Manic depression: any advice?

I do my best to manage my disorder with a healthy dose of Omega 3 supplements & excersise. I'm doing okay. I have my days though.

You have a couple of choices, if you are manic depressive odds are sooner or later you will have a break through episode and if that is at all public you're likely to be picked up by the police and committed. You're talking maybe mace, handcuffs, bed restraints, isolation and scary assed anti-psychotics until you come down and then maybe two months recovery after that. Your other choice is preemptive and voluntary and maybe you never see the inside of a psych hospital at all. There are some good hospitals out there and there are some state run holding tanks and some of them are scarier than being manic or having anxiety or anything. Given a choice I would seek out a psychiatrist and avoid the possibility of mace and confinement and stuff like that. I don't mean to be harsh, but it can get real harsh. If you're not going to get help, then avoid psychoactives: no acid, no speed, no freaky shit at all. If there is a manic in you all that fun stuff just dares him to come out.

hey Furi.... please don't take this as any sort of suggestion as to how you should deal with your own mental or spiritual health, but I thought I'd share my own experience...

for as long as I can remember I have lived with a state of being that would most likely be described as manic depressive / bipolar... however, growing up where & when I did, the idea that I should seek or needed psycological help wasn't really in the picture... while some may experience "swings" over a short period of time, mine usually seemed to span years... about every three as a matter of fact, until I was in my mid 30s... the good years were really amazing... the bad years were the deepest, darkest part of me... like many westerners I learned to self medicate early in my life.... pot kept me happy & booze kept me from flying off the planet... but, of course, neither of those things really dealt with the reality of my heart mind and soul.... I don't pretend to know the cause of my particular state of being and from what I can tell, the "professional" world out there can only offer us (at best) theories and (at worst) speculation... the treatments that have been prescribed for thos living with this have ranged from hydro therapy (dunking in frigid water) and shock treatment to any number of pharmacological cocktails... what ultimately worked for me was a combination of a couple of things.... the first being that I came to the realization that I had a family and friends who truely & unconditionaly loved me, regardless of how up or down I felt... look Brother, I don't know what your family/social life is like, but I highly recommend this... it also seems to help if you can surround your self with folks that you feel comfortable opening up you whole heart to... it makes dealing with the rest of the assholes and apes alot easier... the second factor was my choice to fully immerse my self into the art world... art truely saved my life... it was the one place that I found I could indulge or investigate the lowest lows & the highest highs whithout any fear of moral judgement from my peers... I came to realize that part of every creative process is destruction... that light means nothing if there is not some darkness waiting at the edge... that every emptiness is an invitation for something to become whole... and on a day to day basis, what I did was write... I allowed everything that was boiling inside me or yearning to escape me to manifest on the page... I accepted and allowed it all as a integral parts of who I am....
look... some times I still get depressed for no obvious reason... sometimes I'm happier than I have any right to be... sometimes I still have a smoke & sometimes I like a cold beer... mostly just to wind down from a long day at work or because I just wanna lay around in my garden all afternoon listening to the plants make oxygen... the fact is thiis... it's all me... it's nothing to be afraid or ashamed of...

Brother furikuri... you're young... and your in kind of a hard core career choice... I'm not saying you shouldn't be happy but you've put alot on your shoulders for a young man... you probably know better than I do that there are some miles when that goddamn pack seems to get heavier with every step you take & then at some point you realize that you've been walking for a few miles and you barely feel the load anymore because it has become a part of you...

if you need advice... if you need help... by all means find it... we all need that sometimes & we all need it in different ways and amounts... just dont be ashamed of who you are... embrace it all without fear and allow yourself to believe in your abillity to heal and survive....
take it easy man & get home safe
j

Manic depression is touching my soul
I know what I want but I just don’t know
How to, go about gettin’ it
Feeling sweet feeling,
Drops from my fingers, fingers
Manic depression is catchin’ my soul

Woman so weary, the sweet cause in vain
You make love, you break love
It’s all the same
When it’s, when it’s over, mama
Music, sweet music
I wish I could caress, caress, caress
Manic depression is a frustrating mess

See a professional.

And if you need anyone to talk to for support about this, see me.

I had a look at the test you mentioned and don't think it's that helpful...a lot of people myself included could score high on that and still not be bipolar.

Best thing is talk to a professional. I hope you get the help and support you need, whatever turns out to be the problem for you.