PSYCHIC CONNECTION: BI-POLAR & PMS

Psychic Connection: Bi-Polar & PMS

One Sunday as I walked down Larchmont to the Farmers Market, two men walking in the opposite direction passed by me. Just after passing by, one of the men doubled back and approached me. He was of east indian descent and wore a turban and a business suit. "Your face is so beautiful" he exclaimed, "you have three points of happiness, here, here and here" he said gesturing toward my forehead. Our eyes locked and he gazed directly into mine. "There are two men in your life" he said "One younger who is more trouble than he is worth and the other your age and will bring you much happiness". For a moment I knew he was right and then just as I was falling...I snapped out it. He was so compelling that I almost didn't realize the street psychic scam. One more minute and he would have had me be giving him money to tell me more. He was that good, but not quite.

I will always remember a friend who used a fake psychic rap that went "I know about those dreams you've been having". And almost anyone he said it too would say "Oh my god, how did you know that?". One woman was so frightened that she became convinced he was actually demonic.

Another time, just for a lark, I told a group at a party that I could read palms. One by one I sat with each person, I held their palm in mine, sat quietly, looked at them intently and free associated some generalities about a fictional future. I read five palms before guilt overcame me and I confessed that I was just pretending. The problem was, everyone was so captivated that they refused to believe my disclaimer. I felt bad that my mojo was so strong that I could not undo what I had done.

Which brings me to my point (a little long on the intro, i know, i know):

Point 1: Until recently, a mental disorder first known as manic-depressive and later renamed bi-polar" was a rare but serious (and devastating) disease effecting 1-2% of the population (some estimated up to 6%). Alternating episodes of mania and depression were equally destructive. Lithium was the solution, leveling out the intensity of the cycles and allowing sufferers to lead a normal (albeit sleepy) life.

Point 2: I have struggled with mood swings my entire life, mostly characterized by temperamental outbursts and an occasional crying jag. My mother said I was "born without patience". I have been known to be artistic, painting and writing, etc. But none of this interfered with my life enough to be labeled "bi-polar". Maybe thin-skinned, maybe opinionated, maybe passionate, but not manic-depressive.

Point 3: After yet another breakup in a life-long series of failed romances, I decided that enough was enough. I went to my general practitioner and said "my PMS effects almost three weeks out of every month, I only have about 4 or 5 good days a month, my friends find me intolerable and my boyfriend says he can't take my moods anymore". She frowned at that last part, thinking perhaps that maybe I should just get another boyfriend (not a bad point), but after asking a few other questions suggested trying a low dosage of prozac for what might be PMDD instead of PMS. I agreed.

Point 4: After consultation with a psychiatrist, I tried prozac at various dosages, then switched to zoloft and then to cymbalta. Each worked initially and then seemed to be less and less effective. On these various anti-depressants I did feel better, calmer and even more insightful. Those close to me saw a new me, a me with a little more light in my heart and a lot less uncontrolled anger.

Point 5: One day, one of these outbursts was the straw that broke the camels back (wrong time, wrong place, wrong people) and I found that my job was in jeopardy. It was a serious wake up call and I marched back to my shrink to say "help!". She said "the anti-depressants seem to follow the same pattern with you, I think it is time to try a mood stabilizer". A have never felt such magical words--mood stabilizer...it sounded like actually the magic bullet I sought...literally "just what the doctor ordered".

Point 6: I started my new medication, Lamictal, that day. And then, just doing my due diligence, I hit the text books. There it was, Lamictal (initially developed to treat epilepsy) had been re-purposed to treat (drum-roll please): bi-polar disorder. The doc had used a more palatable term for me "just try this little mood stabilizer my dear". Had she said "you are bi-polar" I would have told HER she was crazy. On the other hand...my moods...stabilized (darn it). In other words, wouldn't you know, it worked.

Point 7: That week I came across a two page color ad in an LA Times insert for a website called "IsItReallyDepression.com?". NOTE: This is where the "psychic connection" comes in (pay attention!). The ad said something like: do you talk too fast? does your mind race? is your shopping out of control? If you said yes to some of these questions you might be bi-polar!!!" Just like the victims of my "psychic friends", I couldn't help noticing that 90% of woman might say yes to those questions. And much more disturbing: they were targeting the market of woman taking anti-depressants and channeling that market toward a class of drugs that, in the past, would have only been prescribed for 1-2% of the population!

Point 8: Here it is again the "1-2 punch" in the drug industry. 1) Reinvent an illness (call it a mood stabilizer instead of bi-polar, or stretch the definition of bi-polar to include almost everybody); and 2) repurpose a drug to sell it to another audience.

fin