Man with bipolar trying to change

Hey guys. I am here because of AILD’s Misery Evolving Video.Recently I almost threw my life in the ground but I have been trying to do things differently. I’ll try to sum up the significant parts of my life that are important and then talk about how I got to my rock bottom. My real dad signed away his rights before my birth so that I wouldn’t grow up in separate households. I was sexually abused by a friend at age 14. I then started struggling with an addiction to viewing pornography (to the point where I had to look at it in dangerous situations). I am formerly a Mormon. Tried to be Mormon to make my family happy but I wasn’t happy being a part of the Church. I ended up marrying a Brazilian and we have a daughter. Her and my mom don’t like each other. My parents have been very controlling of our relationship, especially with our daughter. This took such a toll on my marriage. It got to the point where we actually decided to move to Brazil because otherwise, our marriage would be over and international divorce is a bigger monster than normal divorce. During this time, I have struggled with a bipolar diagnosis. It has gotten really bad in Brazil. I used suicide threats to manipulate an outcome of a disagreement. I never had the courage to follow through with such acts but I have been extremely aggressive with objects, sometimes to the point where my own daughter is scared of me. I broke a computer out of anger. I have screamed at the top of my lungs in my wife’s face. One night I had to be locked in the room for their own safety. Thank God I have never been physical with my wife or daughter. Just with objects and sometimes myself but it scares them. I feel that when this happens, I am literally outside of my own body just watching myself as if I am watching a movie.

Now I am trying to be different. I have been making some progress. I have been trying to wake up and write down one thing that I am grateful for everyday. But I need to be on mood stabilizer medication for sure since I have a bipolar diagnosis. My moods go from 0-100 for the littlest shit possible, like the dishes aren’t done or something didn’t go the way I anticipated. The problem is that I am in Brazil. I love living here but the language can be tough and with my mental condition, I really need a psychiatrist that speaks english. I speak a little Portuguese but I really need an English psychiatrist so I can fully express myself and my symptoms. Any advice for me? I know its a little far-fetched but do any of you guys know of any international mental health platforms that financially reasonable since it takes 5 bills in my currency to match a dollar. Let me know. Thank you guys!

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Bipolar can be a really tough thing to live with. I admire your efforts, and willingness to reach out. It sounds like you need the help of someone who is really familiar with the mental health system in Brazil. I imagine there is some kind of program there that can assist financially. I’m also under the impression that Brazil is largely religious. Usually, the larger churches try to help out with circumstances such as yours.

Besides psychiatric services and medication, maybe your best bet is to find someplace quiet, and be by yourself, when you feel an episode of irritability coming on.

Wishing you the best, Wings

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