\u00a0As many of you know- one of my greatest regrets of the past few years is that I could not date due to panic attacks, OCD and a lovely dash of psychosis-\u00a0 this often leads a person to spend time with someone who is not the right someone!\u00a0\u00a0Dating was just too stressful for my bipolar disorder. Note that I say it was too stressful for the bipolar. What is so frustrating is that the real me under all of the mood swings is not all that stressed out by life situations.\u00a0 But unless it’s treated daily- bipolar wins.<\/p>\n
I have worked diligently for the past few years to learn how to manage this stressful reaction to dating in a few specific ways.\u00a0 Here are two:<\/p>\n
1. I decided to become celibate so that I could relate to men without feeling nervous or worried that I might have to go out with them when I didn’t want to (how about that odd idea!)\u00a0– or that they would stare at\u00a0 me and not ask me out- or that I didn’t know what to say- or that I made mistakes- or that the mania would make me do something I would regret. A true vow of celibacy for a year changed me profoundly. I highly suggest it.<\/p>\n
2. I also realized that the person under all of the anxiety and other symptoms actually has had many excellent relationships with men over a lifetime.\u00a0 It’s just that I met most of them when I was manic! I no longer let mania go too far, so that took out that dating technique. haha.\u00a0 I knew that this meant that I had to relearn how to interact with men in a dating situation so that I was not responding in the way bipolar was making me respond.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
These are just two of my techniques for dating.\u00a0 It has worked.\u00a0 How about that! We can change. Panic attacks and other\u00a0frustrating, uncomfortable and seemingly endless\u00a0bipolar disorder symptoms can be managed.\u00a0 Sometimes we can change with one decision-\u00a0 at other times it make take years. Who cares. That important thing is that we keep trying.<\/p>\n
I will keep you posted on my dating life.\u00a0 I will save you all of my stressful thinking- I save that for my journal!<\/p>\n
I am very interested to hear your dating stories and how you cope! Julie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As many of you know- one of my greatest regrets of the past few years is that I could not date due to panic attacks, OCD and a lovely dash of psychosis- this often leads a person to spend time with someone who is not the right someone! Dating was just too stressful for my bipolar disorder. Note that I say it was too stressful for the bipolar. What is so frustrating is that the real me under all of the mood swings is not all that stressed out by life situations. But unless it’s treated daily- bipolar wins.<\/p>\n
I have worked diligently for the past few years to learn how to manage this stressful reaction to dating in a few specific ways. Here are two:<\/p>\n