MERGED: Is Ricky Bi-Polar? I vote YES.

[mellovesthefins]

Is Ricky Bi-Polar? I vote YES.

first of all, if anyone is on here from the md.com forums, drop me a line... ive lost touch my people!! (same handle: mellovesthefins77)

anyway, yesterday i said to my father that ricky's sudden decision to quit football alltogether and then galavant across the globe reminded me eeriely of an ex-boyfriend of mine who suffered (and still suffered w/o treatment) from manic-depression.

those who are bipolar can also have anxiety disorder related issues -- as well as mania, really high highs and really low lows. and its not uncommon that these folks are some of the most brilliant in the world (people from presidents to renaissance painters and composers were bipolar).

anyway, after dating my ex-bf and having him pull a RickyWilliams on me, i was forced to research a lot on this affliction... and i just had to chime in that i thought this, too.

also scary is him giving all of his posessions away and giving up things he apparently "loves"... and by the way, without treatment, no one would ever be able to convince a bipolar that they were wrong in their judgement.

they see the world through their own gray clouds. none that those with their feet on the earth would ever be able to comprehend.

on that note, id like to say ill miss ricky. im disappointed in the way he let down the fans of miami, and especially sympathetic to the kids that look up to him. this is an early lesson on life for them, i fear.

that all being said.... do you think bill bellichik woulda screamed and cried and sent out the troops to look for ricky?? nah hed have said, "dont let the door hit you on your way out, buddy." and then made lemons with lemonade.

which as we go into this season, im hoping for a lot of lemonade!

*m

 

[pigskinguy]

first of all, if anyone is on here from the md.com forums, drop me a line... ive lost touch my people!! (same handle: mellovesthefins77)

anyway, yesterday i said to my father that ricky's sudden decision to quit football alltogether and then galavant across the globe reminded me eeriely of an ex-boyfriend of mine who suffered (and still suffered w/o treatment) from manic-depression.

those who are bipolar can also have anxiety disorder related issues -- as well as mania, really high highs and really low lows. and its not uncommon that these folks are some of the most brilliant in the world (people from presidents to renaissance painters and composers were bipolar).

anyway, after dating my ex-bf and having him pull a RickyWilliams on me, i was forced to research a lot on this affliction... and i just had to chime in that i thought this, too.

also scary is him giving all of his posessions away and giving up things he apparently "loves"... and by the way, without treatment, no one would ever be able to convince a bipolar that they were wrong in their judgement.

they see the world through their own gray clouds. none that those with their feet on the earth would ever be able to comprehend.

on that note, id like to say ill miss ricky. im disappointed in the way he let down the fans of miami, and especially sympathetic to the kids that look up to him. this is an early lesson on life for them, i fear.

that all being said.... do you think bill bellichik woulda screamed and cried and sent out the troops to look for ricky?? nah hed have said, "dont let the door hit you on your way out, buddy." and then made lemons with lemonade.

which as we go into this season, im hoping for a lot of lemonade!

*m

Good post, welcome aboard.

 

[Rebar71]

I've personally seen the bi-polar roller coaster as well. My best friend for the last 15 years - his father is bi-polar. I'm not going to tell any personal stories about it. I'll just say that a good portion of Ricky's actions this off-season definately fit the profile.

 

[Merman]

I have to agree with the sentiments of this thread. Ricky cut off his dreads after growing them since what high school. If the quotes are true: "I have never been happier in my life." "I'm free." If the reports are true: Jet-setting around the globe smoking dope. Quitting his profession on the spot when before he was thinking of retiring after the year. This definitely sounds like mania.

If it is how long does mania last a few months??? Either way we probably would not know until he hits bottom and gets help which could be years. I also suspect many don't care if it is mania or not. :nono:

 

[mellovesthefins]

hi pigskin and rebar!

thanks for the feedback...

rebar, i know very much those stories which you wont retell. i have my own too. ironically enough, my ebf was/is also addicted to marijuana. theres has been much study on the idea that substance abuse only worsens the rollercoaster and makes the dark clouds even darker.

i know that scary feeling id get... i remember it too well. and i know that when i saw ricky suddenly annouce this, and the paper say that hes already given his car away and sold his properties in florida... that truly reminded me of mania... and then what follows after this mania, well, you and i both probably know...

id like to believe im wrong but some gut instinct tells me i may be more correct than i wish....

---

merman,
to answer your question.... manic depression has only come into the light as a treatable affliction in recent years. usually passed off as just crazy or a light blue/sadness/depression... most people think one can just snap out of it. but those who are on the roller coaster and are dealing with addictions can rarely break free of them without therapy and medication (meds dont work the same for everyone and it could take someone a while to find the right one for them).

ironic... as im typing this, im also realizing more things that could point to this... im a long time reader of his journals on his website (im a longtime supporter of him, always thought he was a great individual), and i remember just reading the thing about everything being clean before he can work. could be a sign of ocd... most of these things go hand in hand with mania.

also was thinking about his "loner" status in the locker room... most bipolars are loners for the simple reason they dont want to burden anyone w/ their problems. and often it has to do with "things" they have going on in their heads.... medication, probably like the anxiety medication i think he was taking, can also make one withdraw, too.

i dont know. im just speculating. and im hoping that im wrong, too....

*hoping for lemonade*
m

 

[RGF]

..IS THAT MY MEL?????????????

 

[mellovesthefins]

HEY RGF.

LOL i dont know about your mel... but im stil my mel.

m

 

[Muck]

Good thread. I just pray for the best.

 

[LostInPatsLand]

Stick to Armchair Quarterbacking, not Armchair Psychoanalysis:

I'll try to be as nice as possible in saying what's on my mind.

I come from a family full of doctors. One common occurrence for first year medical students taking a class in psychiatry is for students to read a book on diagnostic criteria for emotional disorders and to come away thinking they own half of the disorders in the damn text!

It really takes a professional to diagnose someone. And that means personally monitoring someone for a while. I don't care if you know someone is bipolar. I don't care if YOU are bipolar. Without knowning someone personally, it's virtually impossible to correctly diagnose someone, even if you are a professional.

I am, therefore, led to believe that the desire to label Williams with a serious emotional disrder stems from some desire to make sense of his behavior by, when it comes down to it, saying he's flat out nuts. This is wrong, and furthermore, this is an affront to people who really do suffer with this disorder but who are good, productive citizens.

 

[xiidaen]

Diagnosis by democracy? Yikes, sounds like a bad reality show. "I'm not sure if that's the correct incision site Bob, can I use my 'Poll the Audience' lifeline?"

I don't know what Ricky's problem is. I don't even know if he does have a problem. I think the people who most deserve to be upset are his teammates, and it's been interesting to hear some of their reactions, ranging from McKinney's anger to Taylor's respect. It's a complicated issue. If he does have a serious condition like bi-polar disorder he's probably not a good fit for the team anyway...but the reported money he may owe the team complicates issues, as does his drug comments... I can't easily see a way for his to return and play without league censure.

 

[RGF]

HEY RGF.

LOL i dont know about your mel... but im stil my mel.


GOOD TO KNOW YOU`RE STILL "YOU".......
...CANT BELIEVE THIS RICKY THING......ITS ALWAYS SOMETHING

 

[Muck]

Stick to Armchair Quarterbacking, not Armchair Psychoanalysis:

I'll try to be as nice as possible in saying what's on my mind.

My question to you is, why would you even have to hold back strong emotions on the subject?? What would make you want to blast the participants of this thread?? There is no apparent ill will or malice.

What gives??

 

[OurHeartAndSoul]

No. Ricky is not bi-polar even though it sucks Ricky quit, he did it because he didn't want to play football anymore. As angry as I am for him to leave the fans and his teamates as disappionted as he did, I do respect his decision.While I know its not exactly the same thing, I played football in pop warner and into high school. I am as much of a fan I am of football and as much as I love the game I just decide to qiut playing. I wasnt a bad player and my teamates and family couldn't understand why I would just quit playing something that I liked so much. Some of the things Ricky has said since retiring and his explanations were some of the exact samethings I thought when I stoped playing. Thats why I understood him walking away from the game. Im not going to say its wrong for anybody to be upset as the fans have every right to be. I just feel somewhat Rickys going thru and I cant help but respect him even though it sucks at the same time.

 

[finjim123]

first of all, if anyone is on here from the md.com forums, drop me a line... ive lost touch my people!! (same handle: mellovesthefins77)

anyway, yesterday i said to my father that ricky's sudden decision to quit football alltogether and then galavant across the globe reminded me eeriely of an ex-boyfriend of mine who suffered (and still suffered w/o treatment) from manic-depression.

those who are bipolar can also have anxiety disorder related issues -- as well as mania, really high highs and really low lows. and its not uncommon that these folks are some of the most brilliant in the world (people from presidents to renaissance painters and composers were bipolar).

anyway, after dating my ex-bf and having him pull a RickyWilliams on me, i was forced to research a lot on this affliction... and i just had to chime in that i thought this, too.

also scary is him giving all of his posessions away and giving up things he apparently "loves"... and by the way, without treatment, no one would ever be able to convince a bipolar that they were wrong in their judgement.

they see the world through their own gray clouds. none that those with their feet on the earth would ever be able to comprehend.

on that note, id like to say ill miss ricky. im disappointed in the way he let down the fans of miami, and especially sympathetic to the kids that look up to him. this is an early lesson on life for them, i fear.

that all being said.... do you think bill bellichik woulda screamed and cried and sent out the troops to look for ricky?? nah hed have said, "dont let the door hit you on your way out, buddy." and then made lemons with lemonade.

which as we go into this season, im hoping for a lot of lemonade!

*m

I agree with you in the fact that rick is on good and why just look at what he has done to THE KIDS who looked up to him. Bad bad bad man finjim123

 

[ohall]

I'll try to be as nice as possible in saying what's on my mind.

I come from a family full of doctors. One common occurrence for first year medical students taking a class in psychiatry is for students to read a book on diagnostic criteria for emotional disorders and to come away thinking they own half of the disorders in the damn text!

It really takes a professional to diagnose someone. And that means personally monitoring someone for a while. I don't care if you know someone is bipolar. I don't care if YOU are bipolar. Without knowning someone personally, it's virtually impossible to correctly diagnose someone, even if you are a professional.

I am, therefore, led to believe that the desire to label Williams with a serious emotional disrder stems from some desire to make sense of his behavior by, when it comes down to it, saying he's flat out nuts. This is wrong, and furthermore, this is an affront to people who really do suffer with this disorder but who are good, productive citizens.

I had a running joke when I worked in the psych field for 9-years, and the doctor's loved this joke as well, understand it's in good fun and anyone who worked in the psych field knows the staff makes fun of the patients all the time. It’s the only way we can cope with all the stress that is involved with those types of jobs. My diagnosis is always the same when we'd have our team meetings, they're all fooking nutz.

The point is something ain't right with Ricky right now, and it's not a stretch to think he is off his meds, and the reason he's off his meds is because as he said himself, he is now cured. This is also why he's using POT so much. So many bipolar and other wise mentally ill ppl use drugs is because it slows down their receptors in their brains and it makes them feel better, and they want badly what makes them feel better. They want it so badly they will do irrational and unsafe things to get those illegal drugs. Some ppl will even sell their bodies, their children to get what they think makes them feel better.

Anyone who is not sitting down with Ricky in a controlled environment is obviously guessing, but there are educated guesses and their uneducated guesses. I'll go with my 9-years of experience on this, because I trust myself when it comes to this subject.

Oliver...