Category: Bipolar Disorder

The Two Very Different Sides of Me

The Two Very Different Sides of Me

Author: Ambika Paul   Mania is your favorite song on repeat, an explosion of energy that brews in your mind with saturated ideas all coming at you in a single shot. Gradually consuming your whole body. Mania always feels like a creative journey for me but also...

How Writing Helps Me Feel Less Alone in my Mental Health Journey

How Writing Helps Me Feel Less Alone in my Mental Health Journey

Author: Ann Marie Elpa Like many others, when I first heard the word, ‘bipolar’, I associated it with rapid mood swings and instability. I didn’t have a proper understanding of what the disorder encompassed as someone who grew up in a household that seldom discussed...

Understanding I’m Not Alone

Understanding I’m Not Alone

Author: Ashley Sievewright This years theme of Bipolar Together for World Bipolar Day reminds me of when i was first inspired to talk about my mental health after watching the television documentary Stephen Fry – The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive back in...

Just Being There

Just Being There

Author: Jessie Bucci   Feeling alone and even misunderstood can be one of the hardest realities of experiencing a mental illness, and living with Bipolar disorder. I remember driving somewhere with a friend and passing a psychiatric facility which prompted her to...

Hope with an Accurate Diagnosis

Hope with an Accurate Diagnosis

Author: Ellie Chiorino In this article, to celebrate World Bipolar Day, my deepest hope is to make you feel less alone if you were ever misdiagnosed and/or have encountered an incapable psychiatric provider along the way. I see you. I hear you. Your experience is...

Remembering Tom on World Bipolar Day

Remembering Tom on World Bipolar Day

Author: Kim Joy Barnett   In my early 20’s, almost 20 years ago, I was nearing the end of my 5 year college journey to obtain my Bachelors Degree in Sociology at Cal State University, Northridge. What should have taken me 4 years to complete, according to my...

Connecting to What Heals Me

Connecting to What Heals Me

Author: Neil McCarthy   Living with bipolar disorder often means I keep a layer of separation between others and me.   Some close friends and family might know details of my illness, but not even my eight-year-old daughter knows why I spend 15 minutes every...

What I Wish People Knew About Bipolar Disorder

What I Wish People Knew About Bipolar Disorder

Author: Sarah Ross   Bipolar Disorder is a complex mental illness, and it often gets categorized into solely consisting of sudden mood changes. But it’s not as black and white as that. Although we do experience mood changes, our days don’t involve our emotions...

World Bipolar Day: Here’s Some of What I’ve Learned…

World Bipolar Day: Here’s Some of What I’ve Learned…

Author: Gregg F. Martin, PhD, Major General, US Army (Retired)   World Bipolar Day is on 30 March. This is a day to focus on a serious mental/brain illness that afflicts 60 million people worldwide; and even more because statistics for children are not counted...

Bipolar Disorder is My Superpower

Bipolar Disorder is My Superpower

Author: Dayna J.   In celebration of World Bipolar Day on March 30, I want people to know that I do not see this mental illness as a disability — it is my superpower!   So many see a bipolar disorder diagnosis as a frightening and negative experience that...

We Are Awesome!

We Are Awesome!

Author: Jeffrey Johanishing   That’s right! You’re darn tootin’. We are, I am and you certainly are, Awesome! Why? Well, I’ll explain.   I sincerely believe that people with bipolar disorder are extremely impressive, inspire great admiration and, truly,...

Is It Me?

Is It Me?

Author: Abigail Lehman A question that I have asked myself and have struggled to answer for most of my life. Why don’t I fit in? Why don’t they feel the same way I do? Am I being dramatic? Am I the problem? I would ask myself these questions as I found myself in yet...

Changing Mental Illness From a Disabling Condition to a Heroic Cause

Changing Mental Illness From a Disabling Condition to a Heroic Cause

Author: Major General Gregg F. Martin, PhD, US Army Retired   As World Bipolar Day approaches on March 30th, let’s build on our momentum and progress and keep it going…for years to come!   By no more than one percent of separation, we all know...

It’s Puzzling

It’s Puzzling

Author: Melinda Goedeke   To still my brain, I puzzle. In my world, puzzle is a verb. It is what you do when the thoughts in your mind run rampant and collide leaving you lost in chaos. While puzzling, I only consider the pieces in front of me. Where is the piece...

The Fog

The Fog

Author: Trevor Simonson Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Some days they are all the same. Infiltrated by the fog. That haze that sets life in slow motion, leaves your thoughts in a jumble, and gives you that familiar blank stare. Some days you just can’t...

“Aren’t All Women Bipolar?”

“Aren’t All Women Bipolar?”

Author: Dayna J. Of course all women are not bipolar, but this writing prompt (in honor of International Women’s Day) asking how my experience as a woman has affected my mental health really made me think. Perhaps this disorder is easier for women. As a woman I...

Warning Signs Are Key

Warning Signs Are Key

Author: Christina Chambers For many years, the first warning sign of impending mania that I could recognize was the repetitive thought that I could fly, a convincing feeling this thought was true, and strong urges to leap off balconies. Thankfully, I knew that I had...

Mental Wellness Is More Than Pills & Therapy

Mental Wellness Is More Than Pills & Therapy

Author: Kim Barnett When I was initially diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder I in the early 2000’s, there was not much explained to me about managing the symptoms of the disorder, other than the psychiatrist prescribing me with a couple medications, that he hoped would...

My Successful Spending Techniques with Bipolar Disorder

My Successful Spending Techniques with Bipolar Disorder

Author: Margaret Fitzgerald As a youth, I was proud to earn and save money.  I recall being so excited when I had saved $1,000 for the first time.  I was seventeen and I felt as if I was on my way to having a great fund for college.   When I had my first mania,...

My Experiences with Mixed Mood States and How I Handle Them

My Experiences with Mixed Mood States and How I Handle Them

Author: Cassandra Stout If you have bipolar disorder, it’s likely you’ve experienced some symptoms of mania while you’ve suffered depression, or vice versa, and believe me: it’s miserable.   This awful set of feelings is colloquially...

A Year and a Half Episode Free

A Year and a Half Episode Free

Author: Christina Chambers   I distinctly remember the moment my perspective on accepting Bipolar Disorder shifted. It was three years ago, in the midst of a severe depressive episode. I was seriously considering if giving up forever was the best option, which is...

It’s Okay to Admit You’re Not Okay

It’s Okay to Admit You’re Not Okay

Author: Gregg F. Martin, PhD, Major General, US Army (Retired) Bipolar disorder can strike virtually anyone, regardless of gender, race, education or class, from pre-teens into our sixties. It is an equal opportunity destroyer of lives and health, marriages and...

New Year, New Me, New Ways to Manage My Bipolar Disorder

New Year, New Me, New Ways to Manage My Bipolar Disorder

Author: Cassandra Stout   I used to look at the new year, especially the month of January, with trepidation.   When I was but a young college student dating my then-boyfriend–and now husband of several years–I had not yet been diagnosed with bipolar I...

An 18-Year Bipolar Romance

An 18-Year Bipolar Romance

Author: Dayna J. It’s common knowledge that fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. Psychology Today cites that statistic as high as ninety percent when at least one partner lives with bipolar disorder! I am grateful to be beating those odds and celebrating my...

Sit Close to the Fire

Sit Close to the Fire

Author: Melinda Goedeke We don’t have bonfires. We have scorching, searing conflagrations that silently raise our internal boiling points until we are nearly cooked and charred.   We scoot back only an inch as we don’t really want to leave the warmth despite the fear...

Nothing to be Ashamed Of

Nothing to be Ashamed Of

Author: Natalia A. Beiser “Bipolar is not a disability.  They can take a pill and be okay.  Those people just need to go out and get a job.” The ignorance displayed in the above sentence is unreeling to me.  That person does not know of the financial devastation of a...

To Climb an Endless Mountain

To Climb an Endless Mountain

Author: Trevor Simonson   For years I’ve been fighting. Climbing this beast of a mountain called bipolar disorder. I’ve scaled steep cliff faces and walked through blinding storms. I’ve been buried by avalanches and I’ve fallen into crevasses. But through it all...

Bipolar Disorder in a Nutshell

Bipolar Disorder in a Nutshell

Author: Major General Gregg Martin, US Army Retired Formerly known as ‘manic depressive illness’, bipolar disorder is a general term that, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), comprises a cluster of related disorders that are...

My Creative Process of Bipolar

My Creative Process of Bipolar

Author: Yuval Dinary Some people’s need to create beauty is as fundamental as their need to eat. It’s an instinctual hunger for creation that carries great mysteries and awe along with it. The link between creativity and madness is one that’s been discussed since the...

Ending the Stigma Starts Within

Ending the Stigma Starts Within

Author: Dayna J. When I first became ill with bipolar disorder I stopped talking with many of my friends and family. I also hid my diagnosis in the workplace. I isolated myself in embarrassment. I was filled with shame. I was grieving the person I thought I had lost...

Researching the Numbers Behind My Lithium Experience

Researching the Numbers Behind My Lithium Experience

Author: Natalia A. Beiser Note: This article includes Natalia’s experiences of having taken Lithium Carbonate and undergoing dialysis, corroborated by online research found in the sources linked below.  Not everyone taking Lithium Carbonate, nor partaking in...

Support Someone In The Crowd…

Support Someone In The Crowd…

Author: Serena Goldsmith, LCSW As someone who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder thirty years ago, I used to be someone in the crowd who did not know that there was hope for recovery. I wish that there had been an organization like International Bipolar Foundation...

To Keep Aflame

To Keep Aflame

Author: Sophia Falco There was no fire to pull out of that volcano like how there was no rabbit to pull out of that magician’s hat. “Where’s your fire at?”, she jokingly exclaimed. Instead of responding, I looked up and pointed, pretending that the airplane overhead...

Raindrops Resemble

Raindrops Resemble

Author: Sophia Falco These raindrops resemble teardrops that I believed were almost falling in slow motion, but with the blink of an eye, they hit the pavement despite—what once was 3-D now 2-D is now just an imprint on the sidewalk. A darker shade of gray than the...

Lithium and Dialysis, Part IV

Lithium and Dialysis, Part IV

Author: Natalia Beiser Note: These are my experiences of having taken Lithium Carbonate and undergoing dialysis.  Not everyone taking Lithium Carbonate, nor partaking in dialysis will run into these issues.   I have Diabetes Insipitus (DI), which some people...

Reflection

Reflection

Author: Aubrey Good I woke up this morning well before noon after going to bed well before midnight. I greeted my husband and baby, ate a well-balanced breakfast, and glanced at the headlines before shutting down the app and heading out the door for a run. As I ran,...

Lithium and Dialysis, Part III

Lithium and Dialysis, Part III

Author: Natalia A. Beiser My need for dialysis started largely because of long term Lithium use.  I began taking Lithium in 1994 at the age of twenty two and have what is described as lithium induced nephropathy. This means that I have small cysts all over my...

Unlike Lightning

Unlike Lightning

Author: Sophia Falco I once wrote, sorrow strikes as lightning, but really the bright flash is nonexistent, but really strikes is an understatement. Darkness has permeated into my world like a heavy cloak that I am unable to shake off. If only sorrow really did strike...

Writing to Release Feelings

Writing to Release Feelings

Author: Sasha Kildare My manic episodes arose out of severe depression and were mixed episodes—euphoria and boundless energy interspersed with despair. Although I found myself bursting with ideas, they never led to anything. Today, I’m still bursting with ideas, but I...

Lithium and Dialysis, Part II

Lithium and Dialysis, Part II

Author: Natalia Beiser Please note: These are the experiences of this writer and do not reflect the outcomes of every patient taking Lithium Carbonate. I have taken Lithium Carbonate since I was twenty two years old. I am now approaching my fiftieth birthday and have...

Living With Bipolar As a Person of Color

Living With Bipolar As a Person of Color

Author: Mariko Hewer Trigger warning: Brief discussion of suicide The past 18 months (and counting) have been remarkable by any standard — we’ve battled a worldwide pandemic, faced natural disasters dramatically heightened by climate change, and begun the hard yet...

Multiplied By 20

Multiplied By 20

Author: Angela McCrimmon Someone stated something that startled me recently. It also left me in a state of reflection and eventually led me to a feeling of encouragement so it might surprise you when I share what their words of wisdom were to brighten up my day. They...

I Am More Than My Bipolar Disorder

I Am More Than My Bipolar Disorder

Author: Lesly Garcia I want to remind others that there are millions of us with bipolar disorder. I was diagnosed in 2019, at the age of 22 when I had my first episode. I think part of me knew a long time ago that I was bipolar. But I didn’t know what bipolar disorder...

Sure, I’m Okay

Sure, I’m Okay

Author: Melinda Goedeke Recently, I went on an incredible rafting trip down the Colorado River in Moab, Utah. If I fell out of the raft, I was told to put my hand on my head signaling I was okay.  The guide said that okay meant I was alive.  I might be bleeding,...

Tradeoffs I Have Made in Bipolar Recovery

Tradeoffs I Have Made in Bipolar Recovery

Author: Violette Kay It has been two years since my last major episode, and although I will always push back against the notions that mania/depression/suffering in general magically makes people creative and that taking medication (or any other steps towards...

Work As a Life-affirming Meditation Practice

Work As a Life-affirming Meditation Practice

Author: George Hofmann Meditation can be a key practice toward coping with or avoiding episodes of mania and depression, but I’ve become increasingly troubled by proponents of mindfulness as therapy. From companies touting meditation as a means to help workers deal...

Seasons and Cycles

Seasons and Cycles

Author: Maria Jacobs Hello, I’m Maria Eva Jacobs, and I have lived with Bipolar Disorder my entire adult life. The dark details of my struggle with bipolar mania include paranoia, suicidal ideation, subsequent inpatient treatment. That is all in my past. I am in...

Hypersexuality in Mood Disorders: You’re My Little Secret

Hypersexuality in Mood Disorders: You’re My Little Secret

Author: Ivory Smith Causey Janet* a first year college student has just found out that she is pregnant. She had inclination that she might be was not for sure. She has no idea who the father is nor can remember the name of one of the potential fathers. She is...

Brokenness

Brokenness

Author: Sophia Falco I stole the wand of that magician to try to fix this embodiment of the feeling of brokenness. How can it be possible to embody something not whole? Unlike shards of glass that litters the ground, he hit his autographed baseball (the autographer...

Self Love & Lived Experience

Self Love & Lived Experience

Author: Grace Scarpello Oh, what I’d say to 24-year-old Grace now. I’d tell her that her body is perfectly fine and wonderful as it is. I’d tell her that movement makes her brain and heart feel better. I’d say that she doesn’t have to work three jobs to “make up” for...

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