This series is exploring the mania, including psychosis, in manic episodes of Bipolar I and my experience with that in a psychiatric hospital. I was inspired by a poem I wrote during my stay at Aurora Behavioral Health Psychiatric Unit in 2016, “Aren’t You Jealous”. I had been coming down from a manic episode in my Bipolar and was getting sick of...
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Jails Are No Place For Those With A Mental Illness
March 28, 2018
By: Carol Ray, Ph.D.
Prisons and jails have become America's default mental health institutions. More individuals with severe mental illnesses are housed in prisons and jails than in state psychiatric hospitals. Individuals with severe mental illness, while in prisons or jails, lack the proper treatment and care needed for their conditions. Lack of proper...
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By: Courtney Davey, MA, MFT
There’s nothing quite like having a long-term relationship. After you have moved past some of that initial nervousness, it can feel great to have a steady person in your life to be a friend, lover, and support. Knowing their patterns and knowing how to predict interactions and conflicts can create a sense of stability. However, falling into a...
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When You’re Bipolar, It’s Better to Give Than to Receive
March 21, 2018
By: Conor Bezane
I still make mixtapes. They may be on CD, but, to me, they will always be mixtapes. Music is my higher power in AA and even though I don’t go to very many meetings anymore, music still plays a pivotal, necessary role in my recovery — for my dual diagnosis of bipolar and addiction.My recovery is emboldened by music. Every day, I listen intently to...
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Creating a Positive Attitude When You Have Bipolar Disorder
March 19, 2018
By: John Poehler
Getting the news that you have a chronic mental illness can be quite disheartening. It can be extremely overwhelming.You cannot change the fact that you have bipolar disorder.You can change your perspective about mental illness by reframing your thoughts..I was extremely elated when I first received my diagnosis of bipolar disorder. ...
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By: Lori Lane Murphy
Before my Bipolar Diagnosis, I didn’t really give much thought to my sleep patterns. I guess that’s because I used alcohol so much that it didn’t seem like an issue. I confused passing out with sleeping for many years and I thought I had this whole resting thing figured out.About eight years ago, I decided that a lifetime of “managing” my illness...
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By Michelle Vasiliu, Author of My Happy Sad Mummy.
In 2007, when I was 40 years old, I experienced my first manic episode. I was duly diagnosed with bipolar one. Knowing what I now know about my condition, it is highly likely those sporadic periods of frenzied activity, little sleep and incredible optimism I’d experienced in between debilitating depressive episodes during my teen years, were...
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By: Kam
Having an invisible illness such as mental health comes with all manner of problems and stigma. I’m very lucky in the sense that I am supported by my family and friends but I often find that thought creeping into my head... ‘they just don’t get it’.What I mean by that is, even though everyone supports me, looks after me and helps me where they can...
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ALBCNYA
March 5, 2018
By: Kathleen Westerhaus
Cryptic acronyms texted on our phones, new words perhaps, communicate ideas in short memorable phrases; examples include: LOL, ICYMI, DYK. I’ve come to appreciate the creativity of individuals who cleverly express phrases on their vehicle’s license plates. The trick is to convey the idea in less than seven letters or numbers -- at least on license...
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