Bi-polar and in debt. Help.

scooby1001

Hi I suffer with bi-polar and when i am manic i run up thousands of pounds worth of debts. I have run up and paid off my debts 3 times so far and after 3 manic phases in the last year i am up to £5,000 of debt. In the past i have tried asking the credit reference agencies to put a note on my file telling lenders not to let me borrow money but they refused to do it. When i am not manic i plow all my available money into paying off the debts only for it to all be for nothing when i go mad again. My family don't know that i am in debt again so i am frightened to tell them, i just say everything is fine. It is not that i can't make the repayments as i can it is the fact that all my sane time money is spent trying to clear debts only for them to go up again. HELP. Anyone with some advice or in the same position. Ta

[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]

annamc75

Honesty is the best policy - you have to let those in your life who support you through good mental health and bad that mania=money problems.

How controlled is your bi polar? Are you on meds? If so , are they doing their job?

If you have been ill for a while are you able to notice when you start to become ill? Are you then able to let those around you know.

I have some history of this myself - years ago I have to say but I found by having no credit cards, no overdraft and no options for credit helped me greatly.

scooby1001

I wish i had no options for credit but everyone wants to offer me credit cards and i get high credit limits. That is why i am thinking about how to ruin my credit rating although i am a bit obsessive about paying bills the day i get them so it would be quite hard for me to follow through.

Unfortunatly i don't know when i am going manic and it is not until it is all over that is sit down in dispair. I am just totting up the damage from my last blip. My medication does not help and i am not under the mental health team now are they wanted to send two people out to see me regarding my state of mind and i told them to leave me alone.

skintandscared_2

Hi Scooby. I presume you live on your own? My partner has schizoaffective disorder which is bipolar with a bit of schizophrenia thrown in for fun :rolleyes: He only has a cashcard account and luckily doesn't have access to credit. Mind you, I've managed to run up enough for the both of us, while he's been unable to work....

Anyway, I would seriously recommend phoning someone at the CAB and talking through your situation. I am fairly sure there is specific legislation dealing with mental health and if you have actually informed creditors of your condition and they have allowed you to run up debts I believe there is actually some recourse on those institutions for being so irresponsible. At the very least you should be able to go onto a Debt Management Plan which would (a) hopefully freeze the interest on the debt you've got and (b) effectively screw your credit rating for a long while, making it impossible for you to get any more credit cards or loans!

I'm aware how pathetic this country's mental health support is. They have all these leaflets and pledges on what the local authorities plan to achieve but in my experience none of them have a clue what they are talking about. Best of luck mate.

poppy10_2

Do you actually take out new credit cards when you are high, or do you just spend on the cards you already have?

d123

scooby1001 wrote: »

Unfortunatly i don't know when i am going manic and it is not until it is all over that is sit down in dispair. I am just totting up the damage from my last blip. My medication does not help and i am not under the mental health team now are they wanted to send two people out to see me regarding my state of mind and i told them to leave me alone.

You need to go back to your GP or the Health team, if you do suffer from bi-polar you should be under the care of a psychiatric consultant and your meds need to be re-evaluated. Most bi-polar sufferers respond well to lithium as a mood stabiliser with a secondary anti-depressant also prescribed.

You need to go get more help, as soon as you can.

scooby1001

skinkand scared. Snap. I have scito-affective disorder but just put bi-polar as people have heard of that but not scito-affective disorder. As you say it is bi-polar with scitopherina thrown in. Not only do i spend on the cards i have i take others out as well. I live with my 11 year old disabled daughter and every day is a struggle. The debt problems just drag me down. It is not that i can't afford the payments or anything as i can it is the fact it is a never ending circle of debt clear it run it back up again. I personally don't know anyone else that suffers from scito-affective disorder except for my son and would love to be able to chat to others in a similar situation.

skintandscared_2

scooby1001 wrote: »

skinkand scared. Snap. I have scito-affective disorder but just put bi-polar as people have heard of that but not scito-affective disorder. As you say it is bi-polar with scitopherina thrown in. Not only do i spend on the cards i have i take others out as well. I live with my 11 year old disabled daughter and every day is a struggle. The debt problems just drag me down. It is not that i can't afford the payments or anything as i can it is the fact it is a never ending circle of debt clear it run it back up again. I personally don't know anyone else that suffers from scito-affective disorder except for my son and would love to be able to chat to others in a similar situation.

Feel free to PM me anytime you fancy a chat mate. I've been with my partner 4.5 years and have learnt a lot in that time!!! He was originally diagnosed schizophrenic but I've done lots of research and he's talked to a couple of therapists and we all thing he's schizoaffective disorder, not full blown schizophrenic. I'm so in touch with the rapid cycling the and the ups and downs. If you look after a child too then you are truly quite incredible. Give yourself a break - what you achieve is amazing.

Ames

Feel free to pm me if you want. I've got bipolar or borderline personality disorder or affective instability depending which 'expert' I speak to... but I've always felt it's bipolar.

annamc75

Great advice you are getting here

scooby1001

Thanks everyone. I have no idea how to pm anybody. Can someone tell me. Ta.