2008 November « Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

hypomania.. darn it… gosh darn it!

hypomania…. Gosh darn it… darn it….

I’m writing a new book on ebooks for a publishing company called the Geezer Guides. It’s not an easy book to write, but then none are! I was really in the zone this morning. I got to the library with no brain civil war. I just got in my car, drove, parked, sat at my desk, opened my computer and started to write. This may seem simple to some, but it’s often a truly difficult process for people with bipolar disorder. Then I realized I was having a lot of fun writing. The ideas were flowing like melted chocolate! I called a friend and said, “It’s an amazing day! I’m finally feeling better and things aren’t so hard! All right!”

And then it happened. I thought, “Oh no. I’m hypomanic.”

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Reader Comment: Bipolar Disorder and the Economic Crisis

I just received the following comment on the blog:

I am unable to stop focusing on the economic situation. I can’t seem to stop worrying about the future and this is just feeding into my triggers. If anyone has a good suggestion about this, I would appreciate it.

** Wow, most of us can commiserate with this! I suggest that we all focus on and take care of the bipolar disorder side of the worrying – which will help with the obsessive thoughts. This can help us view the economic crisis realistically.

If you read my past entries, I’ve had some terrific OCD problems this past month. Many of them were financial. That’s normal. OCD symptoms simply mean that an obsession gets in your head and won’t stop talking and talking. This leads to fear that something bad will happen in the future.

Most people have a worry and then it calms [ Read More ]

Bipolar and Recovering from a Hosptial Stay

Bipolar and Recovering from a Hospital StayMood swings are pretty terrible mentally, but they also affect the body physically. I remember when my partner Ivan got out of the hospital after three months. He was just so tired. His body was tired and he needed a lot of time to recover. My mother was on a plane ride during that time and happened to talk to a doctor sitting next to her. She told him about Ivan and the doctor said, “It can take up to a year for someone to get back to where they were before they got so sick.” None of us wanted to believe this! But it was basically true. The good news is that Ivan completely got back to normal sooner than a year, but it was a tough year for sure! It has been thirteen years since then. That seems impossible! He still deals with a lot of mood [ Read More ]

Just Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder?

Then yo are at the right place. I remember very well when I was diagnosed. I was 31 and had just come down from a mild manic/psychotic episode after a manic trip to China. I was misdiagnosed with depression, and then finally got the bipolar diagnosis. I was actually very happy to finally know what was going on!

I always want to say congratulations when I hear that someone has a diagnosis. Not because I think having bipolar is something to cheer about. It’s not. It sucks. But I say congratulations because you at least know what you have and there is a lot of help out there to treat it. It didn’t used to be that way. Believe me! I was diagnosed with rapid cycling Bipolar II in 1995, one year after my partner at the time was diagnosed with Bipolar I. [ Read More ]