Posted by Atticus on July 15, 2004, at 15:44:00
In reply to Re: Does Effexor work - ADHD poem - Good book, posted by lorily on July 15, 2004, at 14:18:16
I've had at least two doctors try to convince me that I was bipolar, but when I looked into the literature and at my life, I really couldn't remember myself cycling up into mania as I understand it (which admittedly isn't too well). Depression, YES, but mania with the same level of intensity, no. However, that said, there was an episode around last Christmas that could conceivably be construed as manic, but I'm just not sure. I do a lot of oil painting to unwind. I did this enormous canvas of John Lennon -- working on it for about 50 consecutive hours without stopping or getting tired. My rationale at the time was that I was controlling the strokes, marks and color palette well and didn't want to lose the "groove" I was in by sleeping. I chalked it up to being just one of those idiosyncratic things that creative people do. I've had these kinds of bursts of creative energy periodically throughout my life, though they tend to wane if I don't follow the projects through to completion right away, and I've got stacks of unfinished short stories, poems, novellas, and sketches and photo reference for unpainted paintings. In terms of my professional life, I've had more than a thousand illustrations and cartoons published in magazines, newspapers, and books, and I write/edit for a living. Whether it's something I'm doing for a living or just my own amusement, I definitely tend to work in these rat-tat-tat bursts. I do know the Effexor-XR is working out well for me so far, and I don't know if that would be the case for someone who is bipolar. But still, I have to wonder in the back of my mind if any of these episodes like the Lennon painting are indicative of something, or whether I'm just overthinking things. Do any of the people who have been diagnosed as bipolar have any thoughts on this? Atticus
poster:Atticus
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040714/msgs/366568.html