Your Episode

Your episode was probably similar to my episode(s). For weeks, the people around you were able to tell that something was wrong with you, but you were completely unable to pick up on it yourself. Your ego probably inflated, you might have been delusional about who you were or what you could do, and you might have experienced some paranoia. This is all completely normal for a serious bipolar condition. People such as myself, who are Bipolar I, experience these symptoms to an extremely serious degree when we have an episode. Sometimes a hospital visit is the only thing that will snap us out of our trip down the rabbit hole. That's okay though, because the fact that there is help in the first place is a beautiful thing. For less fortunate people throughout history, there have not been any options. In this time, in this country, we are truly blessed!

Hopefully you were not violent during your episode. Violence changes the whole spectrum of your experience. If you were violent, it is possible that you were arrested. If you were arrested, then after you are released from the hospital you may be going to jail. How do I know this I was violent during one of my episodes and I was subsequently arrested and tried for these acts after I was released from the hospital. I was lucky, though, because I never had to spend any time in jail thanks to a nice letter from my psychiatrist. With my parents support, the judge decided that I had learned my lesson and the charges were dropped. But jail can happen, and so do your best not to be violent. While TV and movies might have you believe that people get off the hook when they have a mental illness, this is not completely true, so watch it.

During your episode you were probably impaired due to lack of sleep. When a bipolar patient is revving up to their eventual break, they usually have been influenced by several nights of little to no sleep. The wonderful thing about going to the hospital is that this long string of sleepless nights will fall by the wayside. You'll finally be able to sleep as much as you would like. The staff will provide medication that will calm you down and enable you to relax the way you need to. This is yet another wonderful benefit of going to the hospital. You get the rest you need, so take advantage of the opportunity. Some people go through their whole lives without really being able to get proper rest.

The most important thing to remember about your episode is that it is indeed forgettable! You can walk away from episodes. You can get to a point in life where there is no need for them to happen. You can get the proper medication and therapy, and life can definitely return to normal. My last hospital visit was nine years ago, and during that time I have flourished!

I've gotten a bachelor of science, I'm working on my MBA, I have a wonderful wife, and my career is progressing in an extremely positive fashion. All of this was possible because I was able to take advantage of my time in the hospital. I used it to get what I needed — the right medications, the right therapy, and the right downtime. I relaxed, I made friends, I contributed to other patients' progress, and I succeeded in getting out in a timely fashion. The amount of time you have to spend in the hospital depends completely on how you approach your stay. If you are positive about things, and cooperate, then you will probably be out in less than two weeks. If you take a different approach, then you could be looking at months.

I strongly suggest that you pay attention to the rest of the chapters in this book. The advice is valuable, the language is simple, and the knowledge you gain from it could help you for the rest of your life.