Posted by Scott L. Schofield on January 17, 2000, at 17:10:59
In reply to Re: Phillip, posted by Phillip Marx on January 16, 2000, at 23:43:02
Dear Phillip,
How are you doing?I'm O.K.
This whole thing is beginning to smell like that which I said I would take no part in. I guess I have been the culprit here in that my posts were the most instigating. This will probably be my last post regarding the fears I have that you may be headed in the direction of a manic psychosis.
> I'm trying to nice-up a response to your other things in ways that won't contribute to any depression.
Seeing my writing - that I have written at all - should give you some indication that you haven't yet contributed to my depression. Actually, producing my off-the-wall, obsessive postings may have caused quite the contrary. Please put your mind at ease. I assure you that you can never be guilty of being a trigger for me to climb a stairway to heaven. You know, it's funny that we both may have shared similar concerns.
> > It might be a good idea to begin a new thread and have Dr. Bob score it and offer some initial interpretations and suggestions.
> I asked him almost two weeks ago, I've no phobia against honest and skilled assessment. His response requires his consent.
Let me just be sure that I understand this properly. Would the following be a valid interpretation? Y/N?
"You solicited from Dr. Bob an evaluation of your current state of mental health. He subsequently corresponded with you by sending a reply to your solicitation. You now have his reply, but cannot or will not post it without his consent."
It would allay my concerns about you if you would please point me in the direction of your posts to Dr. Bob so I can stop being a pain in everybody's ass.
In any event, I am happy to hear that you have looked into the possibility that you may currently be in a manic state due to bipolar disorder. That you have been thoroughly evaluated by Dr. Bob puts my mind at ease.
I hope that I have not wasted too much of your time. I was just concerned.
Oh yeah. A few of more things...
I found your writing here to be more coherent than in previous posts. Of course, if you were manic, you may have been more focused to accomplished this. It would be a strategic attempt to...I don't know.
> I'm not being not-nice, but short and too-to-the-point reads like retort.
I tend to be very efficient with words. You can be too, if you'd like. I won't be offended.
> I knew that half a picture's worth of words wasn't going to be enough. Everyone's learning is a pyramid of facts. I have more.
I like the pyramid metaphor. Unfortunately, bipolar depression forced me to drop out of college after my sophomore year. When I was told by the clinical investigators at Columbian Presbyterian that there was nothing more they could do for me, I was compelled to plunge into the mountain of literature at the Rutgers medical school library to do it myself. The pyramid metaphor still stands (unintended pun), however, I had to start at the apex and work my way down. Fortunately, I began with a firm base built by taking courses towards a biology major.
> Everyone's learning is a pyramid of facts. I have more.
You are damned good. I can't even read my *own* mind.
> Everyone's learning is a pyramid of facts. I have more.
Facts regarding what?
> I'm signed up for an Acquired Brain Injury Specialist certification class and a related Perceptual Processing: Cognitive Rehabilitation class.
* You are getting better. You only wasted 322 words this time.
Take care,
Scott================================================================
The passage found at the bottom is a repost of my earlier submission regarding mania and some of its aspects. For the sake of emphasis, I capitalized the word EACH.Before leaving, I think it is important that it be understood that what is described here is far from being a sufficient review of the many ways that mania can manifest.
Someone please check me on this:
One presentation is called a mixed-state, where the mood state seems to have features of both mania and depression. This is far from being the energetic euphoria that represents the stereotyped mania seen in Bipolar I disorder. I imagine that it isn't a hell of a lot of fun.
My first episode of mania was labelled as "manic dysphoria" by my doctor. I don't know if this term has been used interchangeably with "mixed-state", but it too was not a hell of a lot of fun. It kind of started out as hypomania. I didn't sleep very much (perhaps 3 hours), although I wished I could. I felt "wired" and irritable. There was always something that I felt I had to do. I tried to do everything all at once. This would cause me to feel "drained" - not "fatigued", not "tired", and not "sleepy". I could never seem to recharge my batteries. I kept moving, though. I was extremely impatient with people. It would irritate the hell out of me when people could not keep up with me because they were too slow or not smart enough.
I had another manic episode that was not as dysphoric. However, I do remember having to prove, point by point (symptom by symptom) that I was not manic. I wasn't very convincing.
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REPOST:I have seen mania first hand. I have been both hypomanic and psychotically manic. I have also observed others in both manic and hypomanic states. Let's just say that I may have some insight into the workings of a manic mind. I constructed my post strategically and with great care. One of the most difficult things to do is to convince someone who is in a manic state that they are indeed manic and need treatment. They feel great. They feel even better than great. In their eyes, they see themselves as being perhaps a genius and more capable of taking on any challenge that comes their way. They are, of course, displaying the illusions of grandeur that often develop in a manic state. They see any attempt to "stop" their superior and hyperfunctual state as being an attack. To try to tell them that they are manic is an "accusation". With so many people telling them that something is wrong and that they need some sort of intervention, they can often become paranoid or combative. It is imperative to them that they explain away EACH contention made regarding the "accusations" (symptoms) levied against them that support the "argument" that they are manic.
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poster:Scott L. Schofield
thread:17465
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000112/msgs/19102.html