Why wouldn’t I?I am a very blunt and honest person and I don’t often beat around the bush. I do not ever make excuses for who I am…to anyone. Why would I ever hide a very important part of me?I wasn’t always so forthright with my diagnosis. I have been diagnosed with bipolar 1 (rapid cycle), borderline personality disorder and PTSD. It is a gnarly...
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Dyane Harwood
July 24, 2014
Dyane Leshin-Harwood holds a B.A. degree in English Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Dyane was diagnosed with type I bipolar disorder in 2007 at age thirty-seven, six weeks postpartum after the birth of her second daughter. As a result, Dyane has developed a commitment to postpartum mood disorder education, and she...
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Heather Foster
July 24, 2014
My name is Heather Foster. I am happily married to my husband Joe and I have 2 beautiful children (or heathens depending on the day) Gabriel and Emilia.I have Bipolar 1 (rapid cycle). Borderline Personality Disorder and PTSD. Fun right?I want to show people you can be an amazing mom, awesome person and have a mental illness.My goal is to be a...
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Sparkle
July 23, 2014
Ashley Z
It's only a 4 letter word. It's a terrific motivator. It determines whether or not I think life is worth living. And if it's lacking it's awfully hard to move on with daily tasks. Yes I am talking about hope. It's funny how quickly my concept of hope changes. But today I am feeling overly optimistic. You see among my illness I thought I lost...
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Brooke West
I made a friend through The International Bipolar Foundation’s Facebook page this spring. I had posted a target-market question, wanting to know what people wanted, what they couldn't find and what they hoped for in recovery. Andrea pleaded for a route to an inner place more brightly lit. Follows is some of our continuing conversation. Reprinted...
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The Bipolar Identity Shift
July 22, 2014
Dyane Harwood
Over tea, Dan recalled the young woman I had been at nineteen, long before I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at thirty-seven. He mentioned that, sure, I seemed moody at times, but he noted that my moods didn’t swing to either extreme. While Dan isn’t a psychiatrist, I took his opinions as seriously as if they were the opinions...
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Allow Me to Introduce Myself
July 22, 2014
Sarah DeArmond
Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Sarah and I'm twenty-seven. As you've seen in my bio, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was twenty-two, but I had been struggling with it since I was twenty.Before I got married, I was seeing a doctor that had misdiagnosed me. We trusted him at the time because he had correctly diagnosed me with...
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Sarah DeArmond
July 22, 2014
Sarah DeArmond lives in Calera, Alabama and has been married to the love of her life, Sean, since January 31st, 2009. Sarah was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was twenty-two, just a few months after she got married. Sarah has been working hard ever since to treat her disorder. She has had one-hundred percent support from her husband,...
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Coming Out of the Mental Health Closet at Work
July 22, 2014
Jessi Lepine
Hello, I’m Jessi. I recently came out with my diagnosis at work on a large scale, by writing an article for our hospital bulletin. The response from friends, coworkers and strangers was so positive that it led me to find the confidence to start a blog about my road to recovery with this illness. Here is an adapted version of the...
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Jessi Lepine
July 22, 2014
My name is Jessi Lepine. I am Canadian, 32 years old, married to a psychiatric nurse, and we have a 13 month old baby girl. I work in mental health as Therapeutic Programming Lead on a Geriatric Psychiatry Program at the same hospital where my husband works. I am the third person in my immediate family to be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder...
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