Uncategorized « Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

You can be happy for others, even when you’re depressed

It’s so hard to be generous when you feel like hell.

It’s hard to be happy for others when you’re so unhappy you feel like crying.

It’s hard not to be jealous when you see someone get what you can’t have.

It’s hard to say, ‘I’m so proud of you! Good job! You deserve it! I’m happy for you!” when you feel like your world is falling apart.

But guess what, you can teach yourself to be happy for others- even when you feel you can’t.

I call it ‘acting as if’.

When I’m unbelievably jealous of a friend, I first have to look inside myself and see where the jealousy comes from- it usually comes from depression. In fact, if I’m jealous and depressed and mean and nasty and then the friend starts having [ Read More ]

My Brother Ed Talks About My Bipolar Mania (and it’s not fun to hear what he has to say!)

I had a live mental health radio show in 2007.

Andy Behrman, the author of Electroboy was one of my favorite guests. It was a fantastic interview as it’s always great to two people with bipolar disorder to discuss the illness!

In order to prepare for the show, I asked my brother to tell me what it’s like to have a sister with bipolar disorder. I did the same with my friends- if you listen to the show, you can hear the letter my friend Karen wrote explaining how she helps me stay stable when I get manic.

Here is what my brother wrote when I asked him about my mania: That’s him grilling his freshly caught salmon!

Hmm…How to Deal with Julie’s Mania

Simple, blunt and to the point…

It’s hard to look for the signs that Julie has [ Read More ]

Can you recognize the subtle signs of bipolar disorder hypomania?

My entire management plan is based off a simple and yet life changing concept. If you know what your bipolar disorder looks like- from the first minute symptom, you can catch and stop a mood swing before it goes too far. Here is an example using hypomania.

What is the first thing you say when you’re manic?

What is the first thing you do?

What is the first thing you think?

Here are mine:

Say: I’m not manic am I? No, this isn’t mania. It’s just feeling good. Do: Drive quickly while listening to loud music. Banging my hands like the steering wheel is a drum. Think: God, it’s so fantastic not to be depressed! This is the real me!

I have a lot of different bipolar hypomania [ Read More ]

Breakthrough Bipolar Mood Swings

Breakthrough mood swings happen when a mood swing is stronger than bipolar disorder medications.

I have a friend with bipolar I (one) who has been on lithium for over 15 years. It has worked well, but about every three years, a serious manic episode breaks through. Considering that she was mania free for so many years, she wasn’t ready for the last one.

As all people with Bipolar I (one) know, mania can be devastating. It’s so important that all of us look for bipolar disorder symptoms all of the time so that these mood swings can be caught early. If you’ve been on meds a long time, you still have to look for possible changes.

Julie

Click here to read more about the Health Cards. [ Read More ]

Bipolar Happens! is #1 on the Kindle!

Bipolar Happens: 35 Tips and Tricks to Manage Bipolar Disorder is the #1 Bipolar Disorder Book on the Kindle!

That’s exciting. I went to the Kindle store to see how my books Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder and Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder were doing on the bipolar disorder page. These books are in the top ten ranking- and then I saw that Bipolar Happens! was #1.

Fantastic! Bipolar Happens! is an enjoyable book about a serious topic.

Guess what- it’s only $.99 I want it to be available to everyone.

Yes, I think this is a great deal and a good way to get helpful information about bipolar disorder at minimum cost. Bipolar Happens! was my first book. I knew I wanted to talk about how I manage the illness, but I [ Read More ]

Don’t Act on Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts are a normal part of depression- this means that you’ll have them no matter what you really think about a situation. I know I used to!

I was a negative @$#%.

You can fill that in with any word you like.

Nothing was ever good enough.

When I lived in Japan for three years- I complained for three years- I just can’t believe that people put up with me! It was awful- and now I feel I wasted so much time there with my anger and irritation.

In hindsight, most of this was due to untreated bipolar disorder. I still have some of the thoughts now- I still want to kick things and yell at people – but I just don’t do it. It’s a [ Read More ]