Electroboy回头:10年期诊断周年纪念日

十多年来,我一直被误诊为抑郁症超过八精神卫生保健专业人士。我后来才知道这是典型的双相患者。这一切始于我第一次访问一位医生诊断我“青少年抑郁症,”,从那里我遇到几个医生沿着路继续与抑郁症不仅诊断我,而是把我与药物治疗抑郁症。不用说,这是一场灾难,因为药物让我疯狂。总而言之,我被诊断不当,因为我只参观了这些医生在我“低点”或抑郁,我没有准确地填上我的症状,他们不够问问题我的精神疾病。回想起来,我与他们共享更多的信息,可能会容易诊断我患有双相情感障碍比任何医生更早。但现在这都是桥下的水。

当我最终被诊断为双相情感障碍(或什么我只知道被称为躁狂抑郁症),我是震惊的诊断和标签“躁狂抑郁症”。I was a manic depressive. What did that mean? First, I didn't know anyone else with the illness, and I panicked because I thought the illness was degenerative. "Will I make it to my next birthday?" I asked my doctor. I was reassured that I would, but that I would also need to begin a regimen of medication to control my symptoms. Yes, the common ones, which I had not only taken for granted to be "normal" but which were slowly destroying my life. These included racing thoughts, insomnia, overspending, sexual promiscuity, poor judgment and drug and alcohol abuse. All of a sudden, my "lifestyle" was no longer acceptable and had to come to a screeching halt. How could I live on medication with my raging personality tamed? Would I become dull and boring? After all, I had always been "Mister Fun," the guy standing with a lampshade on my head, a margarita in each hand and doing the merengue at parties.

治疗开始。在接下来的十年里,我将尝试超过37个不同的药物来控制我的双相情感障碍,经历了几乎所有可能的从每个药物副作用:肌肉僵硬、头痛、烦躁、失眠和东歪西倒,等等。最终,当我们意识到,没有药物的组合为我工作,我最后选择了——电休克疗法或等——这给我提供了一些救济开始(更不用说短期记忆丧失的副作用),直到我三个月最后一次治疗后复发。就在那时,我的医生要求我继续维持治疗。I had a total of 19 electroshock treatments, until I realized I had become addicted to the premedication of the procedure and asked my doctor to bring the treatment to a halt.

不用说,这是在年,我很绝望。我没有工作,我在收集残疾和接受金融援助从我的朋友和家人,我基本上是一个“关闭”。I never imagined a life outside of my apartment again. And I had been a highly functional public relations agent and art dealer (albeit my illness had landed me in prison for a brief six month stint for counterfeiting). Now I was barely capable of taking care of myself and could only watch television. I didn't even have enough focus to read or write.

但是1,隧道尽头的光。我的医生发现药物的结合让我相对平衡,我回到更正常的生活。我又工作了,恢复了社会生活。我甚至还可以照顾自己。但有一块五年的时间我完全禁用,我只是无法在这“失去的时间。”In fact, sometime it prevented me from moving forward.

当然,当我再次成为“平衡”,功能,我确信,我的双相情感障碍消失,消失得无影无踪。我错了。现在我是应对疾病,我几乎每天都进行了测试。虽然这是五年之后,

我必须承认,我仍然需要每一天。我总是准备复发;即使我有五年”在我带”是相对“自由,“我总是保持警惕。我不得不忍受双相情感障碍的我的生活。的恐惧和羞耻都不见了;我谈论我的病公开与家人和朋友甚至冒险进入公共领域,分享我的故事我的战斗与双相情感障碍Electroboy:一本回忆录的狂热,由兰登书屋出版。这可能是最困难的事情我不得不与我的疾病——上市。但我这么做是因为我想让人们知道有250万人患有双相情感障碍诊断在这个国家数以百万计的确诊。我认为分享我的故事——一个非常个人的故事——将人们的衣橱寻求治疗,帮助家庭成员在理解他们的亲人,也有助于精神卫生保健专业人员在治疗病人。

在秋天,Electroboy将进入生产的电影版与托比·马奎尔和这将是第一大预算双主角的好莱坞电影。目前我从事Electroboy续集,和我仍然保持心理健康网站www.electroboy.com。自从我十年前诊断,双相情感障碍已经成为我的使命,一种疾病我真的从未听说过,直到那一天,我从未想过我会在十年。

对我来说这是一个漫长的旅程,但非常值得。学习应对疾病一直对我非常满意,我的应对技能传授我的知识是最重要的事情,我可以与我的生活。每天我都提醒人们痛苦,就有希望,你会得到更好的。

下一个:简保利揭示双相情感障碍
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