Published on 12, July, 2020
Had a real burst of energy this week after making the decision to quit teaching. Felt like a new man and was able to do things I couldnt normally do. Now after having two occasions of socialising in two days I feel utterely burned out and crashing, like I cant do anything but sit in my pyjamas.Does anyone else identify with this:?
Yes but in my case I’m bipolar as well as autistic. Is this just a one-off or does it happen a lot? Also do you think you are burned out because of the socialising you have been doing or because of all the other things you have been doing?
Hey Taltunes It's interesting you have BP too, how d'you cope? I used to have a friend with it, she was on some pretty heavy meds that made her feel flat.
Yeah, weight gain always scares me with that kind if thing, she was on lithium and some other stuff I can't remember now. It's interesting you do tai-chi etc, my partner does a range of stuff, a lot of hard-core meditation, tai-chi and some other energy work, he's been doing it for about 30 years or so and couldn't manage without it. I can't meditate due to how my brain is wired up/damaged. It's good though that it helps you to cope. Anything like that is a bonus as it's difficult to find anything that actually makes a difference.
I’m lucky I’ve got BP type II instead of the more extreme type I. Although I’m on antidepressants, which I was off and on for years before my two diagnoses anyway, my psychiatrist decided not to prescribe me a mood stabiliser because I enjoy my highs too much. Historically I was depressed maybe 90-95% of the time and manic the rest of the time but I have discovered that a combination of chanting, meditation and tai chi / chi Kung exercises increase the amount of time I spend manic and reduces the amount of time I feel depressed. Yes, some of the meds can be quite heavy and can have side effects including weight gain (no pun intended)