This might sound stupid..

@bijouxbroussard Like after the film "Psycho" came out the professionals tried to change "psychopath" to "sociopath".

@bijouxbroussard See I disagree that manic depression is scarier, I find it a far better descriptor than bipolar disorder, though I think it would be better described as depression with very occasional mania.

The depression part is the biggest part in my experience, the bouts of mania are far, far shorter and less frequent than the depression is.

@AntisocialTroll I too have experienced depression much more often than the mania, but as a child I remember my grandmother telling me her only sister was briefly institutionalized as a manic-depressive.

When it was suggested in my teens that I, too might be manic-depressive, I was horrified.

It’s been relatively recent that many of the "old" mental illnesses have become better understood and medications developed that can allow the afflicted to live their lives like everyone else, not shutting them away.

My poor parents: eldest child bipolar, youngest schizophrenic. They sure didn’t sign on for that ! But they’ve managed.

@bijouxbroussard I'm not sure I agree with you about the meds, it kinda depends on how lucky you are if you manage to get a decent Dr who realises that not all depressives are "just" depressives.

I've been "made" psychotic twice because of meds, the first time I had no memory of any of it and had no idea why my home was completely trashed, I did tell the Dr who was medicating me that I'd had 5 days where I'd no memory of any it. Thankfully I was too mental to keep taking the drugs whilst psychotic so that was useful but I kinda felt the absence was drug related and avoided anti-depressants as much as possible from then on, they also increased my suicidal ideation and for obvious reasons I disliked that.

My second psychotic episode I was on a slew of drugs (one of which was a low dose anti-depressant for pain) and they added in an anti-histamine used for itching because of my psoriasis, this particular anti-histamine had always made me feel wired in a very weird way, it's meant to make you sleepy, has totally the opposite effect on me.
I segued from the most beautiful mania I'd ever had to psychotic in under 24 hours, this time round I was in and out of the psychotic state and as such I have a few memories of bits of it!

At one point I thought I was god and got very upset because I obviously wasn't doing a very good job considering the state of the world. Then I got even more upset because I remembered I'm an atheist and that meant that I obviously didn't exist because there is no god!
I also broke all sorts of things with no idea why afterwards.

I missed a hospital admission for my psoriasis and an addiction Dr's appt too, so they first sent my alkie nurse out to see me, as I was obviously completely off me head this then triggered various GP's trying to persuade me into hospital. I wasn't having it, thankfully in one of my lucid moments I realised it was the drugs and stopped taking everything.
I did it in the nick of time, I managed to come out of it completely the day before they were gonna section me!

My mania used to be great fun when un-drugged, I would party hard, shop till I dropped and indulge in certain risky behaviours but I never for a second thought it was an actual part of an illness. It wasn't till Stephen Fry did a documentary on it that the penny started dropping for me.

Precisely because of the depression being such a big feature, lots of manic depressives start out being diagnosed with depression and put onto anti-depressants, the majority of anti-depressants aren't good for those of us with mania and increase the risk of us not just having a manic episode but of that manic episode turning into a psychotic one.

To be fair far too many of us prefer self medication of one sort or another and that doesn't really help either. Having said that, I've actually found very high doses of CBD keep me relatively stable so that's what I use these days. Bizarrely it helps.

https://wellcome.org/news/cbd-future-antipsychotic-drugs-new-global-study-investigates

Sorry for such a long arsed comment!

@AntisocialTroll I definitely understand that finding the right combination of meds that work is a long process, then updating them as necessary. I’ve journaled and checked in with my doctor regularly since retirement and haven’t had any manic episodes since about 2012. With my sister it’s been more problematic. She has done destructive things that have estranged her from her siblings at various points, and even distressed our mother. The last years of Mom’s life, my sister tried very hard to be there for her, stuck with her medications, stopped drinking, and it gave our mother hope that things would be okay after she passed away. 😞

@bijouxbroussard I take it she hasn't kept up with meds and/or is drinking again?

If you are in a legal state which I seem to think you are, you can get weed that has a high CBD content.

The stuff I use is actually made from hemp.

Either the high CBD weed or purely a high dose CBD hemp product may well be more acceptable to her than the meds.

Perhaps you could do some research on it and introduce her to it, it might just help, particularly if she is either off her meds or drinking again.

@AntisocialTroll After Mom’s death, particularly on Mother’s Day this year, Sis fell of the wagon, hard. But she went into a facility for treatment and visits from her doctor as well as grief counseling, which she needed (our father and brother refuse to go). So she’s trying to get back on track. Schizophrenia is a whole different ballgame, and I get that. Even as bipolar, my problems have been on the lower end of that spectrum. I’ve been able to work, and live independently for over forty years.

@bijouxbroussard At least she's trying, schizophrenia meds are particularly nasty when it comes to the side effects, it's gotta be tough for her.

I can't think of a single person I know with schizophrenia in my RL who doesn't regularly go off the meds for that very reason.

@AntisocialTroll Yes, that’s what she has said.