Bipolar Happens: 35 Tips and Tricks to Manage Bipolar Disorder is a top ten book on the Kindle!
That’s exciting. I went to the Kindle store to see how 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! is up there as well.
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 also wanted to tell stories about how it affects my life daily.
There are stories about anger, manic spending, anxiety at a baseball game and what it feels like to be psychotic! It’s a book that family members love too. I love it myself. It’s hopeful.
Click here to go to amazon.com. You can read part of the book and then add it to your Kindle. Wow, $.99!
Julie
PS: If you’re new to my work, this is a great way to experience my writing style and the quality of my information. If you like it, you can come back for more.
Julie, I am so glad you have made this terrific book available for such a great price. I have had it for years and it has really made a difference for me. I wrote a review on the Amazon page. Lynn
Julie, I’ve been a fan of the blog and your books for years. I really follow what you suggest and it has made a huge difference. I think you will find the following story interesting as it is an example of when I didn’t follow what you suggested- and things didn’t go well!
Like you, I take Lamictal. It works very well for me- but it’s always a balance in terms of dosage. I actually did something really stupid last weekend. I went out of town to speak to a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) group and forgot to take my Lamictal!
I was freaked out about it- but I thought that missing a few days shouldn’t be too much of a problem! I didn’t think of calling my doctor because I convinced myself things would be just fine.
Wrong!
The withdrawal symptoms started on the way home – pain in my legs, then my arms, neck twitching and pretty soon, all over body twitching! These are strong drugs.
When I finally realized what was going on- I truly had no idea what it was as it came on slowly- my mom, who was driving said, “I have some Lamical in my purse.” She takes it for depression and it works well for her. So thank heavens she had some.
It never entered my mind to ask if she had any- or if someone in my audience had a spare! I was at a mental health conference! I am sure someone could have spared a few days of Lamictal. I have extra in my car like you suggest, but we ended up taking my mother’s car- I also usually have extras in my purse and I left the extras at home! ! This was one of those occasions when circumstances all worked against me and I didn’t make sure I was ok.
I was just stupid. It messed up my system and then I managed to miss an evening dose a few days after the trip just from the whole after conference blahs thing! One week later, I’m still having problems. You should just see my head twitching as I write this! (The anxiety is pretty bad as well.)
I’m back on a full dose, so I am sure I will be fine. But you are right. We have to make sure we always have our meds with us – in many locations!
I recently had an email asking if a person with bipolar disorder can finish school.
Well, sure they can! But….
There is always a but…
College is the same thing as work. It’s a stimulating environment with a lot of people and a lot of pressure. Bipolar disorder doesn’t like this. It took me eight years to finish college. I didn’t have a treatment plan then. In fact, I didn’t know I had bipolar disorder! The diagnosis explains a lot.
As with any stressful situation, the solution is planning.
You will need a treatment plan before college starts.
I have to be honest and say I can’t go to school full time. It’s too stressful for me- but I can go part time! Many friends of mine with bipolar have master’s degrees, etc. So it’s possible.
If you’re starting college, you have to make a plan now. Try the Health Cards- the plan I use- or get something else. My books can help- especially if your family works with you. Find something that will help you make collegee a wonderful experience!
My bipolar disorder symptoms started with hypomania at 17. I didn’t realize this until I sat down and really thought about my teenage years. This is actually a very common time to have a first mood swing. My ex partner had a lot of depression before he had his first major manic/psychotic episode at 22. That was a terrible time for sure. When I think back of what he told me about college- he was definitely depressed for a long time. He told me he thought about suicide when he was a little kid. He didn’t have an episode after that for a long time- then college at 19 and he got depressed and left school. So his first major depression was at age 19- but the minor stuff was already there. I didn’t have any depression until I was 19.
If you have bipolar disorder, it’s really interesting to write a paragraph about what you remember between the ages of 13-20. What was the first sign you had bipolar and how long did it take from that time for you to get diagnosed?
If you have a child with bipolar disorder, what were their teenage years like?
I had my first hypomania at 17 and was finally diagnosed at 31. Not cool. I wish I had been diagnosed sooner!
Julie
PS: This is all about adult onset bipolar disorder. It’s different when a child is younger. They symptoms can be different and many health care professionals are more cautious with treatment.
I never thought that I would see the day when I actually would have a blank mind. Sometimes I have to even think about what to think about. I’ve never really had this happen in my life. When you have bipolar disorder, your mind is usually filled with a bunch of garbage. Talking, music, other noises, unwanted thoughts; it’s like one big garbage dump. I know that sounds pretty harsh, but it’s definitely how I’ve experienced many days in the past few years.
Having a clear mind is the goal of bipolar disorder treatment.
Everything that I do, everything that I choose, everything that I say it’s all with the intention of having a clear mind. The interesting thing is that if I do get into situations that I know are triggers, my mind garbage starts back up and all the stuff starts to whirl around in my head again. I’ve gotten so sensitive to triggers that I can tell almost immediately if something is a bad situation for me.
For example, an ex recently called and we kept missing each other on the phone. This is someone whom I of course wanted to see, but knew that it probably wasn’t the best thing to do. Part of my mind said, It’ s okay, you’re doing better, don’t worry about it. But the other part of my mind started to get worried, obsessive, talkative, and just plain uncomfortable. I had to make a choice between the two. I like to think that for the rest of my life I will choose the one that’s reasonable: the one that doesn’t cause bipolar disorder symptoms. I decided not to meet this old friend.
Many people are encouraged to get in touch with their feelings and let go and experience life! I think that’s great- for most people. But there are those of us who can’t trust our feelings at all. For example, a friend and I went to karaoke the other night when I was really depressed – When her other friends came in, I felt she was ignoring me. My mind started to foresee the end of our relationship! It said, “How can she do this to me! What kind of friend is she! I am just going to leave without even saying goodbye! That will show her!”
Oh, what on earth was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking- I was just in all bipolar emotion mode and had no command of the facts. I know that my feelings when I’m sick are manufactured from an ill brain- and these were definitely manufactured feelings. Understanding this has completely saved my relationships.
As I sat there, with my feet up in the chair in front of me and my arms crossed over my chest like a petulant child- I looked at her back and just felt so left out and hurt. Then I got my perspective and said to myself, “Julie, this person has been a loyal, loving and kind friend to you for years. She is always there for you. She loves you. And the one night in the past few years that you go out and she pays attention to someone else- you freak out. You’re depressed tonight. You’re lonely. If she had this behavior on another night, you would simply go over there and sit with her instead of rolling in your miserable feelings over here. Now snap out of it! You promised yourself, you will never, ever take out your bipolar disorder emotions on a friend. If you have trouble with her behavior outside of bipolar, look at the facts and how you really feel and go from there. But if this is just because you’re depressed- then it’s up to you to treat her with the respect she deserves.”
I put my feet down, uncrossed my arms, walked the one foot to her chair, put my hand on her shoulder and sat down. She was happy to see me and we had a laugh when I told her what I was thinking.
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Bipolar Happens: 35 Tips and Tricks to Manage Bipolar Disorder is a top ten book on the Kindle! 
