Uncategorized « Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder and People Who Change Plans!

I now a lot of people with bipolar disorder and we all have one thing in common. We need the people in our lives to be dependable. I used to stay in relationships with people who made me sick. Here is how they made me sick:

– Call and want to meet and then cancel

– Forget we set a time to meet and then tell me it’s my fault as I expected something from them that wasn’t actually confirmed

– Come on strong and then fade away

– Remained secretive even when they knew me well

And finally- these people in no way understood, even when I told them over and over again, that I’m an extremely flexible person [ Read More ]

Bipolar Disorder and Relationships

Relationships that Don’t Exist

Have you ever noticed that your brain can create a relationship with someone that isn’t real? Even to the point of seeing them do bad things to you or cause you problems – all in your mind!

I try hard to recognize this when it’s happening and prevent it from going too far. Only people with bipolar will really get this one as it’s so strange!

What matters is that we never act on these feelings until we are sure something is real. I’ve learned to do this. I have a lot of people around me who can listen and say- “well, Julie. It sounds like you’re making something out of nothing. The person is actually acting pretty normally and you’re trying to [ Read More ]

Remembering to Take Your Bipolar Meds

I just received this reader comment from Alexis.

It’s such an excellent idea for people who miss meds. I tend to go through phases where I mess up my meds for days at a time. It’s really dangerous sometimes. I will use this idea if I feel one of those phases coming on. It’s also a fantastic idea for traveling.

Julie-I too had a hard time remembering to take my meds. I set the alarm on my phone to 6:30am and 8:00pm to remind me to take my meds. It’s worked great. The only thing I have to remember is to bring my evening dose with me if I’m not at home at 8:00. Alexis

bipolar and work: In the middle of you now where!

I am just winding up the most difficult book I’ve ever written. Believe it or not, it’s not a book on mood disorders. It’s a book on writing ebooks and it is kicking my behind. I’ve written about it on this blog for weeks. I’ve had to work very hard to stay stable. It’s working. I basically stopped my normal life in order to deal with the problems brought up by the stress.

In the past, I guess I didn’t know what to do in order to work on tough projects. I’ve learned a lot in the past 13 years!

– I stopped going out at night completely

– I put my other work on hold even though it made me nervous

– I didn’t clean my house or car! ha ha

– I made myself go to the library to work

– I went easy on myself when I had two solid weeks of [ Read More ]

Another Thanksgiving Horrors (positive!)holiday comment

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!

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 ]

Bipolar Disorder and Pristiq (desvenlafaxine): a new antidepressant

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

PS: If you view this blog from amazon.com, you can see the whole blog at www.bipolarhappens.com/bhblog

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