AJ Mendez | Living With Bipolar Disorder
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- Опубліковано 9 жов 2021
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AJ Mendez is the The New York Times Bestselling author of Crazy Is My Superpower, screenwriter of Netflix's upcoming Blade of the 47 Ronin, and former championship wrestler with the WWE. She is an ambassador for NAMI, The Jed Foundation, and The Child Mind Institute, honored with NAMI's 2018 Multicultural Outreach Award and 2020 Leaders of Mental Health Award. She sits on the Board of Directors for The Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior at UCLA.
In this eye opening interview, AJ describes how she recognized the unexpected signs of bipolar disorder along with how she received her diagnosis and how it felt to share that with others along with so much more!
You can purchase AJ's book, "Crazy Is My Superpower," HERE: amzn.to/3ahHs9b
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/ wweteamajlee
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Not every employer will have empathy for mental illness. I’ve heard a lot of ignorance in the workforce about people’s mental health, especially coming from higher ups.
Maybe not ignorance so much as different priorities. There is also the possibility of morbid empathy, which can present even greater problems.
@@stephenarling1667 It’s more along the lines of referring to someone as not being all there, laughing at someone when they expresses they suffer from anxiety, just various comments that have been made when they need time off for their mental health and viewing it as an “excuse.” That’s the ignorance of not being able to understand & lack empathy, because they’re not living with a particular mental disorder.
@@Rose-gv9ff In my case (I have anxiety) at my last job I had a boss that kept looking at the things I couldn't do anymore (because I didn't tell I had anxiety during the interview, they found out after the first time I had to call in sick) instead of what I could do.. I eventually left because I gotten less and less hours and felt really unwelcome..
Now I've been unemployed for a while and I'm not sure what to do to get a job again. So I'm struggling between two options: don't tell I have anxiety, but inevitably call in sick x days a month due to anxiety and possibly get fired due to absence, or do tell it and risk not getting hired in the first place..
True, but this is the sort of thing that can change in ten or twenty years. I'll be retired by then but if we make enough noise in the right places while we're still alive then our friends grandchildren might look back at these days with as much disbelief as kids today watching "Mad Men" about people smoking and drinking in the office and harassing their female colleagues. Plus the higher ups tend to be older so they'll be the first to retire.
@Dodger Blue And many don’t want to face their demons head on. Weakness is when one fears to admit or hide that they may be suffering from a mental illness. It becomes a problem when people try to silence or shame those for being mentally ill. I’m glad that this generation has come forward to bring awareness because the reality is, it’ll continue to be a never ending cycle for generations to come, if we don’t address it now. You could choose to remain ignorant or learn to understand that it goes much deeper than assuming someone’s “weak.”
It took me around 17 years to find out that I have Bipolar. A few days ago (I'm 36) I finally decided to visit a psychiatrist. It was a relief indeed. Finally I understand what is going on in my life. In addition, I started to appreciate the mania as it made me a prolific writer and develop this good feeling of overconfidence. The best thing about seeing a doctor is not getting the prescription, instead understanding the one's self and being proactive
Yes! Your story is exactly like mine! I am 39 and I just found out I am bipolar a few months ago and now I understand what has been going on with me. I have grown to appreciate my mania as well even though if I could choose I would not live with it but it has made me a successful writer and a self taught musician ❤️
I love this woman!!! So good at describing her pain / mania. I didn’t get diagnosed until my 40s so I had many years of just crashing through life, knowing I was “crazy”, but with no name for it. My entire family suffers from depression but I knew I had “ more” than just depression- so I was relieved to get the diagnosis. I did share with a coworker, who then became my boss and he held the diagnosis over me….. spread the word and did not give me the promotion that I deserved…… so I just quit. He was sad to see me go for sure, but too bad…..my mental health/ sleep/ stress relief/ saying adios to negative people/ etc. - these things came first over a job, and I have no regrets.
*Willi_capps,*
ON
IN STA GRAM,
This is so powerful and so important, as a young female, to have such a lovely/strong/humble/honest role model speak out about their own past with mental health and on such a public platform! Wow. This is the first video I have seen of both people included but now I want to watch many more. Thank you
I want to thank you so much . Since my bipolar 2 diagnosis I've been looking for videos and other who experience hypomania as extreme anxiety. Every one talks about the euphoria but I don't seem to get much of that but totally overwhelming anxiety
Thank you Bipolar 2 so hard to diagnose
I'm 1 and my mania is not euphoria very often...it's mostly delusions and extreme reactions. No sleep. Like highly irritable. I love my med. 1 med made the biggest difference with weekly counselor.
Check these 5 out... It's is caused by pesticides and iodinebin salt or salt itself with others so avoid wheat, veg oil, tea, and condiments having pesticides, and salt nd give urself a assessment
thanks for sharing , i always thought anxiety was depression
@@staci4941 hi i know this is an old post I was just wondering what med made the most difference fof your Bp1?
Exactly the huge feeling of sorrow that you can't pinpoint.
She’s lucky to be privileged enough to have a lucrative career as an option. Most of us with this disease don’t have the ability to “follow dreams”… we have to settle and then deal with an employer judging our disorder every single day
Yes, you're entitled to your opinion but I would like to politely disagree with the tone of your comment. if you've read her book you'd know that she worked her ass off, even with bipolar disorder, to get that lucrative career. She wasn't some privileged rich kid that got it handed to her. She grew up dirt poor. I find her story super inspiring as someone who has gone through something similar. I agree with you on it being difficult working for employers who lack empathy for employees with mental illness. But if you can take anything away from AJs story, it's that you don't have to settle and that even if it's difficult, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel even if it still looks dim.
Lol privelaged, she worked harder than most people to have success in her career- something all of us have the opportunity for to some degree
@@Fanfan30303 you aren't bipolar so you cant speak on it and nothing about this is an LOL moment. Bipolar is not a joke
@@MB-xv7er the lol wasn't directed at bipolar. I have a Bipolar diagnosis and that comment of her being privaledged is definately wrong. She grew up poor and worked to get there. He was laughing at your belittling her accomplishments
She is a celeb crush of mine. Beautiful, tough and intelligent.
Thank you for mentioning the stigma that surrounds bipolar disorder bc I was teased mercilessly by somebody I confided in, and she spread rumors that made it looklike I should be in an asylum! Even movie producers will cast a character who has BPD, and the portrayal looks more like schizophrenia🙄. When people find out they will think less of you (like you sleep in a straight jacket kinda BS) so, my advice would be keep it close to the vest and only talk about it with people that you feel absolutely safe with people that you feel will stay in your life.
Having been in 2 psychiatric wards because of my mental health as in BPD I do not give a rats arse what people think of me. I do not wear it as a badge of honour like a poppy but I also do not care what someone who has no knowledge of the suffering we go through thinks. Having had cancer and horrendous months of chemo I'm able to say my mental health issues are much harder to deal with as there is no end to it. Cancer, you live, you die. There is an end to it. Bi polar is ongoing forever with no end in sight.
AJ did was excellent at sharing and explaining Bipolar. ❤❤❤❤
I absolutely love Aj Mendez and I have looked up to her for years as she was my favorite Women’s wrestler and I had no idea that she lived with bipolar disorder. I live with bipolar as well.
Great interview...so well done - stayed to the very end! THANK YOU so much for shouting out Lifelines and to put them in your phone--could save a life!!
I am 52 and have just been diagnosed. I feel like a better version of myself since starting treatment. I had been treated for anxiety for most of my adult life, but ultimately started having manic episodes. My mania lasts for years, then can manifest as mixed episodes, and more rarely I get very depressed. It is bizarre but I thank God every day that I was finally able to get the correct diagnosis.
I'm really grateful for my diagnosis, too. Contentment and peace to you my friend
Hi Alexa how has the medication or treatment helped and in what way ?
@@finity9316 HI! My medication first and foremost has helped me to sleep. It has also helped slow my thoughts down so I can more easily concentrate on one task at a time; like, reading a book and not having to read the same paragraph over and over. We are still working on mood stabilization, but there has been an improvement there as well.
@@leafyveins4985 Thank you. :)
@@alenapolster6590 that’s literally the stuff I need help with, what medication is it lithium?, and how long did it take to start working ?
I loved this interview! Thank you MedCircle, Kyle, & AJ!
Great interview! Several years ago I went to book signing session and AJ Mendez is one of the most kindest people I ever met. Mental health and self love are so important and I'm glad they are finally getting the attention they deserve.
Love this host. He is sensitive and empathetic.
Those are feminine traits
In reality, the vast majority of employers don't want all of you to show up. They just want the part of you to show up that's going to do the work and make them money. The rest of you and your personality can stay at home. It's almost like the old trope children are best seen and not heard. Most employers feel that good employees should be seen and not heard. Good to hear that there's a few outliers. Hopefully that will continue to increase until it's universal!
This is a hard thing as a mental health professional who works primarily with adults with Adhd/Autism. Many of these symptoms overlap with the genetic component, lack of impulse control, being smart but unable to execute what you know (ideas people may not understand) risk taking, and now research is showing the meds typically used for bipolar are now used to help the agitation in ASD in adults. There is still a huge myth in the mental health community that you grow out of it as adults which allows many clinicians to misdiagnose as bipolar and or miss the adhd when it could be one or both. Although not currently in dsm, there is a lot of research about how often emotional dysregulation occurs in neurodivergent adults. If you have symptoms at 10, I would consider it too:)
Studies have shown that over 60% of people with bipolar also have ADHD. It's not a question of one or the other, it is often (more than half the time) both.
@@ThisMagicHouse yes what I was saying is the adhd is missed
Thanks for the information, Susan. I've wondered if I have either as an adult. Being an ideas person, interested in abstract concepts but lacking understanding in breaking things down to doable tasks. Something's gotta give, getting tired.
@@nocando89 look for a good neuropsychologist in your area they should be able to help:)
I’ve known about my bipolar diagnosis for 25 years but I’m 73 and just got my ADD diagnosis 2 years ago, so what you say is true!
Amazing interview!! Thank you for this!!
🙏🏼❤️
Loved this interview!
I waited for 15 years to tell anyone that I suffered from 'hypomanic' episodes because they only ever last up to 4 days and also because I was very ashamed and afraid to say goodbye to what I had known since I was 11-12 years old. Depression since I was 9. As soon as I said the words out loud it felt real and scary but I felt more in control of my life. When I finally worked up the guts to tell my therapist, this dark, huge secret I'd been wearing my entire life, fell from my shoulders in front of me and it was still mine but I could finally see it clearly. And I have a great therapist who helps me understand it, manage it, and work through it.
I was misdiagnosed also at the age of 27. Doctors said I had clinical depression. I was 54 when another doctor said I have bipolar 2
I think I may be bipolar I’ve been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. 4 different meds and some days feel like I’ve taken nothing. Really sucks
How informative!! You rock, AJ!!
Thank you❤️🔥for this interview
Wow, Kyle, thanks for that, great interview, you just ask the right questions.
Great interview. ❤
Thanks so much for sharing your intimate feelings. I can relate to all of them and I honestly can't find a way to describe what BPD has been like, so this was so helpful! I self-medicated after a massive traumatic injury & was prescribed pain meds for years. The only difference for me is I fought the diagnosis for 15 years. I embraced my diagnosis although I worry bc I have ADHD, PTSD & OCD so it can be difficult to pinpoint what mental health problem is causing which problems
This has been so incredibly helpful, thank you
What! You are gloriously gorgeous! And a light in the mental health world. This interview is awesome.
Thank you so much for sharing and the education.♥️
This deserves more views.
Oh I can’t thank you enough for this video
I was so fortunate to meet Aj in 2019. She is the sweetest and most kind hearted person ever!! She listens very well . She made me feel really heard when she and I met ! 🤍
So cool too see AJ on here. Loved her wrestling career ❤
Insightful and fun :) AJ you’re so cool! Great content you two :)
Thank you AJ, very inspiring!
AJ is so sweet! I’m so happy she got the help she needed years ago and is living such a great life now! She is a true inspiration
I have been Bipolar for many many years just recently I started going thru menopause and I am struggling. Today I feel lost and hopeless. I cannot find my way out when I usually can.
Maybe prayer to God would help?
Time to find some new tools. The right therapist might help you develop some new coping skills. 💜
My daughter is the same. Hang on and it will get better.
Hang in there. My worst nightmare is menopause on top of everything else.
Cassie Ann Cox, exact same issues plus other stuff. Hit me back if you'd like to talk.
I was not aware that she was bipolar. Thank you for helping people who suffer from this realize they are not alone.
I never understood what I had till now but today so far is calm. I want to say thank you for sharing this. God bless
thank you for this.
I was misdiagnosis my whole life until a few years I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 it was like a light switch finally truned on ADHD mimics bipolar but can't be diagnosed as children but can be diagnosed with ADHD wrong meds are given and can be be Get tremental to the development to a child im 63 and have been labeled just a bad kid so glad I finally got the correct diagnosis
Update on treatment ?
Great info.
We watched your video.
I am bipolar. When you described pipolar, you explained the difference between them, it would have been nice to describe it as, bipolar 1# is more hyper, manic, fast speech, racing thoughts etc.
Bipolar #2 being more depressed,, not so hyper.
Both bipolar one and two can send you to the hospital.
When I was coming off being manic and went into depression, without meds to regulate me,
that was the most dangerous time, to cause bodily harm to myself.
Medications and therapy and knowing what your symptoms are and when they are coming is so important.
Beautiful courageous and experienced woman...inspiring ...thanks for your testimony ✨️ 🙏
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you both so much!
Forever our Queen 💞🙌👑
Awesome awesome video
My wife is probably bipolar and I am still tryhing to figure her out. Thia video was great and I commend you for the book, your speaking seminars and your success!! Way to go!!!
Hey reach out to the name on my channel 👆🏼 fast he helped me recover from bipolar
Thank you for supporting and for being a Channel Member!
I think she's gotten prettier as she's gotten older.
shes so inspirational
What a lady. Big fan. For someone whos overcome so many issues in her life there is not much she cant do in life right now. Her body of work the last few years is vast way beyond her wrestling career. She still shocks me when I see her name pop up on projects as she dips her hand into many pools. She really is a good example to women of how you can achieve what ever you put the work into. Im actually planning to try and watch her new project with womens wrestling. The idea of an all womens federation of wrestling is intriguing to me when she is involved in molding it. I will be tuning in and Im a male in my mid 30s which I doubt is the demo their targeting :D
She’s so strong
AJ Mendez ❤️❤️❤️
As someone who is a wrestling fan and idolised AJ as a teenager, to me I thought she had the best body and I starved myself to look like her then develop into Anorexia Nervosa - I still struggle this day with my eating disorder. I can sense when someone else has anorexia and I would love for AJ to be open about hers.
When I first had this disorder I cried for my crush because I missed her alot and I started destroying things around me
Hey reach out to the name on my channel 👆🏼 fast he helped me recover from bipolar
She had amazing info and advice! However the yahoo that is interviewing is rude, distracted, and totally not even paying attention.
Total I have a biggest question home Tahoe, I love her.
Anyone felt with dissociation during their depressive episodes I’ve dealt with it for 15 yrs 24/7 but when I’m depressed I notice it’s heightened. I feel so sad, yet extremely numb. I feel very bad but numb all at once I just had a baby… I feel like a robot and like I’m taking care of someone else’s baby. I’m having racing thoughts that’s so bad. It’s scaring me. I feel the worse I’ve ever felt before I’ve even thought about suicide because I’m so detached from myself, the world, and my baby.. I just feel like only my mind exist and that it doesn’t belong to me. I’m staying up insomnia.. thinking!!cleaning.. yet feeling like I don’t want to clean because I’m so depressed.. feeling like a robot. Have no control of my self.. also feel a bad sense of retardation… it’s as if I don’t have a damn brain at all. I feel so strange
If you have an abusive parent, you can get depressed and suicide pops up as well.
I love the superpower I'm about it almost didn't take meds because of it but I think I need them lol
I met the most amazing women I ever met in my
Life she was bipolar, and she told she was I met we clicked big time and one she just brushed it off like nothing ……it fucked me up big time
I was just curious if you can make a video on how many times per minute a person should blink normally? Thank you
Please someone acknowledge this?!
Who else has been diagnosed a couple of times, isn't taking medicine..... and is trying to decide if they really have it, or is it made up?
If your behavior is destroying your life you have your answer.
Imposter syndrome
Yes lol 🙋🏻♀️
KYLE
The following 3 topics might be good for videos ?
I’m bipolar too. Welcome to the club sis
I would love to know what her magic “cocktail” is to maintain this level of self confidence and control. She has great energy but it’s perfectly delivered.
I would love one of the med circle professionals to discuss the difference between how bipolar disorder manifests as opposed to trauma. They seem very similar, and is it possible that one clinician may diagnose someone with bipolar when it’s actually untreated trauma?
Yes! I was diagnosed with bipolar when in fact I suffer from C-PTSD, extreme anxiety and dissociation. Seek advice from a trauma therapist.
It took some time to realise this was AJ Lee , 😳😳
@Poono Penandes you are blind lmao. She still barely looks 30
She is back in everything now awesome.
@Poono Penandes she is going to wrestling part time for wow women of wrestling.
@@robertrogers074 She’s a executive producer and doing commentary for them she’s not gonna wrestle.
🔥
I have schizoaffective bipolar type , it's hard to function daily. Id be lucky if I could work.
Magicmushrooms help me recover
Reach out to the name on my channel 👆🏼fast 💨
Identifying with everything she said,
Im a survivors of a covert narcissistic marriage of 24 years but im desperate to use my experience and learnings to help others but have no idea where to begin ,is there anything you can advise me??
Wow! As soon as I saw you I thought you were pretty. I don't know how anyone doesn't see that.
My drug of choice is actually pain. It’s the only thing that makes me feel alive. I’m 45 and was misdiagnosed my entire life labeled “an emotional young woman” by my family doctor who told me his job was to give me perspective. I am relieved to have a diagnosis that makes sense.
This didn’t come even close to describing the pain terror and isolation you feel. It’s so debilitating, to the point that you can’t look after yourself which is such a frightening feeling
Hey reach out to the name on my channel 👆🏼 fast he helped me recover from bipolar
How to avoid going from bipolar II to bipolar I ?
I have Hyperadrenergic pots. I think of bp disorder as a It’s a box. A label. I just have adrenaline dumps and have to build a peaceful life around it.
I wanna know from the cast,, What are your thoughts on "I am bipolar" or "I have bipolar disorder"?
A person is not bipolar. They have or are diagnosed bipolar.
"I live with bipolar disorder"
When you said you get a little crazy🤣
How much does it help if you have a partner or family who understands you and be there when you feel sorrow/depressed/sad/angry and other sort of episodes? I mean would you feel comfort and okay knowing someone loves you and is there for you; or you still feel they cannot help you at all?
My partner and I have been married for almost 9 years.
Known each other for longer.
Him and I have dealt with my Bipolar through our entire relationship.
He has been there through the mania and the depression. The medication changes. The hospital stays. The bad emotions and dark moments. My husband has been not only my mountain and my advocate even at my worst.
He understands the moods and helps me with our own talk therapy. He pushes me to my highest potential and not just wallow in my disorder.
Thanks to him I have a great career and career stability. Thanks to him as my workout partner and food partner my weights only gone crazy once and he helped me back from that. He has helped me to schedule and use calendars to keep myself on track. Money management and other aspects my bipolar might of made me weaker at if it hadn’t been for the partner to hold you accountable.
I’ve told him through this entire journey with me that you can leave. Find someone who isn’t up and down and hard.
All he does is say I love you and the person you are is enough.
So in my experience having a trusted or trusted people. Your village can be an asset if used responsibly and not as a clutch or use them selfishly.
If you don’t have a personal life village make your health providers your team.
1st trusted psychiatrist who LISTENS and sees you as a PERSON
2nd PLANNED out procedure if you go manic or depressed and need help.
3rd a type of therapy that works for you. GET OUT the emotion and mood.
BALANCE in life. Excercise. Good food. Healthy food can be cheap too. Google it. I’m not a millionaire but I work into my budget for myself.
Have hobbies that are more than your disorder. Walks. Hikes. Coloring. Reading. Sewing. Find one and stick to it.
Also know your illness but please DONT get stuck in the black vortex of hating yourself for it.
It’s your superpower because it’s part of you and you can make your life great like anyone else. Just live by YOUR RULES that give you balance. And give yourself grace when your disorder flares up and keep going.
Because YOU deserve to LIVE and have a REASON and WORTH
My friend has mood swings, sometimes days good mood, still get distracted, hardly get anything done, sometimes months planning , projects, then completely lose interest in learning languages or photography, then feeling pathetic and useless, low self Esteem, loss of interest in my activities, low energy levels. Can you have bipolar disorder if you have recurrent depression when antidepressants don’t work, sometimes a person has elevated mood, or irritated, aggressive, hard to focus on work and studies during depression and even when mood is elevated or irritable, anxiety, but sleep 8 to 12 hours, It seems that people with bipolar manic episodes sleep 3 hours and feel full of energy which has never been his case, I cannot find this information anywhere could you answer please, He can be fairy energetic and feeling good about himself etc, but stress triggers his depressioon. He has never had lots of energy and Has always needed to sleep a lot, ever since He was a child. He feels cranky and can barely go through hid day, if he hasn’t slept well the previous day. I appreciate your answer.
The star sweater is by Stella McCartney fyi ⭐️
I have bipolar as well and tbh it's really not a "superpower"- it's a mood disorder/ mental illness
and it's ok to not be ok! It's ok to have an off-day 😊😊
To me she’s the most beautiful girl i’ve ever seen
Does Kyle have MDD or has he now been diagnosed with bipolar?
If u get involved with these patients you will forced into caregiver role. But when u need the help your on your own. Chronic healthcare needs. You cannot cure it. Business people will always shun everyone as they are narcissistic drug addicts on cocaine and alcohol addictions. Expect no empathy from a person in a suit.
Keto can help
5:13 25:11 36:54
So my mother constantly told me that I was nothing special so how do I ever get over that?
Christy Hoehn....by realizing that she was probably told that her whole life....you are special & unique because there is NO ONE like you!! Don't ever let anyone dictate your self-worth or identity. U had one of those mothers too.
People who usually say that are really insecure about themselves....and know from the inside you are special...they simply would not let it out...you are more than special...and unique...do not let anybody fool you into thinking you are a liability...we already have enough psychopaths and Sociopaths in this ugly , modern world.
Law of assumption.
O M G A J L E E F R O M W W E!
Did you set on your phone lol.ive done that 😳 😅
Eating the cookie. 👀 I wonder what she means there. 🤔🍪
Here attending classes. 🙋♀️
Hey reach out to the name on my channel 👆🏼 fast he helped me recover from bipolar
They hardly touched the subject of the title. All the signs she mentioned are already known to most people. I doubt the book would be helpful since the interview was unhelpful.
Than again, no two people have the same symptoms and its easily misdiagnosed by doctors, so help is lacking.
What?? Not as pretty as the other girls? Who could be prettier?!!..
Thats odd lol...she's actually very pretty.
Bipolar 2 is objectively worse emotionally, Bipolar 1 is just less employable because capitalism prefers predictable, high-functioning cogs; and hypomania is often exploited by corporations, whereas bipolar 1 mania too easily conflicts with the tight, narrow boxes of Western culture and capitalist day to day life. Given a properly socialist socioeconomic system, free of classist oppression and with the provision of a universal mental healthcare system with as-early-as-possible identification and treatment, alongside mass sociocultural education, people with bipolar 1 would have far less need for medication or institutionalization, and could just, y'know, live their fucking lives to the full as they deserve to. Not saying bipolar 2 wouldn't in that hypothetical also, but rather they'd be one of the few remaining people still depressed above average after all of the depression caused by capitalism is swept away, given the higher episodic depression of bipolar 2.
Leaky gut