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Looking after ourselves

Jenn4
Senior Contributor

Regret from mania. Please help?

How do people cope with regrets from mania? Usually I'm quite good at it but thinking about them all now and getting overwhelmed and scared haha. Jenn 

17 REPLIES 17

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

hi @Jenn4
I don't have mania but wanted to say that im hearing you

perhaps @Mazarita @greenpea @eth @The-red-centaur might be able to give some advice

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

Thankyou @outlander ! It's not major things but it hurts you know? Thanks again 

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

I have many regrets (not associated with mania though) and they hurt so I think ive got a rough idea @Jenn4

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

Thankyou @outlander  they sting when it's as though you didn't even really consent to them bc try as you might your spirit can't really wield your brain 

 

🙂 

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

id imagine that would definently make it tougher @Jenn4

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

@outlander  Thanks for your solidarity and sympathy friend 🙂 

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

@outlander @Jenn4  Hi outlander thanks for the Tag and welcome Jenna this question you ask is close to my heart. I have schizoaffective disorder and  when not properly medicated can fall into mania at the drop of a hat. All I can say is to draw a line under the past deeds when manic and swear to yourself that you wil not repeat them. What is done cannot be undone but tomorrow is another day and everyone makes mistakes (remember too it was the illness not you). Be kind to yourself take active steps to not fall into mania again. Take care. Love greenpea

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

Hi @Jenn4   I totally echo what @greenpea  has said.  I've lived it too, I have bipolar 1 and have managed to stay out of hospital for 10 years, but had many periods of mania both before (and hospitalizations against my will) and since then.  The part I'd emphasise  most is that it was the illness that influenced the regretful and risky deeds.   It took until I was 46 to get diagnosed correctly and a lot of things happened before I knew what I was prone to because of the bipolar 1 (and it's interaction with cPTSD).  It takes a lot of effort but it is possible to learn to keep busy without causing major consequences when manic.  Harder if you get so far out that you have psychosis - which I had many times.  So the key is to catch it before it gets to the stage where you loose 'insight' into where you're at, and develop strategies and activities that you can do at those times. Personally, I keep charts daily so I can see as soon as things are starting to change moodwise, and also record what meds I take 3 x a day, so that I never miss them.  There are charts for bipolar managing available online or from your psychiatrist or psychologist.

 

And as far as the past goes - that also takes time, but you can accept it more and forgive yourself and make amends or apologies to others affected by your actions.  And ultimately let it go.  And for me that's also meant accepting that there are some things I'll never know, and some things which I remember very differently from others around me at the time, because of delusions that were very real at the time.

 

Hope some of this is helpful.

Re: Regret from mania. Please help?

Thankyou @greenpea  and @eth  that's helpful. And nice to speak with you both again 🙂

 

I think i can tell when i am going into mania (or even hypomania I can do things that i regret that i wouldn't otherwise do). it's hard. So but i think i am getting better at insight. i've only had full mania twice. Blaming my brain is a helpful frame. I like to seperate my brain and my spirit or so. I don't like to say i have an illness, or even i have bipolar. I say I am bipolar, a neurodiversity, i have a bipolar brain. Still can use it as a scapegoat though, like blame my brain. I don't know. I'm picking up what you're putting down though! I think of my brain as like a dragon that i can fight or i can fly. More tools for how to fly it when in mania would definitley be helpful. I have to work with my bipolar brain not against it. it's a bit of an extreme sport, which i guess explains the occassional (non-physical) injuries to self and others. 

 

Thankyou for your love and support. 

 

Do you ever get scared that you are too much for people? What do you do then? 

 

Warm Regards, Jenn

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