

I am just heading to a small bar near the Bank of America building (as I did often) for a pre meeting Liz cocktail.


At the intersection there is the usual mayhem and I am on double “Bipolar Red Alert”  wrong side of road and Bipolar mmmmm not a good mix...


This all happened in seconds..... The cross walk light is green  but I’m having none of it - I stand behind a bus and crane my neck around and see a Mercedes or such barrel through the stop light and ram a few people that had trusted the green cross light.  The car was doing about 40 mph and I marginally escaped getting killed because of my Bipolar radar....


The people that were hit by the “red light runner” were thrown into the air like rag dolls and one Lady went flying about 15 foot in the air and landed with a sickening thud on the sidewalk...  I ran over - making sure there were no more “red light runners” and tried to help the injured people but could see the Lady was dead and backed off as SFPD and Paramedics arrived en masse.


It was awful and believe me being Bipolar saved me on just my third day in lovely San Francisco - I was questioned by the police and had a few home visits by lawyers and police officers - I never did find out what happened to the Lady that ran the red light but really hope she got years in jail for that.


I duly went into a nearby cocktail bar and as the San Francisco Chronicle put it “had a few stiff ones”....


A couple of years later I bought a Suzuki Intruder 1400 (FAST) that looked like a Harley (but was faster) and after almost getting creamed on the freeway a few times took to wearing an SFPD badge and hi vis police jacket on my travels


It worked.....

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Bipolar Disorder - What it is....

What is bipolar? 

Types of bipolar disorder
Different types of the disorder are determined by patterns and severity of bipolar symptoms of highs and lows.

Bipolar I disorder is characterized by one or more manic episodes or mixed episodes-symptoms of both a mania and a depression occurring nearly everyday for at least one week-and one or more major depressive episodes. Bipolar I disorder is the most severe form of the illness, marked by extreme manic episodes.

Bipolar II disorder is characterized by one or more depressive episodes accompanied by at least one hypomanic episode. Hypomanic episodes have symptoms similar to manic episodes but are less severe, and must be clearly different from a person's non-depressed mood.

Cyclothymic disorder is characterized by chronic fluctuating moods with periods of hypomania and depression. The periods of both depressive and hypomanic symptoms are shorter, less severe, and do not occur with regularity as experienced with bipolar I or II. However, these mood swings can impair social interactions and work. Many people with cyclothymia develop a more severe form of bipolar illness.

Symptoms of bipolar disorder
Most people who have bipolar disorder talk about experiencing "highs" and "lows." These swings can be severe, ranging from extreme energy to deep despair. The severity of the mood swings and the way they disrupt normal life activities distinguish bipolar mood episodes from ordinary mood swings.

Mania Symptoms
•    Increased physical and mental activity and energy
•    Heightened mood, exaggerated optimism, and self-confidence
•    Excessive irritability, aggressive behaviour
•    Decreased need for sleep without experiencing fatigue
•    Racing speech, thoughts, and flight of ideas
•    Increased sexual drive
•    Reckless behaviour

Depression Symptoms 
•    Prolonged sadness or unexplained crying spells
•    Significant changes in appetite and sleep patterns
•    Irritability, anger, worry, agitation, anxiety
•    Pessimism, loss of energy, persistent lethargy
•    Feelings of guilt and worthlessness
•    Inability to concentrate, indecisiveness
•    Recurring thoughts of death and suicide

How common is bipolar disorder in children?
Bipolar disorder is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the disorder. When one parent has bipolar disorder, the risk to each child is estimated to be 15-30%. When both parents have the disorder, the risk increases to 50-75%. Symptoms may be difficult to recognize in children because they can be mistaken for age-appropriate emotions and behaviors of children and adolescents. Bipolar symptoms may appear in a variety of behaviors. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, up to one-third of the 3.4 million children with depression in the United States may actually be experiencing the early onset of bipolar disorder.

Treatment for bipolar disorder
Several therapies exist for bipolar disorder and promising new treatments are currently under investigation. Because bipolar disorder can be difficult to treat, it is highly recommended that you consult a psychiatrist or a general practitioner with experience in treating this illness. Treatments may include medication, talk therapy, and support groups.

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Working at the Car Wash

Image by Plymouth Devon via Flickr......ever since I first heard the clap clap clap intro of Rose Royce and their hit Car Wash I just knew that one day I would really work at a Car Wash in America........

No guessing that I actually did!

It was one of those opportunities that sail my way which I knew I had to take if only for a short while .... and it was short.

The car wash was in a lovely town called Danville (or Danceville) just outside San Francisco and near Walnut Creek where we lived...

It was called Chamois (Shammys) and the boss was concerned about the chronic customer service from the Mexican guys at the front - the guys that would get to you and sell you the full package and pocket a nice commission

Apparently no-one was buying the upsell and consequently the daily take at the Car Wash was not as high as it should have been

Enter David.  I cannot for the life of me remember how I met the owners but figure it must have been when I was DJing a "posh wedding" or at the very lovely Moraga Country Club.

So one beautiful blazing hot California day I started and once I had worked out how it all went I was there at the helm being nice to people and selling them super wax and a proper detail job that would have the driver being the envy of his neighbour.

Everyone was buying the top package from me and besides the lovely sun all day I was making a LOT of money in commission and tips...... Wonderful.....

There I was riding my trusted Suzuki Intruder up the freeway with a stack of money and a fine sun tan... It was better than any managerial job or worse stuck in an office....

It really was easy stood around in the sun in shorts and a cool Ramones vest and shades but I left - boing ! Just like that

I can't remember why I just did.

it was only the Mexican guys that were a little pissed off with me as I was making a boat load and they didn't quite get the silver tongued charm I have built in...

I'll never forget Working at the Car Wash.......




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San Ramon California and Mania

Taking the biscuit - another David.....

This David gets ups and downs but usually swings somewhere in the bemused centre of life and its absurdities.

I can often be seen quietly watching life go by with a wry grin on my face.

Over the decades I've met some really funny ordinary people that have made my stomach hurt through laughter.....

One such fellow was another David and a "State of California registered Security Officer" as I am...

The DJ and Google business was going through a quiet or boring phase and I usually ended up working for a leading name security company when I felt the need for some sun, fun and laughs.

I was on an assignment at an enormous business park in San Ramon, California - just outside San Francisco. The contract was good and I got my own nice vehicle with flashing lights and such.

I was on the day shift which I enjoyed as I was solo with the main guards coming on duty for the "swing shift" - I relieved / woke up the graveyard shift.

I always took Saturday off as I was generally booked to DJ/MC a wedding in the area - I chose to work Sunday day shift as I would be really knackered and Sunday was a good day for loafing in the sun and meeting all my co-workers on a very easy shift.

It was one Sunday that was so hot (103f) that I heard laughter on the radio system and calls of "Hey David come check out David .... at BR8" so in need of a laugh I head off to BR8 which was an office block mid build. It was merely girders and cement on a building site.

I arrived at BR8 and did the obligatory handbrake stop with a cloud of dust surrounding my Chevy Blazer to be met with about six other Security Officers cracked up laughing pointing up to the top of the skeleton of a building....

There atop the girders about eight floors up was David..... stark naked playing "Mickey and Minnie Mouse" (which the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah band wrote and recorded) on an acoustic guitar.

It was hilarious and I later learned that David.... was a fellow Bipolar Disorder person that often forgot to take his meds OR doing something really silly  and mixing it up with pot.

I was shift  supervisor  but what was I supposed to do? The guy was harmless enough and we all had a laugh....  No harm no foul. I never did hear anymore about David..... but he was a lot of fun or down in the dumps.

I like steady oh and a jolly good laugh....

David

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