Expert: Jurriaan Plesman, Nutritional Psychotherapist - 11/19/2007

Question
I am bipolar.  I have a very patient and loving boyfriend who wants to marry me.
Two months ago, after 2 days of no sleep, I climbed a tree 15-20ft until a branch broke and I fell to the ground, fracturing my pelvis(no surgery, thankfully).  I had been drinking, and have not drank since.
My problem is, my boyfriend told me during those 2 days, he loved me, but he didn't like me.  Now I obsess over that, because I realize I never plan to be that way, so how can I prevent it?  I always look back and try to determine the exact moment I became "different", but it's almost like blacking out.  I know stress is a trigger, but avoiding stress in life isn't feasible.  Now I'm rethinking getting married because I don't want him to divorce me if he gets tired of dealing with me.  Whenever I'm too quiet, he worries I'm depressed.  It's not fair to either of us for him to be so worried, and me to have to try to fake a smile because I can't stand the worried look on his face, like he's so afraid of what I might do.
My mom died a year ago, the rest of my family disowned me because I'm crazy, I lost my job 2 months ago for erratic behavior when I went through that phase, between the pain from my fracture, winter blues, writing a business plan for my boyfriend's business (due to open in 3 weeks), hosting the holidays, and (maybe) getting married December 29, I'm really stressed.  Did I mention my 16 year old daughter is bipolar?
Help!
My community is crappy in the mental health field,if you could help me I would appreciate it.  It just hit me hard to be told he loved me but he didn't like me.  I heard that from my dad when I was 15, it hurt then, now it's like some sort of confirmation but I can't control what I do when I "lose it".  Everyone acts so suspicious of me, wondering what I'm thinking and I feel smothered and irritated by it.  Right now I just want everyone to leave me alone, but I know that's not healthy.

Answer
Dear Wendy, I am sorry to hear about you being Bipolar because this also runs in my family.

I believe that Bipolar Disorder can be much controlled by nutritional means. For instance many Bipolar people respond well to the Hypoglycemic diet, which helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and hence stress hormones.

Also in the manic phase it helps to take lecithin, which helps to calm you down. But this should not be taken when you are depressed.

I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the nutritional aspects of Bipolar Disorder, and there are a lot of articles on the internet.

Please read:

What is Hypoglycemia at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/what_is_hypo.html

The Serotonin Connection at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/serotonin_connection.html

Nutritional Aspects of Schizophrenia at:
http://curezone.com/upload/Newsletter/Hypoglycemic_He/HYPONL2001_06.pdf
and go to page 7 of Newsletter.

Treatment for Bipolar Disorder at:
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/default.htm#B

Try to get into contact with a Nutritional Doctor to help you with treatment.

Also we have a

Self-help PSYCHOTHERAPY course at;
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/i-psychotherapy.html

that will help you to deal with people and yourself.

There is a lot to learn!!

I hope I have been of some help.

_______________________________________________
Jurriaan Plesman BA (Psych) Post Grad Dip Clin Nutr
Editor of
The Hypoglycemic Health Association of Australia.
www.hypoglycemia.asn.au
Author of "Getting off the Hook"
Freely available at Google Book Search