I'm really sorry to hear that you haven't feeling well. I think its important to some extent, to let the lows pass, by taking it as easy as possible, resting and not being too hard on yourself. I can imagine though, that must be tough with a four year old running riot in the house.
Sometimes ppl do become tired, when you're knocking on their door all the time. It's not that they don't care, it just is hard looking after ppl in our situation, and that too is understandable. How I deal with it, is I make sure I give ppl breaks in between asking for help. So yes, I do isolate myself and not tell people all the time when I'm unwell. However, that does mean I can go to them occasionally when I need to, without feeling like I'm draining them down. I also approach my friends in turn. So I'm not bothering them all at once. It seems you've already isolated yourself a while, so I think now is the time to have the confidence to ask for help and say, yeh I can go to people I've been close to, because they do care, its just they can't be there for us all the time. But since its been a while, they really won't mind, and will genuinely help.
I'm not sure who those people are in your life - friends, family or even a local charity. I'm not sure where you're based, but if you were in the UK, I could do some research about benefits to help with the money situation. But I have a feeling you're in the US. I dunno if there any other people who know about places where people with bipolar/depression long-term can go for financial assistance?
All the best, and do come back and post regularly if you feel it helps. Let us know how its going. Because we do care :)
Joined: 12-21-2008