Something I am Proud Of: I am proud to say that I have 39 years of lived experience. I am a six- time suicide attempt survivor and on my journey, I have had to endure many things. Whether they were good things or bad things my life experience has taught me how to...
Author: Melinda Goedeke Sleeping is an event for me. 8:30 p.m. comes around, and I start thinking about sleep. I put on my oversized jammies and crawl into bed ready…..ready to shut down. To stop. To rest. My husband doesn’t do any “readying” and is asleep the moment...
Author: Bryson Hays Sometimes… I forget. I lose my memory of what it is like. I have forgotten what drowning feels like. Afloat on a lifeboat of medications, I forget what my world used to be. I barely remember the thrill of adrenaline that comes with inhaling...
Something I am proud of: Something I am proud of is overcoming stigma. A few years after being diagnosed an episode led me to being admitted to a psychiatric hospital. I expected my hospitalisation to represent something close to the film One Flew Over the...
Our HUGS for Kids Program is more important than ever After more than a year of lockdowns and uncertainty brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, children’s mental health has been greatly affected, and together we have the opportunity to provide comfort and hope to children...
Author: George Hofmann Men have a poor track record for seeking mental healthcare. The result is higher levels of disability and higher rates of death by suicide in men than in women. Men are less likely to seek treatment than women are, and they seem much more bound...
Author: Sophia Falco There were no lightbulbs in his house only candles. I tiptoed around each room, and one by one blew them out until darkness engulfed it like a demon, and I exited the back door, but immediately regretted this. He did not deserve to be in the dark...
Author: Curtis Hier Kay Redfield Jameson, one of the leading experts on bipolar disorder and a sufferer herself, has described Theodore Roosevelt as “hypomanic on a mild day.” Mark Twain warned that “we ought to keep in mind that Theodore, as statesman and politician,...
Advice For Newly Diagnosed: First, deep breath. Whether you are afraid of or enthusiastic about your future (or both), take it one day at a time. Life is unpredictable under the best of circumstances; add in mental illness and the instability multiplies. Get confident...
Author: Stacey Isaacson It’s a recurrent theme in my life that I come late to popular tv shows. I had no idea why we were talking about couture choices in the town of Schitt’s Creek, how Don Draper smoked too much or what’s up with the girls in “Girls.” And I still...
Author: Nikta Niazi I have very much faced mental health stigma as a female. Actually I have come to the consclusion that each gender has their own obstacles when it comes to mental health issues. I was reading one of the blog post on the website; a psychiatrist...
Hi! My name is Matt Cohen, I’m 22 years old, and I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar 2. This journey has been a long and often hard one, but there’s a whole lot to be proud of, not just for me but for everyone at any point in this journey! Something I am Proud Of: One...
Author: Melinda Goedeke Enraptured in a riveting discussion about The Crucible in my junior lit. class, I vaguely hear a threatening buzzing. And then I spot it – a killer bee swiftly flying around the room darting over heads and under desks, coyly, without...
Author: Ivory Smith Causey It is shortly, after Thanksgiving 2017. I notice I can’t feel the Christmas spirit like the previous. I start my Motown Christmas music which includes “Santa Clause Go Straight to the Ghetto” by James Brown. I play it on my phone at work in...
Author: Angela McCrimmon I have often reflected on the question “If someone could completely cure me of bipolar disorder tomorrow, would I accept the treatment?” Anyone who is reading this in the middle of a depressive episode will believe with all their heart...
Author: MB When it comes to being bipolar, the word strength takes on a whole other meaning. After over 10 years of experience with bipolar type 1, I can finally say that bipolar in itself is my strength. You may be thinking, why has it taken you so long to figure...
Author: Sophia Falco I created a tragic collage of a vicious wolf cut out from an old National Geographic Magazine, and I juxtaposed it with hopeful words I deliberately found. I arranged these words just so that the lone wolf (sometimes I feel so lonely) could devour...
Advice For Newly Diagnosed: Try to become self-aware. Remember. Understand. Get help from the right people and the right sources! Therapy, therapy and therapy. Accept yourself (but don’t be grandiose about the red flags in your own personality if any) Find your...
Author: Kassy Nguyen When was the last time you have practiced self-kindness? Often more than I am sure most of us would like to admit, we are quite self-deprecating and harsh on ourselves. Although, it is often time normalized by the media to be self-deprecating and...
Author: Alexis Crase Nobody ever said having a mental illness is easy. But when people talk about mental health, they talk about just that – mental health. They focus on self-care and exclude the real-life aspects of having a mental illness like bipolar disorder, such...
Author: Elizabeth Horner When we think of discrimination, images such as being turned down for a job or even cruel remarks from an unknowing stranger may come into our minds, but oftentimes discrimination can land much closer to home. Sometimes it is the people...
Author: Natalia Beiser It is my genetic propensity to be heavy. My fraternal grandparents both had notable weight problems, as do most of the persons on that side of the family. I learned early on, as my descendants likely did, that food not only sustains the body,...
Author: John Budin As a psychiatrist living with bipolar disorder, I have been both a care receiver and a care giver. Over the span of my career, I have treated many men with bipolar disorder having the luxury of viewing them through the lens of being both a clinician...
Author: Sasha Kildare I recently read a very long blog, “The Movement Against Psychiatry,” on MentalHealthExcellence.org that has since been pulled down but can still be found on Vice.com. It discusses different facets of mental health including the anti-psychiatry...
Author: Nikta Niazi Imagine a watering can being empty while the garden, the plants and flowers life all depend on this can; but ridiculously the can is empty. It refuses to contain water inside and nourish the plants. Or the sun, getting dark and gloomy one day and...
Something I am Proud Of: After a mental breakdown during my master’s program in 2016, I lost myself in a trail of black and white thinking, suicidal ideation, and catastrophic thinking (i.e. imagining the worst for my life). In short, from June 2016 – June 2017, I...
Author: Stacey Isaacson When I was a kid, long before my bipolar II diagnosis, I was known to be emotional. Over-emotional, as it was termed. Many a time was I given the sage advice “don’t jump in with both feet,” as I was known to fall instantly into new friendships...
Author: Jayson Blair, IBPF Honorary Board Member Forgive me for thinking I had fallen backwards into a time machine. It was June 2020, but it could have just as easily been June 1865. In a hearing on the higher incidence of COVID-19 among black Americans, an Ohio...
Author: Valery Brosseau I used to wonder if I’d ever get “better”. I used to wonder what “better” even really meant. I assumed it meant the emotional pain would stop, the debilitating lows would disappear and the dangerous highs would be tempered. As someone diagnosed...
Author: Kim Barnett I have been struggling with Hypomania for over two months now, and I’m extremely irritated, frustrated and exhausted. For those who do not know, hypomania is defined as a mild form of mania, marked by elation and hyperactivity. Thank God, I’ve...
Author: Alyssa Renee Hardy I weighed myself at my doctor’s office last week and realized something that would have been horrific to me in the past. I’ve gained forty pounds since my days doing freelance modeling in college. The crazy part is: I’m okay. Not terrific,...
Author: Kerri Scott I don’t know what it’s like to live with bipolar disorder but I know what it’s like to lose someone to bipolar disorder. When I was 25, during the heat of the summer I got the news. A mutual friend called to tell me that my boyfriend had died. He...
Author: Sophia Falco Those lovely fireflies are prisoners in a glass jar on her kitchen table. Their trapped light on display like the diminishing light within my being. Depression is trying to extinguish my light, but I hid the fire extinguisher under my bed whereas...
Author: Joe Landers Greetings readers my name is Joe Landers and I am the author of The Methods of Genius and Madness. My book is on amazon but I used the name Maverick Hunting because although all of the events are true, I changed everyone’s names. I have bipolar...
Author: Nikta Niazi Do you have a plan for how you’re going to work on mental wellness this month? I do. And I am motivated to set a goal for my mental health every month. It is actually what I considered as my 2021’s resolution. I thought it is the best if I develop...
Author: Cassandra Miasnikov Tips to Cultivate Inner Strengths and Lessen The Risk of Relapse Pessimism can sneak up on any of us. But if you’re someone living with bipolar disorder, there’s a higher chance that you see the glass as half empty. Positive...
Author: Scott Walker During my final five months living in Japan I definitely had varying degrees of depression for most of that time. Different mental health professionals in the psychiatric hospital in New Zealand told me there was a good chance of this...
Author: Claire Gault Receiving a bipolar diagnosis is difficult in any stage of life, but as a senior in college, I can testify to the challenges of balancing priorities between mental health and school. College culture often encourages unhealthy habits, and...
Author: Kim Barnett I have kept my personal opinions and thoughts, about the state of our nation, mostly to myself. I have been extremely open about my mental health struggles, but now that the state of our nation is having an impact on my mental health, it is no...
Author: Stan Clark As physical distancing measures are continuously implemented, social media has become a crutch for many people. However, social media may also serve as a double-edged sword, especially for people with bipolar disorder(1). The Good: Making Meaningful...
Author: Melinda Goedeke Contingency plans rule my world because I see the glass as half empty. My kids used to sarcastically call me the beam of optimism because I was always preparing for the impending disaster. It’s one of those special gifts I learned in...
Author: George Hofmann Last summer, with people crying out in the streets, I learned about the need to pause and listen to each other in the midst of uncertainty and upset. As we begin 2021, with Covid-19 shutdowns dragging on and polarizing political unrest, people...
Faces of Hope and Recovery Author: Sandra Crowe Every decade living with bipolar gets better for me. When I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 at the age of 22, I had already attempted suicide twice. But I wasn’t in a place to accept my diagnosis and the work and stigma...
Author: Cory Anderson As a therapist, I thought I would be well equipped to handle anything marriage threw my way, including my wife’s bipolar II diagnosis. Well, I was wrong. Even our journey of getting this diagnosis was long and fraught with potholes. I imagine a...
Author: Sophia Falco “Everything’s Not Lost”, this wonderfully optimistic song, by Coldplay came into my life when I discovered I needed it while in the midst of a challenging depression. These lyrics spoke to me because of their duality of the rawness and the pain...
Author: Bryson Hays How far away I feel… From everything. From family and friends, from doctors and patients, from myself and I. Every day feels the same, I wake up, take my doses of medication to keep the demons at bay, and continue to live my life. But what if...
Author: Claire Gault Those diagnosed with bipolar disorder can be more susceptible to loneliness, as our condition feels isolating from the world around us. With the government issuing restrictions on socializing, loneliness can be intensified more than ever before,...
Author: Kim Barnett I was diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder more than 17 years ago, in my early 20’s, and have suffered a lot of trauma from my various episodes. These traumatic episodes have inflicted damaging emotional and psychological scars. I’m learning now that...
Author: Trevor Simonson Are you experiencing feelings of loneliness? Do you feel forgotten, like you are falling through the cracks? Are you missing somebody? This letter goes out to you. This is for those who live with bipolar disorder. This is for the caregivers....
