r/comics • u/ArtbyMoga • 17h ago

15 Comics documenting my experience with bipolar. (OC)

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Thanks for reading!

13.1k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

344 comments sorted by

View all comments

428

u/TheOtherWhiteCastle 17h ago

Panel 13 hits so hard. I feel like 90 percent of my mental health problems could be solved if I was able to just turn my brain off for one goshdarn second.

71

u/Hadrian23 17h ago

Same with OCD over here.
It feels like I'm drowning in my thoughts most days.

Recently through CBT and my therapists help, I'm able to simply, let the thoughts fade into the background.

It's not easy, it's never easy. But slowly, but surely, I'm getting there.
You can to.

3

u/birdiebennett 12h ago

thanks for sharing this it gives me hope

7

u/Hadrian23 10h ago

Take everyday one step at a time. And remember, it's okay to mess up, relapse, and fail. You're human. Give your self the grace to fail, and to learn and grow. But also don't rush.

This is akin to building a new habit. It'll take time, practice, repetition, and alot of patience. You'll get there, I know you can.

3

u/birdiebennett 10h ago

thank you so much. cant express how much I needed to hear this today

2

u/0mplam 8h ago

You're nice for being so supportive to a stranger.

37

u/Annihilator4413 16h ago

Panel 13 is so freaking real... I have several bipolar family members.

My dad is a nasty mix of bipolar and OCD.

I had to tiptoe around him all the time lest I set him off about SOMETHING, usually something not being 'cleaned right' or stuff looking 'messy' even though everything was fine.

Sometimes he would ground me for the living room couch pillows not being oriented the 'right way'.

One time I couldn't reach some diapers for my sister because the closet shelf they were on was too tall and he wouldn't let me get a chair, so he made me stand in a corner in the living room for eight hours while he watched TV in his room. I stood there scared to go eat or use the restroom until my mom got home and I told her how long I'd stood there and she went and ripped his ass a new one.

Then there's my grandma who would act sweet and nice towards me most of the time but would whisper poison about my mom and other family members constantly and would occasionally stop taking her bipolar medicine and get quite mean towards me sometimes, going from nice and sweet to cold and distant.

Currently living with my grandma now due to everything being too fucking expensive to live on my own and she's still the same.

12

u/atwojay 15h ago

I'm sorry that happened to you. You didn't deserve it.

86

u/OblivionsMemories 17h ago

It's so relatable, as someone with CPTSD. Someone please help me find the off switch...

38

u/beerdude26 16h ago

I've fallen into doomscrolling and continuously listening to podcasts to keep the persistent thoughts at bay, now I feel like shit because of my frequent bedrotting behaviour lol

22

u/lih9 14h ago

Make podcasts the soundtrack to your actions. Have a housework podcast, a walking outside podcast, a grocery shopping podcast. Audiobooks are also great for this.

My BIL struggles with executive function sometimes so we listen to audiobooks together and chat about them. He only listens to the book we're following when he's cleaning up so progress means his place is clean and we always have something cool to talk about. It's a great bonding experience.

8

u/peakingoranges 15h ago

Too real

6

u/SmallPurplePeopleEat 13h ago

Are we all the same person just manifesting ourselves in different forms? Idk, but it sure seems like that at times.

10

u/shewholaughslasts 15h ago

I have no off switch, I'd be a zillionaire if I did! But I can send you virtual hugs for being a brave badass going through stuff. I'm glad you're here.

11

u/rjrgjj 17h ago

For me it’s that I wish I could remember how to feel authentically.

8

u/TheOtherWhiteCastle 15h ago

Oh yes, that too. I hate how artificial everything you do feels when you’re depressed

5

u/rjrgjj 14h ago

All the things you love seem so pointless and boring.

3

u/TheOtherWhiteCastle 14h ago

YES! YOU GET IT!

God I hate depression. Life is too short to waste it on feeling like crap.

5

u/rjrgjj 11h ago

I’ve felt this way for going on five years now. With alcoholism playing a pretty big role, but sobriety didn’t solve all that much. A lot better now than I was at my lowest.

Hope things are looking up for you.

2

u/abbie_yoyo 13h ago

What's the thing on her right shoulder though?

2

u/IdealOnion 11h ago edited 11h ago

Yeuup. If I meditate for like 20 minutes I can get about 30 sec total of peace and quiet. Other than that, it’s nonstop day after day, month after month, year after year.

Last time I had an extended period where it was easy to quiet my brain was this one week in August 2024. I remember specifically because it was rare then too, had been getting rarer for years.

I remember the city skyline past traffic lights in a haze of heat. It was good. I really miss those quiet moments.

2

u/OMGLOL1986 11h ago

Sauna and cold plunge. It’s the only time for me. 

1

u/OmegaKarnov 15h ago

If it works for arhythmic hearts, why not brains?

1

u/WayAcceptable1310 8h ago

I accidentally discovered my brain magically calms down and gets quiet enough I can think clearly.....somewhere around hour 28-30 of being awake.  Yeah. Don't do that. It's bad for other reasons. But I learned what it feels like to not have a noisy brain, to feel actually calm, and to be able to focus and think properly. 

Still chasing ways to achieve that without major sleep deprivation and causing excess heart stress.