Psychological help?!
Question: I had a very restrictive upbringing, catholic school, harsh parents and a brief spell in adoptive care. I also suffer from bi-polar disorder. When I was at school I was just an attention seeking brat who got suspended twice (once for mooning, once for stealing chemicals) I think its turned me into a bit of a wierdo, now I'm at uni and can do what I like I can't seem to be like everyone else and do things right, I'm not a bad person but I do stupid things quite alot when I get carried away in the moment and it's funny.
I also just broke up with my fiancee because I wasn't sure if I was gay or not, and I still don't know who I am or what I want to be.
Why am I like this? I just want to be more normal. Do you think I should see a psychiatrist? I'm not depressed or anything.
Answers: I had a very restrictive upbringing, catholic school, harsh parents and a brief spell in adoptive care. I also suffer from bi-polar disorder. When I was at school I was just an attention seeking brat who got suspended twice (once for mooning, once for stealing chemicals) I think its turned me into a bit of a wierdo, now I'm at uni and can do what I like I can't seem to be like everyone else and do things right, I'm not a bad person but I do stupid things quite alot when I get carried away in the moment and it's funny.
I also just broke up with my fiancee because I wasn't sure if I was gay or not, and I still don't know who I am or what I want to be.
Why am I like this? I just want to be more normal. Do you think I should see a psychiatrist? I'm not depressed or anything.
Hello Glorious - tough situation, tough condition (bipolar) - and you sound like a very self-aware sort of person (and your website indicates a well-functioning mind). As a result of that, I would strongly suggest you see a psychotherapist - not a psychiatrist. If you are in the UK, as I think you are, then you will have counsellors available at your university - but probably with a limit of six or eight sessions. This would be better than nothing, but in all honesty, if you or your parents (OK, that's unlikely) could manage to pay, find a psychotherapist or a long-term counsellor - google BACP and UKCP (the two main registering bodies, ensuring you get someone properly trained and abiding by a code of ethics - UKCP requires a higher level of study) and click the 'find a counsellor/psychotherapist' button to find someone in your area.
You really don't need to be like anyone else, but you would feel more comfortable in your skin if you could be more fully yourself. With a difficult childhood, there are inevitably some tangled-up things inside, and psychotherapy could help you untangle, begin to know yourself more fully and feel more positive about who you are. Acting daft is sometimes about trying to get an effect which relates to some of the tangle. Hope you can find someone to work with.
I do think you could use professional help, either counselor, therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist. It sounds like you obsess over things (ex fiance & not knowing what you want to be) and that you suffer from low self-esteem (attention seeking behavior to get approval from others) I have learned that nobody is "normal" You just need to be the best person you can be. Learning about yourself, growing as a person, improving upon yourself is a life-long journey.
you sound pretty normal to me.