Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

I had many jobs when I was younger, but never a career that I liked. I was an ESL teacher by accident for many  years. I then couldn’t work because I was too sick.  This was from my diagnosis in 1995 until I created my Health Cards Treatment Plan in 1998.

I remember doing temp jobs and being terrifically miserable. I was way too educated to be stuffing envelopes- and yet I was way too sick to work at a regular job.  I would go in as a receptionist and be offered a higher up  job by the next week.  I could never take it. I wasn’t well enough.  This was a long time ago!

Then I created the Health Cards and got my life back.. It took years of learning and practice before I was able to work as much as I work now! It’s a lot of sacrifice. No late nights- limited world travel- no relationship problems- on and on.  Now i support myself.   I can’t work as much as I would like.  A job where people work together and stay late at the office actually sounds appealing to me!

Crazy I know.

Now I do what I can. My favorite work is my coaching and then writing.  I like speaking too!

You can work- your hours may be limited and the work you do may not be as glamorous as you wish, but the right work can help you feel better.If you want to work and are not quite well enough-  the Health Cards can change your life. I’m not a heavy duty sales person, but I believe in The Health Cards so much I want everyone to experience their magic.

Julie

Click here to read more about the Health Cards Treatment System for Bipolar Disorder. They really are the reason I can work at all!

Writing books on bipolar disorder has been my career for over ten years.  I enjoy writing and plan to do a lot more.  (It can be a challenge when the mood swings are paying a visit, that’s for sure.)

Over two years ago, I started coaching partners and family members of people with bipolar disorder as an addition to my writing career.

I never, ever thought I would find work that I enjoy as much as I enjoy coaching.  I feel at home with the parents and partners as I have been where they are- and I remain calm during the crises  that many of my clients are going through while we are working together.  Bipolar disorder is like a puzzle.  It’s not always easy to find the right pieces on your own. It helps to have a coach as a guide.

My coaching practice has room for new clients. I take new clients about once a month-and  then help them as best I can. It’s a partnership that saves relationships and often lives.

Coaching is not for everyone, but if you are concerned about your relationship with a person with bipolar disorder, it may be a good fit for you.  The following link will tell you more.  I look forward to talking.

Julie Fast Family and Partner Coaching

 Julie

 I recently received an email from a woman who plays the fiddle!  This is a long exchange, but I think the information is interesting, informative and encouraging!

Here is her note:

Hi Julie,

In a week I am teaching at a fiddle camp and have been struggling to get well for quite awhile (too much fiddling this past year!). I am starting to feel more balanced and want to maintain that wellness during the week of instructing and ensure I don’t ‘crash’ after the weekend. (No late late night ‘jamming’ for me 🙂 – It’s difficult when that is a part of the culture- and I know you already know all of this – just sharing. I am also thankful for your material – I am working through the Health Cards already.

When I read your story and about your singing (karaoke),(in fact everything you shared), I could relate very well. I just finished judging a fiddle competition last weekend and was concerned about the job because judging competitions is very intense and they are late each night (averaging about 5 hours of sleep per night). There is a lot of work involved in staying well in those situations.

Last year I averaged about 4 hours of sleep per night at the fiddle camp and didn’t fare so well afterwards. In fact, the past year hasn’t been a good one because of the judging jobs, camps, workshops, private lessons, and performances (all outside of my day job).
I have had to stop and remind myself that I am bipolar and need to live according to a wellness plan – hence the health cards. I already have the books “Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder” and “Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder”. The books are great! The Health Card system; exactly what I needed in the practical sense.

Below is just a sharing of the bigger picture if you want to know it:

For about 10 years I had stopped everything related to my music due to medications and life complications. Now that I am back, demands have been hard to balance. I am now taking baby steps(can’t emphasize the baby steps part enough) in order to do ‘double checks’. For example, I have a waiting list of people who want lessons. I want to teach them and do have room in my schedule if I want to get sick again :-). Saying no isn’t easy especially when it is your passion, a life work,.. When I read about you saying no to certain things, it encouraged me to re-evaluate my situation and acknowledge that I needed to say no as well. There is grieving in the ‘letting go’ but when everything is said and done, our giving is complete when we can give fully by keeping within our ‘plan’. Giving becomes fractured when stepping outside the realm of wellness.

Julie, I have camp coming up, another judging job, a trip to Washington, and more obligations but I feel equipped to manage myself in order to stay well now.  It feels like quite a project but the alternative of constantly ‘putting out fires’ has burned me out too many times.

I am finding that being vigilant is the key and the more knowledge I have, the better I can be at making the right decision – regardless of what others say or think.

What I have shared with you is the bigger picture and if there is anything you can use that would benefit someone, please do.
I haven’t been public about being bipolar although I do think about it a lot.
Karen

**

I just love this letter because it shows how a trigger- staying up late jamming with your friends – can make you sick and yet it’s a part of the world you want to be a part of! But you can absolutely modify what you do without having to stop what you love. I still do karaoke-  I just make sure I’m home by midnight so that I don’t turn into a singing pumpkin.

We all have to make sacrifices when we have bipolar. If you care about someone with bipolar disorder, it may be hard on you that we can’t do the things you want us to- and we probably ruin your fun a lot- but there can be a balance! Teaching fiddling instead of staying out late playing is probably not Karen’s first choice, but she’s doing all she can to stay well. I admire that!

Karen may be a fiddle teacher, but she is a bipolar disorder expert as well. I learned a lot from her letter.

Julie