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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Squiggles on May 12, 2007, at 7:46:25
I found an interesting excerpt from this site.
I was one course shy of finishing my Ph.D. and my submitted proposal for the dissertation had been accepted. I developed bipolar disorder[PTSD?] during that time partly due to work stress, maybe genetic, maybe withdrawal from benzos, and imho, largely due to frightening death threats to me and other academics, and constant harrassment from a fellow psychotic student.I was kicked out on my *ss for protesting the conditions I had to study under. I was told by some witnesses that I should have got a lawyer, but I was thorougly exhausted and entering medical treatment for the consequent mental breakdown.
I figured, why trust these creeps to help me, and I've never looked back, except with regret for so many years of academic work. There is a limit to how much wear and tear you can cope with when you confront too many misfortunes.
Squiggles
http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/medical/bipol.html#history
" Can a bipolar student get a degree?Kay Redfield Jamison is the paradigm example of success here. Not only did she get a degree, she became a tenured academic and unquestionably one of the world authorities on manic-depression. It wasn't easy, as her autobiographical "An Unquiet Mind" will tell you. She suffers from a severe form of the disorder, and requires serious medication to stay on the rails. She often appears in chat shows and newspaper interviews, but the URLs to these decay fast, so if interested do a Web search. It's a difficult disorder to accept that you have, and one of the main problems in its successful treatment is non-compliance, i.e., the patient stops treatment for one reason or another, often because they think they're cured. A good short article on coming to terms with it is The 5 Stages of Bipolar Grief.
* Classes. The first problem with being a bipolar student is that you can't afford to lose months at a time from your studies to periods of no-classes no-homework depression, or periods of no-classes no-homework life-and-soul-of-every-party mania. So you must find a way of remaining stable enough to get through most of the class work on time. While you may one day be able to learn how to control your moods with little or no medication, it is a difficult thing to learn (most fail), with lots of mishaps along the way, even if you succeed. One serious mishap can lead you into being technically an unsatisfactory student, which means you have to argue your way back into continuing your studies. This is usually possible the first time. It is very difficult the second time. In other words, you need either to accept the need for medication, or leave the university for a few years to try to learn how to cope without medication. You can't realistically expect to do both at once.
* Exams. The second problem of being a bipolar student is exams. These are periods of high stress which may unhinge you and send you into extremes of mood which make an exam either impossible, or what you write not worth much, although you may well be convinced the examiners will fall over in amazement at your genius when they read your exam scripts. You have to find a way of approaching exams as calmly as possible, with no last-minute up-all-night revisions. This means a quiet life and methodical study. And don't be tempted to change your medication in the few months before an exam! If absolutely neccessary do a bit of addition or subtraction to your basic well-established regime, tapering the change in gradually while keeping an eye on your reaction. A good friend who can tell you what your moods look like from outside is a great help; they can often spot changes well in advance of you noticing them.
* Keep it secret? Should you tell people of your problem? There will be exceptions, but generally speaking you will find university departments and directors of studies sympathetic, and willing to give you some leeway if you seem to be trying to cope with a difficult problem in a realistic way. You will be very likely to need some allowance to be made now and then for your problems, so if your director of studies is not sympathetic to bipolar students, find one who is. You are entitled to change your DoS just as you are entitled to change your doctor, just because you'ld like to. You don't have to give reasons if you'ld rather not. Probably the best approach is to ask other students to find out who might be a sympathetic DoS, and then approach that DoS. Not much can be done about unsympathetic departments or other unsympathetic staff, I'm afraid. Note that a frequent concomitant of the manic extreme of mood is high pressure behaviour which may lead some people to decide that if at all possible they never want to see you again, so you must beware of generating unsympathetic reactions by your own excesses.
Given appropriate medical documentation from your psychiatrist or doctor, a department may accept that your performance in a particular assigment or exam did not properly reflect your true state of knowledge or ability, and make allowances. They will not, however, excuse you from needing to have done the work of the course, e.g., "I didn't pass the exam because I was too depressed to attend the lectures" won't work."
Posted by Phillipa on May 12, 2007, at 11:59:42
In reply to Can a Bipolar get a degree?, posted by Squiggles on May 12, 2007, at 7:46:25
Squiggles some of the most brillient people are those with bipolar what did you go for a degree in and can you now pick up where you left off. It sounds like you would like to. Love Phillipa
Posted by Squiggles on May 12, 2007, at 12:02:16
In reply to Re: Can a Bipolar get a degree? » Squiggles, posted by Phillipa on May 12, 2007, at 11:59:42
I'm too old and embarrassed.
Thanks for the reply - very kind of you.
Squiggles
Posted by bipolarspectrum on May 12, 2007, at 14:21:22
In reply to Re: Can a Bipolar get a degree?, posted by Squiggles on May 12, 2007, at 12:02:16
> I'm too old and embarrassed.
>
> Thanks for the reply - very kind of you.
>
> SquigglesSup Squiggles,
Its a cliche but never too old.. if you are embarassed or intimidated by a class take correspondence classes..
You don't necessarily have to work toward a specific degree, just take courses in things you love..
My father has bipolar disorder, is 60ish, and is taking introductory french..
bps
Posted by Sandra62 on May 12, 2007, at 20:48:23
In reply to Re: Can a Bipolar get a degree?, posted by bipolarspectrum on May 12, 2007, at 14:21:22
I'm Bipolar and have two degrees. The second one I started when I was approaching 40. My Mom went back to University in her 60's and graduated. It's never too late!
Posted by Dianne Hammond on May 12, 2007, at 22:26:19
In reply to Re: Can a Bipolar get a degree? » Squiggles, posted by Phillipa on May 12, 2007, at 11:59:42
My answer to that, also, is a resounding YES. One of our most recent doctors (and a good surgeon) was bipolar. His problem was that he self medicated and stopped taking his meds when he started feeling better.
He is a real mess, but still practices medicine.
Posted by Squiggles on May 20, 2007, at 14:53:06
In reply to Re: Can a Bipolar get a degree?, posted by Dianne Hammond on May 12, 2007, at 22:26:19
> My answer to that, also, is a resounding YES. One of our most recent doctors (and a good surgeon) was bipolar. His problem was that he self medicated and stopped taking his meds when he started feeling better.
>
> He is a real mess, but still practices medicine.Gee, that sounds bad! I hope he gets better before practicing medicine.
BTW, I have reconsidered my initial dx of bp
and since I do not know if stress may have caused a presentation of bp symptoms, and also because there is no way to test that i did NOT have bp, i have to drop this skepticism. Initially, it may have been helpful to have been taken to a clinic for a few months to recover. If i had not recovered without meds, then i suppose bp would have been a more accurate dx. But as things stand now, there is no way to disprove a dx after meds have been given, nor reverse the changes in the brain that may have been caused. This is one of the reasons i wish to stay on lithium, because lithium works both on normals and beepers.I regret that i must drop the case for both practical and clinical reasons. And just in case i am wrong, i apologize if i have given offense those who have done their best under the circumstances. It's just been a long road to travel and sometimes gets frustrating.
Squiggles
Posted by ClubSoda on May 22, 2007, at 9:36:00
In reply to Re: Can a Bipolar get a degree?, posted by Squiggles on May 20, 2007, at 14:53:06
I know someone who is Unipolar and got several degrees - me! I went back to school to finish my bachelor's degree 10 years after I finished an associates. The company I was working for said that as long as I took classes that were at least somewhat related to my work they would pay for it.
I finished my bachelor's degree and had been accepted into a Master's program when I developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Unipolar depression. I worked full-time and went to school full-time for the next 10 years to complete the Master's and then a Ph.D. I was also drinking full-time too. It was an absolute miracle that I was able to do it all. Looking back it's hard to believe that I was actually able to do all that. So I'm living proof that it is possible.
Posted by Squiggles on May 22, 2007, at 9:41:34
In reply to Re: Can a Bipolar get a degree? » Squiggles, posted by ClubSoda on May 22, 2007, at 9:36:00
Congratulations! Your background in school and
work sounds like mine. I think i was just
at the wrong place at the wrong time. A different
school and department may have let me through or
given me a referral to another department, or a
medical leave.Luck has a lot to do with life. I have had
my lucky breaks though as well as unlucky ones.I'm not going back though-- just the thought brings painful flashbacks of the whole affair.
Tx for posting about it-- nice to know that it's
possible.
This is the end of the thread.
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