Author: Savannah Spurlock Zillennials face a great stigma when it comes to mental health. Society says it’s the way we were raised that led us to our ultimate downfall. They say it’s the technology we use, the lack of education we received, and the work...
“Resign or you’re fired… You’ve done an amazing job, but you need to go get a mental health exam.” Author: Gregg F. Martin, PhD, Major General, US Army (Retired) It was mid-July 2014. I was 58 years old and after more than three decades in the Army, I was...
Author: Sophia Falco I’ve learned to hold on to my dreams even more tightly unlike that kid who witnessed his red balloon when that string slipped out of his grasp rise up up up into the blue sky—like how I will continue to rise from the depths of sorrow, and how I...
Author: Gregg F. Martin, PhD, Major General, US Army (Retired) November 11th is Veterans Day. It’s a national tragedy that more than 22 veterans a day commit suicide and that nearly two serving military service members per day die by their own hands. These are...
Author: Natalia A. Beiser Note: This article includes Natalia’s experiences of having taken antipsychotic medication, but individual experiences may differ and have different issues. If you have any questions about medications or treatment plans, please reach out to...
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...
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...
Author: Lisa MacDonald I was diagnosed as a young teen with a mental illness but I hid it from others. I was so ashamed and embarrassed about it. Even my best friends didn’t know how badly I was suffering. I didn’t realize this until much later, but...
Author: Ben Davis I have Bipolar Type II. Receiving that diagnosis changed my mental health trajectory for the better. Although it’s a big part of who I am, it’s not all of who I am. I am more than my diagnosis, and so are you. While I recognize that my story is...
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,...
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: Nikta Niazi Lately, more than any other time, I felt attacked by my obsessive thoughts and my critical inner voice. At nights, I can’t go to sleep. I spend hours reassessing the past, things I’ve done, decisions I’d made, all the memories I had with those who...
Author: Scott Walker On the last weekend of August this year, friends and I were doing an overnight hike on a small mountain here in Banff, Alberta, Canada. It fell within a day or so of a full moon. As the sun set the moon rose. It was so beautiful! With the cloud...
Author: Scott Walker When I returned to Japan, I was fortunate to be part time at work. At the time, I was a participant in the JET Programme through the Japanese government where I was able to work in the public-school system. I spent four days a week as an assistant...
Author: Kim Barnett I’ve had my share of stays in various Psych Wards over the past 17 years. In California, where I live, they are now called Behavioral Health Units. The things I’ve experienced and the people I have come across in my stays have changed me, mostly...
Author: Claire At the beginning of my college career, my expectations for post grad life were through the roof. I was going to graduate early, balance a million extracurriculars, and somehow make time to travel the world. Without time to prepare, mania arrived without...
Author: Lauren Meredith When I first diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I found it difficult to identify how I felt a lot of the time. Giving my emotions, especially ones that I encounter more often than others, a nickname has helped me to identify my emotions in the...
Author: Sophia Falco When I garden this allows me to look outside myself no matter if I tend to one plant or many, and liberates me from my negative thoughts especially during trying times. For example, when dealing with bipolar depression. Or living in this state of...
Author: Valéry Brosseau I rode an ATV around Mykonos once, my hair free in the wind and my iPod blaring as whitewashed and blue-trimmed towns blurred by. I turned a corner and found myself at the top of a cliff watching the horizon turn a soft orangey pink and the sun...
Author: Trevor Simonson Five years ago. I was getting familiar with depressive and hypomanic episodes. As a 17 year old kid, I was about to say goodbye to everything I thought I knew about myself. What follows is a journey of victories and setbacks. Highs and lows. A...
Author: Melinda Goedeke As the sun sets and the red hues slowly drip into the lake, I pause and watch. Peace washes over me as I breathe slowly noting the sound of my breath. It is a stark contrast to the rapid, somewhat panicked breathing I know all too well. The...
Author: George Hofmann | www.practicingmentalillness.com It’s possible to establish a practice that enables you to predict, prevent and manage episodes of depression or mania, but it takes some work. I write this piece for International Self-Care Day, but I’ve always...
Author: Lauren Meredith The hardships of self-care may look vastly different for everyone. One person can struggle with sleeping while another individual has problems getting out of bed, or eating properly. Others, meanwhile, may struggle with focusing and...
Author: Trevor Simonson I used to think my life was over. There was nothing left for me. The world was empty. I still deal with that feeling, though it may not be as strong right now. It is like living in a cage. Existing in a dim light with no sense of self, no hope...
Author: Keyoka Kinzy When Anne Lamott wrote about the phenomena of wanting to jump off a cliff or drive your car into oncoming traffic in her book, Almost Everything, I felt seen. So, it isn’t just me? I thought. I’m not the only person in the world who contemplates...
Author: Natalia Beiser I had a dear friend that could not understand my mood disorder; particularly the depression. I tried diligently to explain it to her. She could tell when I was down by the tone in my voice over the telephone. My friend was a senior citizen and...
Author: Lauren Meredith I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) when I was 21 years old. I was a senior in college. I had testing problems and lo and behold it was due to testing anxiety which was also manifested in various other aspects of my life. My...
Author: Violette Kay “Grandiosity”. That’s the word that convinced me I actually had bipolar disorder. The sleep disruptions, increased energy, racing thoughts and flight of ideas – not to mention the recurring depressive episodes – all these other textbook...
Author: Sophia Falco It has been a challenge living with bipolar disorder 1 for nearly a decade (diagnosed at age 16) yet I have risen above this to have made my dream come true—a college graduate that has excelled! I have achieved the Highest Honors in the Literature...
Author: Scott Walker A continuation from Reflecting Back on My Initial Diagnosis… I ended up being in the psychiatric hospital for three weeks after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. At the time I was in New Zealand visiting family and seeing my Mom and brother....
Author: Katie Barber When I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder my therapist was optimistic. The disorder can be easily managed, I was told, with lifestyle changes and medication. Simple small changes to my life can make a big difference to my episodes and can...
Author: Caoimhe Mercer This month (May) is Mental Health Awareness Month 2020. There are many differences this year, however, due to the concerns surrounding Covid19. With the need for social distancing and isolation, people’s mental health will likely suffer as a...
Author: Natalia Beiser I have always carried various degrees of shame over having bipolar I disorder and receiving income through Social Security Disability. I worked really hard to shine in spite of my diagnosis. I obtained a bachelor’s degree and was very proud...
“Bipolar is like a Boxing match- and we’ve got to keep fighting.” My name is Caoimhe (pronounced Keeva for those unfamiliar with Irish names!) and I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder six years ago aged 21, whilst studying for an MA in Modern History at University....
Author: Sophia Falco Poetry is what grounds me. I believe in this realm of poetry that I have complete control which is ever so important for me as an individual affected by bipolar disorder for nearly a decade. I have control over my pen and paper (or my laptop and...
Author: Susann Brox Nilsen My mother, who is an artist, taught me early on to draw and to be creative. I drew and wrote stories my whole childhood, my imagination had no end. This gradually stopped during my teenage years though, and for many years I wasn’t...
Author: Violette Kay This World Bipolar Day, I look back at all the ways bipolar disorder has impacted my life, and the variety of these experiences is so vast I don’t know whether I should mourn or celebrate. Bipolar disorder has ruined my life a million times over,...
Author: RaeAnn Collins Wikipedia defines brave as: “ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage.” It is an act of bravery to tell others about this disorder. I have had Bipolar Disorder 1 for about 37 years now. Back in my early days, the stigma of...
Author: George Hofmann One of the most difficult things about thriving with bipolar disorder is that people don’t expect very much of you. They expect your moods to be inconsistent, and they assume you can’t take care of yourself. I was recovering from a string of...
Author: Jacob Gorman This is a story of hope when it looks like there is none: When I was younger, I was a pretty happy go lucky kid. I made a lot of friends and I was pretty outgoing. Things were great for a long time. I had all kinds of plans for my future, and I...
Author: Christina Chambers As we celebrate the approaching World Bipolar Day, March’s question is: “what makes you bipolar brave?” I think earlier on in my journey I would have had a hard time answering this question because I carried a lot of shame and a sense of...
Author: Claire Gault I am a server at a senior living center that is home to many interesting people. Among them are a distinguished former president of a university, a resident who claims to have been friends with Rob Zombie, and many eccentric war veterans. One of...
Author: Willa Goodfellow Oh, I thought I was already, bipolar brave. As a lesbian who came out in my early forties, I understood how this stigma thing works and also how this overcoming of stigma thing works, too. I wasn’t weird or scary. People liked me. When I came...
Author: Natalia Beiser When I resigned my full time job in 2005 due to bipolar depression, I subsequently went on disability. I spent countless years allowing my bipolar diagnosis to define how I should be treated in the workplace. Prior to going on disability, I had...
Author: Scott Walker On January 1, 2000, I checked myself into a psychiatric hospital in New Zealand. My Mom, my brother and I had met in NZ to celebrate Christmas with relatives and bring in the new millennium. I was living in Japan at the time and hadn’t seen...
Author: Violette Kay My grandma’s neighbor was the first person with bipolar disorder that I ever met. I was a child- I didn’t really know what bipolar disorder was, much less that I would go on to learn that I had it too. My first encounters with the illness took...
Author: Trevor Simonson Living with bipolar disorder can become very tiresome, especially when I am experiencing a depressive episode. Everything becomes difficult, even the menial tasks of everyday life. I do my best to keep a positive attitude even through the dark...
I have been a “church girl” all of my life and have been shaped by the traditions and cultural importance of the African American church community. I grew up with a common belief that you can “pray away” illness, but there was a contrast in how physical illness and...
By: Greg Walshaw I first experienced psychosis as a child. I would see ghostly apparitions that would show up at night. Not believing in ghosts, I would try to convince myself that they were simply a visual effect from a streetlight, except that they would move around...
By: Natalia Beiser When I was eighteen, I was finishing the last semester of high school and attempting to concentrate on the scenes of a teenager: attending dances, performing in musicals and band, and picking out a prom dress. I knew that something was terribly...
