Uncategorized « Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

Summer Mania

Bipolar Disorder Mania Peaks in the Summer!

NOw is the time for a mania check…

Wow, I had a wild hypomanic episode a few months ago. I wrote about it at the time. If you go to the mania link to the right, you can read all about mania and my experiences. It’s a very, very dangerous mood swings as it feels good- absolutely no one wants to be depressed, but people who experience euphoric mania often welcome it and never want it to end. (Agitated mania is called dysphoric mania- it’s also explained on the mania link to the right.)

We really are moving into the mania season. Sunlight affects our sleep as we get more sun through the eyes – which affects the brain. So, yes- keeping out of the sun helps. But who wants to do that if they have been depressed?

This is a complicated illness- and we have to know [ Read More ]

Julie on Twitter

I am on TWITTER once again

It is so ubiquitous I can no longer ignore the technology!

I will post those concise 140 word updates when I have a new project in the works or soon to be released! I promise not to keep telling you what I’m eating throughout the day!

Feel free to look for Julie Fast on the Twitter page and join in!

http://twitter.com/JulieFast

If you send questions on Twitter, they are pretty easy to answer with a few sentences. I will answer the Twitter questions on the blog. Of course I will also answer as many blog questions as well.

Julie

Thanks to everyone…

Hi There,

I am constantly amazed at what great comments readers leave on the site. It helps me to remember that bipolar disorder is an illness and we all get sick in the same way. We truly don’t have ’emotional problems!’ We have trouble regulating our emotions. It’s a big difference.

If you have a comment you feel would help someone- feel free to post it under their comment. I just ask that you stick to your own experience and what has worked and hasn’t worked for you. This helps more than you know because your story lets others know they are not weird and they are not alone! (We just act weird and feel lonely- ha ha)

I woke up depressed- reading the blog this morning helped! I am just going to get on with my day.

It’s an illness and we can manage it.

Julie

Reader Comment: Mania and Sex

Here is a question from a brave reader who is dealing with some tough problems surrounding mania. Most of us have been through them- one of the main symptoms of mania is a lack of judement and control around sex. Beleive me, I had that problem for a long time. Here is the question and my answer:

I suddenly am unable to control the sexual drive towards another man who is happy to soothe me. I am a happily married woman. I seem to get caught up in the moment and I don’t know how to stop. I don’t seem to want to stop. He comforts me and brings sanity to an otherwise insane world. I know it would break my spouses heart and that he would leave me it he knew. I have to say I wouldn’t blame him. I know there is no future with this man, just comfort. Help.

Hi Sara,

Immediate [ Read More ]

BipolarHappens.com Blog: A Welcome to New Blog Visitors

BipolarHappens.com Blog: A Welcome to New Visitors: The most popular blogs are Britney Spears, Jared laughtner, Charlie Sheen, Catherine Zeta Jones. [ Read More ]

The Fine Line Between Creativity and Illness

I’m in the middle of a very quick, exciting and completely up in the air book project. The publishing profession is very volatile, hit and miss, unsure, sometimes devastating and when it works, exhilarating and profitable. It’s hard to deal with bipolar disorder and work!

The problem is that you literally can’t control how things will turn out. But you keep trying.

In the normal process, I turn in my ideas to my agent- she then contacts specific editors she thinks are a good fit for the project. I currently have an idea for a relationship book that’s very exciting. An editor liked the idea and asked for a table of contents and a sample chapter- four days ago. I have been working on it pretty steadily and I can feel the effects:

1. Too wound up and excited to sleep 2. Alternatively hopeful and fearful- which leads to anxiety 3. Irritated- massively irritated from [ Read More ]