And Why You Shouldn’t Tell People about Your Bipolar Medications Either

At least once a week someone asks me what medication I’m on or what my bipolar treatment plan is, but I have a policy not to talk about my treatment plan or medication. I typically won’t even get specific about my experience with specific medications. I don’t tell people what medications I’m or what my treatment plan is for a good reason – it’s no one’s business but mine and my doctor.

I get a little peeved that people ask me about my medications and treatment plan because it’s private people. But people think that just because I’m a writer I’m a public commodity and people should get to know whatever they want about me. Well guess what, you don’t. You get to know what I choose to tell you, nothing more, nothing less.

People Want to Know about my Bipolar Medication Why?

And really, why is it that people want to know about my bipolar medication? I’ll tell you why – either they want to copy it or they want to judge (like judging ECT) it and I have no interest in facilitating either of those things.

I always, always, always tell people that everyone is an individual and no one should base their bipolar treatment on someone else’s treatment plan. But, nevertheless, some people want mine explicitly so they can copy it. They see it as some kind of “Natasha Tracy” endorsement. It doesn’t matter that I tell people not to do it. Some people just won’t listen. Some people want to “be like me” and so they think a combination of medication will do it. Well, it won’t.  (And really, you should reconsider that “being like me” thing.)

I do understand that this partially comes from desperation from people for whom nothing works. These people have my utmost compassion, but hearing about my bipolar medication and treatment plan isn’t the way to help that. In fact, my suggesting that you take something based on my own experience alone would be akin to malpractice (if, indeed, I were a doctor). The risk-vs-reward scenario on any treatment is different for each person and only you know what’s best for your bipolar treatment.

Judging Bipolar Medication Treatment

And then there are all the people who want to know about my bipolar medication so they can tell me how wrong medications are and how wrong I am. They want to tell me all about my damaged brain and my poisoned body. They want to use my bipolar medication against me in some way. They want to use information about me as a weapon. Happens all the time to me and I have no desire to put yet another rock in people’s hands.

Knowing Another’s Bipolar Medication and Treatment Plan

In short, you don’t need to know what works for someone else, you need to know what works for you, and in many cases your combination will stand alone in working for you and not for others – because brains are complicated and medications are like blunt hammers doing microsurgery.

So forget about my medications and focus on researching medications in general and talking to your doctor. Because that’s the way you’re going to find the unique combination that works for you. (Like these new treatment approaches.)

If you’re bipolar and looking for a mood stabilizer, there’s a great table here that lists them all by evidence, Start there. Then move onto other reliable resources I recommend.