help! my bipolar disorder is ruining my relationships with friends and family!?

Question

my boyfriend of 8 months recently broke up with me (and by recently i mean about 3 hours ago) and i know he did it because of my dramatic behavior and rapid-cycling mood swings.

i love him and he loved me (i dont know if he still does) and i really want him back. i have also pulled away from my parents and lately cant even hold a conversation with them without it turning into a huge screaming fight.

i am on medication and my doctor recently ''upped'' my dosage, but i dont feel that it has helped any. i plan to call and make an appointment when her office opens but i could really use some advice as how to pull myself together and repair my relationships with my loved ones.

I ALREADY ASKED THIS Q IN MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE BIPOLAR PART and would appreciate any tips or advice on the relationship part.

Answer 1

As I reached my late teens/early twenties (I don't know how old you are) I was diagnosed with being bi-polar because I had such severe mood swings and a very uncontrolled anger problem, and they had me on so many medications I could hardly remember my own name. Here's what I did:
I turned to my family members, apologized for the way I acted, and tried to spend as much time as possible with the ones who were POSITIVE...negative people are only going to make you worse. Get outside, especially if it is nice, because the sun and warmth release natural endorphines, making you feel on top of the world. Also, it did me some good to spend time by myself, but you should only do this if you feel ok with being alone after such a recent break-up. Grab your mp3 player and go for a walk.
Another thing that really helped me when I thought I was cycling moods was writing everything down...the anger, fears, sadness, even my happiness...then go back every few days and read it, it will help you learn to recognize when you are starting to cycle and this can help your doctor to also come up with maybe a better treatment plan.
Bottom line, you deserve someone who is going to understand you and be beside you, not behind you. Being bipolar is very difficult and you don't need someone making things worse for you. I hope I helped at least a little bit.
BTW, I have since been rediagnosed, and it turned out I just had PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and I went through a few years of therapy and feel great now. I am married and have 2 children...keep your chin up hun, things will always get better. :)