So, I’m bipolar type 2…the depressive kind…and started being sober curious one week into “dry january”. I begrudgingly am doing dry january with my husband. Our drinking had gotten outta hand, we were fighting all the time, so i just started this to make him happy. In retrospect i was caught in my bad habits and addiction to alcohol. I’m writing this now bc i was looking for my bipolar ppl and bipolar threads and couldnt find anything recent on here.
Mental health has been a struggle since my teens. Misdiagnosed as just depressed throughout my teens. After two suicide attempts and being committed twice i was diagnosed by a very intelligent doctor as bipolar type 2 in 2007. I’ve struggled with long bouts of depression but i’ve been relatively stable for the last…wow 14 years. I often self medicate with alcohol.
Currently day 15 AF. I found this app and the sober experiment to help me through my cravings. This was supposed to just be january but i’m curious how long i can keep this momentum going…hmm
On one hand i’m learning alot about myself on the other i want to see if i can go back to moderation. I know i dont want to lose this app and the support of this community. Plus i dont want to reset my sober clock. Im going to take it one day at a time…
I was also diagnosed with bipolar 2 (along with a slew of other things) years back.
The few times I had gotten sober it was definitely like getting to know this other person that I had been suppressing with alcohol. It may feel odd but it’s definitely exciting. I hope to continue discovering just who I am and developing new interests.
Your experience with bipolar 2 and mine tho are different of course. Do you have a mental health specialist currently? Please me aware of how your feeling coming off of the self-medicating with alcohol. I’m newly sober now so I will definitely also be very cautious of my peaks and pits.
Welcome! Glad that you are here. Make sure that you are working with a doctor on your Bi-polar disorder. I am sure that I do not need to tell you that alcohol will make that situation worse, as far as brain chemistry goes.
15 days without alcohol is great!
I like that you are keeping focused on one day at a time. Only you can decide if dry January will be an experiment or a life of being sober. Everyone is different.
If you do decide to drink again, I encourage you to journal how much and how often you drink, and how it makes you feel. Often people find a pattern to their behavior if they decide to pick up again.
Keep checking in and reading other people’s stories. I have found it very helpful myself.
Congrats on 15 days!!! Just because you didn’t start this journey with “I’m quitting forever” doesn’t mean you can’t ride the lightning all the way! I started my journey with ABSOLUTELY no intention of quitting forever (even though i knew i had a problem). NOPE! I quit to start a Keto diet and couldn’t drink on it. HA! Five weeks after abstaining, I was like “oh I don’t want to start drinking again.” Then I found this app and the rest was history. I don’t have bipolar but do have a dx of Depression. And oh boy did that rear it’s ugly head about 4 mos after sobriety and I started meds again. Get some literature, look into some programs, and I’ll be rooting for you!!
I definately would stick around give this sobriety ticket a shot. This is a great place to find support and encouragement to help with recovery Its been beneficial for me to maintain my sobriety after so many years of self medicating with different drugs and alcohol. Learning how to cope with life and issues when im symptomatic has been a struggle but it does get easier without the catastrophic mixture of drugs and alcohol. Helps me to read around here alot to do my maintenance, keep me aware of things that can possibly set me back. When im not doing well im learning how to reach out and get help when its needed. Ive been diagnosed BP1 things have been on the mend for me last hospital stay for me was in aug. 2020 so since then ive been managing okay for the most part. Day to day struggles but when we learn how to better cope we can prevent alot of the syptoms that are associated with the disorder. Wish you well and glad to hear your 15days af. Keep it up and just take it easy.
