It’s two am!!! I had caffeine today and this is my punishment. If I didn’t have bipolar disorder, it would not be a big deal. I’d just sleep more the next day or make up for it the next night.
That is not how it works for me. Because I have pretty severe rapid cycling, I can’t risk the highs of caffeine simply because they mess up my sleep so badly! I’ve only had regular coffee a few times this year – I usually drink decaf. But the iced coffee today when it was ninety degress just looked and tasted so good. It sent me way up and I thought I was going into an up swing.
It took me until one am tonight to realize what was happening. Now I have to take my Ativan to sleep and my day will be screwed up tomorrow. I have enough mood swings as it [ Read More ]
Write out this list and put it in your wallet. When the depression starts take it out and read it. Then say to yourself, “If I’m going through something on this list, it has to be depression. This means I have to treat the depression first.”
Depression behavior rarely changes. When you learn your symptoms, you can differentiate them from the real you. If you care about someone with depression, make a list of their top five depression symptoms. Memorize them. This helps you know what you’re up against when their behavior is confusing. You can say to yourself, “I remember this! He always talks like this when he’s depressed! We have to focus on treating the depression instead of talking endlessly about what is wrong.”
This prevents the Bipolar Conversation. I write about the Bipolar Conversation in all of my books!
When I’m slightly depressed and psychotic, it’s hard for me to watch movies. Something odd really happens- I have a voice in my head that makes comments such as
– This is not real, these people are acting – Look at the makeup he’s wearing. I can only see his eyeliner – They are just reading from a script. This is not real – This is no good. This whole thing is fake – That was an odd movement in his face. I call tell he’s not really this character
Now, it’s normal to think about this stuff in a bad movie, but the whole point of a good movie is to suspend disbelief and when I’m depressed, I can’t get lost in a film like I normally do.
When I get the commenting voice, it’s different than thinking- ‘this movie isn’t very good!’ It’s an odd technical [ Read More ]
If you came to this blog through a search engine- you may wonder, who the heck is Julie Fast! Well, I’m a writer who has bipolar disorder. My official diagnosis is Ultra Rapid Cycling Bipolar II. This means I have hypomania instead of the full blown mania found in Bipolar I. I was diagnosed in 1995 at age 31. I experience a lot of depression and tend to get psychotic under pressure!
I started my writing career with a website called www.bipolarhappens.com I sell my Health Cards Treatment Plan for Bipolar Disorder from this site. The Health Cards are what I use to stay well enough to write professionally. I then wrote Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder and Get it Done When You’re Depressed. I taught myself to write even when I’m depressed- it’s still a struggle.
So, have a look around the blog- visit bipolarhappens.com [ Read More ]
I wonder if there is a way to find out if other people have started support groups for teens or families who have a loved one with BP?
People rave about the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) family to family program. People also get a lot of help from DBSA (Depression Bipolar Support Alliance). You can find more info on the web.
I just corresponded with a reader from Australia- you can look up her organization: Association for Relatives and Friends of the Emotionally and Mentally Ill.
Feel free to leave a comment if you have other suggestions!
It’s 1AM and you just really, really want to clean out your fridge. So you open the door and put everything on the counter and before you know it, the food is in the garbage, because there’s just too much in there anyway! And then you look at the clock and think- oh crap! I’m manic!
That happened to me last night. I was quite depressed the day before, so hello rapid cycling. Today is back to normal.
I love hearing the odd stories .. we all have them!
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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.
