If you read down a few posts, you will see that I wrote about the ‘holiday horrors’ and how this time of year can be so stressful for people with bipolar disorder. I have received some great comments. I posted one below and here is another one!
There are always two sides to every issue! I swear, this letter is so lovely and the invitation so amazing, I should go!
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Julie, even before I got to the end of your blog, I just knew I HAD to invite you to my house to celebrate Thanksgiving! You are cordially invited to attend, and to bring along a guest! Airfare this time of year is pricey, but you’d have fun and enjoy the area – I live in Stafford, Virginia, which is just south of Washington, DC in a very historic county – first settled in the 1600’s, boyhood home to George Washington. [ Read More ]
I recently opened a magazine and saw an antidepressant (Pristiq) I had never heard of- so I asked my coauthor Dr. John Preston to explain the mistique of Pristiq!
Hi…Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)is a clone of Effexor…I like it because the starting dose is often the therapeutic dose (50 mg)…with Effexor you had to start low (37.5 mg) and gradually increase the dose (often up to 150-300 mg)…also Pristiq has somewhat less nausea than Effexor….but like all antidepressants is absolutely can cause mania… John
**And as we all know… people with bipolar disorder can’t take antidepressants alone- and if they do take them- it needs to be in combination with a mood stabilizer such as lithium, depakote or tegretol! Pristiq sounds like a resort! Who names these things! Julie
hi! I just received this great comment from Debbie regarding my post about Thanksgiving.
Amen! This year my husband and I decided to do just that…..say no and do our OWN Thanksgiving. I was always going to other’s homes for Thanksgiving but hauling half my kitchen over there. We decided we would have a small dinner at our house. If it ends up us ALONE, well what’s so bad about that! We have ruffled feathers and caused a massive fruit basket turnover but we have never been happier and we are looking forward to Thanksgiving for the first time in our 33 year marriage! We call it ‘house rules’ now. You are welcome to our home, but you will follow our ‘house rules’. My husband likes to say, ‘Be nice or leave’. It has put a hault to much traffic but those that come seem to be the ones [ Read More ]
I often get overwheled by having too much to do so I don’t do the little things that will help me feel good enough to tackle the big things! Here are some ideas!
Get a nice haircut
Take a walk near some water
Play with an animal- but not a squirrel or a possum!
Look at the people in your life and think- wow, I am lucky to have them around!
Answer a few email that you feel guilty about for not answering!
Fix the thing on your car that has been nagging at you for weeks- wow Julie- do you mean your front right headlight that has been out for months!
Get a nice shave
Hire someone to do your lawn
Read Get it Done When You’re Depressed!
Take your car through a drive through wash
It’s easy to do one little thing that makes you feel better. I don’t know about you, but [ Read More ]
It’s like catching lightening in a bottle- when I catch it, I’d better take advantage of it. What happens in our brains to make it so very hard for us to work when we’re in a mood swing? I know that parts of our brains accomplish different tasks- some are verbal, spatial, emotional, etc. For people with ADHD, sitting and working can be hard- here is a brain explanation for ADHD from myadhd.com Current research indicates the frontal lobe, basal ganglia, caudate nucleus, cerebellum, as well as other areas of the brain, play a significant role in ADHD because they are involved in complex processes that regulate behavior (Teeter, 1998). These higher order processes are referred to as executive functions. Executive functions include such processes as inhibition, working memory, planning, self-monitoring, verbal regulation, motor control, maintaining and changing mental set and emotional regulation. According to a current model of ADHD [ Read More ]
Ah yes… it’s Sunday football today. I do love football. The players are such amazing athletes- and their mental stability is also very admirable. Barack Obama is the same…. No matter what you think of Obama or football, there is no question they know what to do under pressure. A reporter asked Obama how he handled the stress of the campaign. His answer actually surprised me: “I don’t let the highs get me too high or the lows get me too low.” My first thought was- wow, that is excatly what I do every day in order to stay as stable as possible. Here is an interesting fact- Obama and I went to the same high school in Hawaii. He was two years before me, but I didn’t know him!
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I just saw an interview with the Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. When asked how he handled the pressure of being [ Read More ]
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