It can be really overwhelming to pay bills when you’re not doing well. I swear, so many of my ideas in Get it Done When You’re Depressed have to do with the little things- cleaning a house, making lunches for kids, finishing a project, paying bills, exercising, getting out of bed when you’re in a bipolar down swing! It’s easy for these things to get lost in a depression fog!
One of the most popular tips in the book is to work with a friend. I regularly go to a coffee shop with friends and we simply work together. We talk when we first sit down and then we work. I can do email, write my books, or do my paperwork. I often bring a big pile of letters, bills etc in a bag and just go through them one by one. I bring large clips so that I [ Read More ]
There is a lot of great information on bipolar disorder basics on this blog. If you go to the menu on the right, you will see the categories you may want to read first- I suggest you start with mania as that is often the most confusing part of the illness. It can be treated- but you have to know what you’re up against!
I was diagnosed in 1995 and now have a full and rewarding life. You can do the same! Julie
Here is a comment from Gina about running out of (Lamotrigine):
Hi Julie,
I’m gonna run out of Lamictal before the year ends and insurance won’t cover any till after 1/1. I take 400mg per day, what can I do to stretch this out? I can’t afford to buy them! The doctor didn’t have any samples. 🙁 Any ideas?
I called GSK and because I can’t scrape up $600 worth of receipts for this year they won’t help me. Other drs office has no samples. It was like $18 per day to get just enough to get me into next year. It’s nerve wracking coming off 400 mg per day down to so little though. I definitely had some bad timing this year. I’m on medicare part D and am in the gap where I have to pay [ Read More ]
A good friend of mine who has bipolar disorder and I were talking about the ups and downs of bipolar disorder and I said, “Up sort of implies something good and down implies something bad. It’s not like that with bipolar disorder. Mania is just as ‘bad’ and as dangerous as depression. You’ve been in the hospital with mania and depression- and my mania – even though it’s euphoric has actually wrecked my life just as much as the depression.“ So, I decided that I need another way to describe the illness that shows how both the up and the down are ‘bad.’ I came up with over the top and below the norm. Some people have trouble with the word normal- I don’t. I know that I’m not normal when I get depressed or manic! I can compare myself to the millions of people around the world without the illness. When I get [ Read More ]
My family is always there for me when I get sick. It took a long time for them to understand the illness and how my Health Cards treatment works- they used to use everyday logic to try and help= Julie, you have a lot to be thankful for. Why are you so unhappy! etc.
Now they are my biggest support. When I get sick, my mom and brother get on the phone and check in with each other and then call me a lot to make sure I’m ok. I call it the bipolar hot line!
I have information for family members in all of my books. They have to know about this illness as much as we do. My wonderful nephew is six – we talk about depression when I’m having a tough day!
I just wrote a 170 page book in less than two months. It was stupid. That is the only way I can describe my decision to take on the project. Stupid! I guess I forgot what this kind of work pressure does to my moods. I sent in the final edits today. It’s a good book, but I really do have to be more careful with my choices. The book itself was extremely difficult to write. It’s on how to write and sell ebooks- and the deadline was too quick. This is a combination for disaster.
I had three hypomanic episodes, lots of depression, a terrible OCD episode that I wrote a lot about and so much anxiety I had trouble sleeping. But I kept on working. I have taught myself to keep going despite the mood swings- otherwise I would not get anything done. I try to keep away from major stress, but it’s [ Read More ]
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The health information contained herein is provided for general education purposes only. This site should not be seen as a substitute for an official diagnosis or for professional health care.
