Anyone Else Feel Crazy All The Time?

[Koots]

...because I do and have for most of my life, but only started to truly start working on myself in the last year. I've been diagnosed with ADHD, Social Anxiety, PTSD and Bipolar Disorder the past few years and have been trying to break the cycle of craziness in my family.

So far it's been the hardest thing I've ever done and have sacrificed a lot, so I'm not lashing out at other people or myself anymore. I've got Schizophrenia and alcoholism very prevalent in both sides of my family and have been trying to work against that slip into full torment.

I just want to vent a little, give some perspective to why I might not post for days or weeks at a time and see if anyone else is going through similar or different turmoil in their lives.

[1988GTU]

We are a lil crazy all the time, especially since we own Beretta's and take pride in them!

In all seriousness, I know what what your're going thru as I have many friends and family that deal with what you're going thru. Most still don't want to talk about it and rather push farther away, but I just make sure to let them know I am here for them if they should ever need an ear. I offer the same to you bud!

[Koots]

It matters a whole lot to people like me, to know that people are always there for me, without inconveniencing them.

I know I feel worse when my condition concerns other people, but it's nice to know that their are some people who are there for me, no matter what's going on.

People like me can switch from exuberantly happy to suicidal, in a matter of minutes sometimes, so it's important to know that someone cares. I've got an amazing Girlfriend and Immediate family (Mom, Dad, Older Brother and Sister) who are always there for me, when I need it. So I'm always aware of what I've got to lose, if I happen to feel exceptionally disturbed on a particular day.

Also, the L-Body love is a strong, but ultimately cursed Love. I bought my 95' Corsica for $100 and ended up spending around $3000 on it, so far. It's something most people can't understand, but I know will end up being an amazing car once I'm done with it. I think it would be even better as a Beretta, but those are few and far between in my town (Happy Valley, Labrador).

[woody90gtz]

We're all a little crazy for modding Berettas. And life being too hectic can make me a little nuts sometimes...but that sounds like nothing compared to your situation. Glad to know you've got some good people looking out for ya.

[themadness]

welcome to thunderdome brotha!

i have bipolar 2, intermittent explosive disorder, and anxiety. been medicated for the past 5 years. if you do meds be sure to find what works. i was on 7 meds at once for about a year and finally found lamictal has leveled things out. if you cant get therapy services then get a hobby. obviously you car could be one. art(got a BA in art in college) and hand to hand combat (currently running a combatives training group) training have been a literal lifesaver for me. of course my wife and kid come first.

1) find something to help you get the frustration out when your manic episodes come up

2) find a friend or comfort zone on your down days.

3) i have also found focusing on doing something i enjoy for side money helps......alot. something about pocket change is a huge distraction for me anyway. figure out something you are good at and charge someone for it!

4) travel......literally get away for a while. we love to travel and have figured out a way to budget it so we can go international once a year. it take some financial sacrifice but the experience is worth it. since 2010 we have been to ireland, australia, and most recently a paris/london excursion. you can buy stuff or you can buy memories.

5) last, and this has been the biggest help for me, give your self a reality check. i learned this technique from a counselor and its very simple. ALWAYS remember there is someone worse off than you. on my down days when getting out of the bed is a challenge and my body aches from severe depression......i imagine an ethiopian child with there eyes covered in flies and bloated from malnutrition. yea i know....ITS MORBID AS HELL.....but it shocks my mind in to saying put on your big boy panties and cowboy up!

6) i am extremely hard on myself and critical of everything i do. a stumbling my whole life. make a list of things you are good at and hang it on the wall with some peer recognized accomplishments. when your down, read it for motivation.....when you are manic think of it as a to do list.

7) get a journal and write whatever is in your head no matter how silly, sad, or crazy

8) visit a VA hospital or find a friend or relative with military experience. listen to their stories. their is a reason its called ptsd. i have a buddy that did time in afghanistan and his accounts of his tours have been majorly helpful in straightening out my perspective sometimes.

9) turn off the tv. we dropped cable and its one of the best things we have ever done. we have OTA antenna tv and netflix now. so we are saving our minds and money. you would be surprised at the garbage we are fed through tv everyday. theres a reason its called television "programming"

these are just suggestions based on what has helped me for the past 5 years.
we all have something that troubles us whether we know it or not. mine is a chemical imbalance but some folks just have an emotional burden that makes life a little harder. just know you arent the only one....

hang in there

[ifixalot]

No, not all the time but it's not hard to understand why one might just feel like that.
It is a dirty world and people do a lot bad things to each other.
I too have substance abuse in my family background but I think by observing it, I learned what not to do.
I have felt in the past, very often depressed. It's that I'm sad but I can't put my finger on exactly why feeling.
It can be triggered by the realization that summer is over for the year or some other reminder of the passage of time.
I often cope by realizing that like a headache, muscle ache or even a cold, etc. It will too will pass. Then it does.
I keep busy and that keeps my mind off negative things and try to remember to count your blessings.
One thing I will recommend that you try to even out your emotions and it won't cost you much.
Hershey's semi sweet chocolate kisses. I eat four a day after lunch.
Any Dark chocolate has stuff in it that is really good for you and it releases serotonin, a feel good substance for your brain.
I do the kisses just so I can keep track and not eat too much because of calories.
Since doing this, and I've been doing it for years, I feel pretty good most of the time.
It's not an instant fix but after a couple days you may notice a difference.
So the bottom line is we all have our problems and our history to deal with. You are not alone in that.
Best of luck to you.

[Koots]

Thanks for the support and sad, but glad to hear that I'm not the only one on this board anyway. I wish you all the best of luck with the battle.

I've been trying to find things that make me happy, but those are getting harder and harder with little to no money, as I had to stop working. I'm far too volatile to work around other people, but I do find good in working on my cars and trucks, but I only get access to my shop (from my old job) in the night, but I've had trouble sleeping since I was a baby and as long as I can remember

I'm hoping that once I get my Jimmy put back together and sold, then can spend enough money to finally finish my Corsica and then I can retire my 2500HD from daily driver duty, as it's way too expensive to drive around everyday and it needs a bunch of work too because of how much I've been depending on it.

I'm on the upswing from the depths of what I've been through, finally got myself on decent meds (Epival, Wellbutrin and Ritalin) that don't make me feel worse, so I do feel positive towards the future, it's just very hard to stay that way when my mood can switch from insanely energetic and full of life to complete broiling hatred in a few seconds.

[BerettaLove32]

I've got ADHD and social anxiety too. I was diagnosed when I went away to college. Honestly, the best thing I ever did was leave town and get some medical treatment for the problems. Granted I was away at college and had lots of friends and plenty of social activities which was a great help, but I took medication that also helped. Honestly the Adderall and Ritalin helped more for the social anxiety than the drugs that were made for social anxiety. But everyone responds to meds differently. The thing that helped the most was moving a few hours away from home and just getting away from all the craziness back home. I know a few other people who had kind of hectic household's and they moved out of state and they say it's the best thing they ever did. Sometime's you just have to forget about everyone else and work on yourself. I know it's not always easy to up and move especially in a financial crunch but from my experience it was amazing for my mental health.
I wish you luck with everything for sure. For me, things got a lot better when I got a steady job and kind of got a good normal routine going in life. When you have uncertainty about the future it can add a lot of stress and make your current medical problems even worse.

[1988GTU]

Sometime's you just have to forget about everyone else and work on yourself.

That is on point with life in general. Take care of yourself first, because no one else will!