I recently directed a high school production of Fiddler on the Roof. For those of you who may not know it, this is the story of a simple milkman in 1905 Russia who tries to keep the traditions of his Jewish culture and the desires of his contemporary daughters in balance. In the opening song, he sings, “Life is as shaky as a fiddler on the roof!”...
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Art
Drop-In Peer Centers for Behavioral Health: An Exploding Trend
February 24, 2015
One of the reasons I am glad that I moved to Florida is that it led me to a peer run drop in center near my house called Rebel’s Drop In. In my small county, Broward, between Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, we have 5 of these centers. Peer run drop in centers average 5 per state, see the links below to find one near you. Mindfulness, OA, NAMI...
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Creative Minds Want To Know
January 6, 2015
Much has been written and said about a potential link between the hypomanias of Bipolar Disorder and creativity. Last month’s Webinar, Igniting The Creative Fire: The Neurobiology Of Creativity In Bipolar Disorder With Dr. Mohammad Alsuwaidan, explored the link with more scholarly insight than I am able to do, but I wanted to weigh in on the...
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Art as a Kind of Therapy
October 7, 2014
Even before I knew I had bipolar disorder, I have always loved art. I used to spend my afternoons in high school (I was unschooled) wandering around the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, where I grew up. Since moving to Saint Louis for college, I have spent many mornings, afternoons and evenings in the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Pulitzer, the...
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Advice for the Newly Diagnosed
September 3, 2014
I was diagnosed with Bipolar Type II disorder on January 28, 2014 and I want to write my first blog post in this space about some of the things I wish I had known then. Here is what I wish someone would have sat down and told me on that Tuesday morning: It will get better. Your meds will become finer tuned and you will learn how to...
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Silent Madness
July 16, 2014
Natalie McKinnon
This poem I wrote about bipolar. I wrote it to express how I felt years ago when my bipolar was at its worst. I hope this poem inspires you and speaks to the core of which you are, I know there are many who can relate. There is always Hope~ ...
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Importance of Hospitalization
June 16, 2014
Natalie McKinnon
I hope my readers are taking it day by day. Remember don’t ever let the light inside of you dim. This month’s topic I’m going to address is ”Why hospitalization is so important and what important and positive role does it play in a person’s recovery. This will be a long entry because I have a lot to say about it and will...
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Glove
June 16, 2014
Jay Sullivan
When I was five years old, my father suffered a bipolar breakdown and was sent to a psychiatric institution. It started him on a long descent from top IBM salesman to homeless on the streets of Brooklyn some 20 years later. Our relationship followed a similar trajectory. When he died we had spoken only twice in his final ten years.I began ...
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End of the Day
April 7, 2014
Dyane Harwood
For the past twenty years I've been a closet songwriter. During my first year attending the University of California at Santa Cruz, I was a regular at open mike night and I belonged to my school’s Concert Choir. Our final concert was an exotic piece sung in the Esperanto language with an Indonesian gamelan orchestra. I loved all kinds...
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GO AHEAD; EVERYBODY ELSE DOES!
March 19, 2014
Roger
We probably all feel this way at times. Hopefully you will not mind too much that this is another self-portrait. Now, if I could just figure out which bird I am today... This is another painting from my series entitled "Bipolar Too" It's my goal for you to see someone you recognize in my paintings and that you will...
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Awareness through the Eyes of Van Gogh
March 14, 2014
Natalie Mckinnon
We all know the importance of mental health awareness, and doing our part of erasing the stigma that still surrounds Disorders like Bipolar. As March 30th approaches which is World Bipolar Day, it’s also Van Gogh’s birthday who is a well known Dutch impressionist artist, how fitting that his birthday falls on the same day we acknowledge Bipolar....
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EVERYBODY KNOWS ONE
January 31, 2014
Roger
And sometimes it’s me! Anyone who is around me when I’m in a mania knows that I’m loud, speak rapidly and make sure that everyone knows that I’m the expert on any subject that comes up. My wife thinks that the resemblance is remarkable…. ...
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