by Andrew Turman I have a form of bipolar disorder that is rapid cycling. I can go from being depressed to being manic in a matter of hours. Early on in the onset of my illness, I was depressed more than I was manic. That is not to say that I did not become manic; rather, it was not as intense and did not last as long. However, these days, since I turned 35 or so, mania has become the predominant problem. Again, I do get depressed, but it is not as crippling as I have previously experienced. At its peak, my illness caused me to cycle every other week. One week up, then one down, then back up for a week, then back down, for periods of [ Read More ]
If the marching and events that happened in the United States today and around the world are too stressful for your bipolar disorder to the point they can affect your sleep, it is ok to turn of the computer- turn off the social media- turn of the Facebook and Twitter and TV and… – read a mystery novel. – go to a movie. – talk with a friend. – take a nice bath. – play with an animal. – if you are lucky enough to have this option, put some loving hanky panky in your life. I treat bipolar disorder first. If I read what is on Facebook right now, I will get upset. It’s ok that I don’t march. I love it that others can do it for me. It’s ok [ Read More ]
Hello! I’m currently live on my Julie A. Fast Facebook page for the next few hours to answer your questions about mental health disorders including bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, psychosis, borderline, ADD and medications.
I will also post the questions and answer here.
Julie
Questions:
Julie, What do you do when your psychosis is raging, and manic/hypo manic. How do you manage your daily goals?
Zih.
Hello Zih,
Let’s start at the beginning. We share the same symptoms as we both have bipolar disorder with psychosis. (The diagnosis is called schizoaffective disorder.) This means we have to deal with a lot of mood swings- sometimes all at once. I have an overall plan that I used for symptom management. This is in my books. Here is what [ Read More ]
Have you experienced any of the following in the past few months?
– Slept less but felt more energized? Had the thought… sleep is a waste of time!
– Had the thought- Thank god the depression is gone, I feel SO much better! ?
– Felt like spending more? Drinking more? Are you behaving in a way that has people asking you what’s wrong and you want to reply- NOTHING! Don’t wreck my buzz man. Do you want me to be depressed forever?
– Do you feel more sexual than normal? Do you have sexual thoughts about anyone who is good looking? Do you fantasize in a way you don’t normally do when stable?
(This is one of my top ten posts. Let me know what you think! Julie)
I’ve written many books on bipolar disorder and they all discuss mania extensively- but they don’t discuss energy drinks and how they might affect mania. The reason is that the explosion of these drinks on the market is so new that it wasn’t even a topic of concern a few years ago.
How did so many products get on the market so quickly? I think it was the success of Red Bull and it moved on from there. I have to ask: Are we really that tired? Or do we just like feeling buzzed? Who knows? But I do know it’s a potential problem.
Can these energy drinks lead to mania or exacerbate mania?
Yes.
But it might not be in the way you think. [ Read More ]
Travel is exciting. Getting away from it all- the weather, no work, friends, beaches, family, new sights, languages, the exotic. It would be great if you could also take a vacation from bipolar disorder. Unfortunately this is not always possible. You may be someone who responds well to vacations and you actually get better mood wise. But for many, the stress of even the greatest vacation can create bipolar disorder symptoms. Luckily, there are strategies you can use to prevent these symptoms to ensure that your travels are the best they can be.
Bipolar disorder symptoms are triggered by outside events, especially those that affect sleep.
Travel can condense so many bipolar disorder triggers into a really short space of time. The triggers that may affect you [ 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.
by Andrew Turman I have a form of bipolar disorder that is rapid cycling. I can go from being depressed to being manic in a matter of hours. Early on in the onset of my illness, I was depressed more than I was manic. That is not to say that I did not become manic; rather, it was not as intense and did not last as long. However, these days, since I turned 35 or so, mania has become the predominant problem. Again, I do get depressed, but it is not as crippling as I have previously experienced. At its peak, my illness caused me to cycle every other week. One week up, then one down, then back up for a week, then back down, for periods of [ Read More ]
