Something rather ‘funny’ happened when I recently saw my osteopath today for a hip problem- he had a resident MD with him. My doc explained my situation and then told the resident that I was a well known bipolar disorder writer with seven books, and that I had a tough time with finding ways to help myself. Basically he praised my work and was explaining to the guy that I have it tough sometimes. Then, the resident started to ask me questions about what I had tried to treat bipolar- Have you done natural methods? Have you tried this? That? I know a psychiatrist who knows how to combine medications and he has had a lot of success. Do you know him?
I tried to explain that yes, I have tried all he is talking about- in fact I write a lot of books on the topic. I am on my 23rd medication- I have [ Read More ]
….sleeping at night. I just received a great comment on this topic. I often tell clients that there is one way to deal with the depression sleep issue- to have the motto: BEDS ARE FOR SLEEPING AT NIGHT. Tracy’s comment is a great explanation of why. It’s so easy for us to crawl into bed when we’re depressed. It’s easy to stay in bed when we wake up depressed- but you will never feel better. Ever. Thanks to Tracy for telling her story!
Hi Julie,
I woke up this morning to a cloudy, dreary day. My mood also reflects this weather change- unmotivated, discouraged, low energy. Yesterday it was 80 degrees and sunny and I felt great! A 4 mile run probably contributed to my feelings of happiness.
I work at home. After being up for a few hours this morning and getting the kids off to school I found myself migrating towards the [ Read More ]
I think it’s essential that people with a lot of depression get very, very clear on what makes them happy. These are the things that alleviate depression- or at least make it slightly better. These things can then be waiting when the depression starts. You can make a list of what works to help you get out of the down swing. Then you can pull this out and use it – if it’s written down it can break through the depression and actually do something- and when you have a list of what makes you happy you can also have these things ready.
Here is mine- and believe me, I need it lately.
1. Singing. I love karaoke with friends- if I do it by myself when I’m well- then it can be tough- so I know that my list has to be clear- I like to sing with friends. I have a karaoke bar [ Read More ]
Hello to everyone.. I always try to leave a reply on the comments I received, but as you can probably tell- wanting to do something and being able to do something is quite different. So, I have an idea I may have mentioned before.
Feel free to send me questions of one to two sentences and I will answer with the same. That way I can get to everybody and we can get some quick solutions to problems. Sometimes we really can find out what to do just from reading a few sentences.
Please keep your comments as long as you want- I read all of them daily. Long comments help a lot of people.
I recently posted and asked people to comment on all of the different names used to describe bipolar disorder. Sandra just wrote in with another name:
Hi Julie,
I purchased a book called “Break the Bipolar Cycle” by Elizabeth Brondolo, Ph.D. and Xavier Amador, Ph.D. and they use the term Bipolar Spectrum Disorders (BSD) as an umbrella term that includes all types of Bipolar Disorders. That was the first I’d heard that term before.
Sandra
Here is my answer:
Hi Sandra,
The term bipolar spectrum disorders is used a lot in health care professional and academic writing. As you read in the book I am sure, it means that bipolar disorder goes on a spectrum from mind to severe with many different manifestations of the illness in between. Most of us have bipolar one or bipolar two- a new diagnosis is of bipolar three where the person gets manic from a medication such as Prozac [ Read More ]
I have received a few emails asking about my Twitter account. Well, it was inadvertently deleted. In other words, I pushed some buttons I should not have pushed. I’m changing it to a daily bipolar disorder management tip- 365 days of quick ideas and thoughts to get a person up when they are low and more stable when they are manic. Though, I have found that a person who is manic can use Twitter and Facebook pretty much 24 hours a day- but not to get tips on managing mania. 🙂
I was just thinking of a tip example, and one would be:
Did you know that it’s normal to drive like a maniac when you’re manic?
And believe it or not, I have never connected the words maniac and manic. It’s interesting.
If you have ideas on what you would like to see on my Twitter account, please let me know. [ Read More ]
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Mom Brain Podcast
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