Author: Charles Kelly Living with bipolar disorder has been a journey of challenges, revelations, and profound personal growth. After my initial manic episode, I struggled to trust myself; every emotion felt like a potential warning sign. Over time, I realized...
Author: Matthew Palmieri It’s the Little Things. Big shifts in our lives can derail us from progress in managing bipolar, but it’s crucial we often look at the little things as well that may cause our symptoms to take over. Are we ignoring the need to eat food...
Author: Vasavi Kumar Living with bipolar disorder has been a tumultuous and unpredictable journey, filled with highs of mania and lows of depression that have left me feeling as though I’m on a rollercoaster ride that I can’t get off. The intense...
By: Sam Bowman For many, living with bipolar disorder can feel like a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, ins and outs. People who have the disorder experience extreme mood shifts, taking them from extreme highs down to extreme lows. These changes in mood can greatly...
Author: Sophia Falco existentialism may be the way live without street signs spelling out starlit sky does not equate to lit torches fire still seeing darkness energy to moon and back bursting with the blank possibilities verbalize rather not trip up tongue...
Author: Catalina Bellizzi-Itiola Sometimes I look back at the timeline of my life’s volatile mood fluctuations, and it makes me worry about what on earth my future will look like. Will I hold a job? Will I have a child? Will I be able to survive more episodes? Even...
Author: Cassandra Stout Running out of meds is the worst. If you’re regularly taking medication and you run out of pills and stop suddenly, this is terrible for your body and your mind. If you’re bipolar, you may end up tripping into a mood episode that...
Author: Christina Chambers I firmly believe lifestyle factors are just as important as medication for living well with Bipolar Disorder. Sunlight, alcohol or drugs, nutrition, social connection, nature, repetitive thoughts, meditation and exercise are just a few of...
Author: Gregg F. Martin, PhD, Major General, US Army (Retired) Written in honor of the service and sacrifice of the US Military for Memorial Day, 2022 In the epic World War Two film “Saving Private Ryan”, Army Captain and Ranger John Miller (Tom Hanks) lies...
Author: Margaret Fitzgerald I wish that my Mother would have sought out therapy when I was a child. I know that this may have been somewhat unheard of in the 1970s. In recent years, we have learned that my Mother experiences post-traumatic stress disorder. I have...
Author: Neil McCarthy Life experiences, including a regular meditation practice, have shown me that all life predicaments and mental states will pass in time. But more than just meditation has seen me through tough times; music has served as a constant,...
Author: Margaret Fitzgerald My family knew little about serious mental illness when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Hindsight is 20/20. What follows are what would have best helped me be successful in life before and after my diagnoses. Many...
Author: Sarah Ross I find strength to persevere through challenging times by simplifying tasks as much as possible and through communication. If I keep my thoughts to myself, I will just end up spiraling. Once I reflect my thoughts to someone I trust, I feel a...
Author: Sophia Falco the world was fake, merely a blue green marble that started to crack, the lines ran too deep the same day it rolled off the kitchen table after the argument that this marble was more than just a marble also a representation of the ocean and...
Author: Ambika Paul The road to healing has been like walking on a tightrope with no flashlight or map; and I don’t know if there’s an actual finish point. From my experiences with Bipolar disorder, I’ve learnt to not suffocate myself with expectations of what...
Author: Cassandra Stout Trigger Warning: This post contains a discussions of suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, please: Call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 Text TALK to 741741 Or go to...
Author: Melinda Goedeke Dedicated, thanks and praise to my therapist. I used to have a stabbing searing pain in my right shoulder. You couldn’t tell by looking at me as I winced silently until I simply could not. At that point, I sought medical help and now go...
Author: Phil Cibicki Dedicated to Ian & Annie, who would most understand what I’m talking about here. Thanks for the time I had with both of you and for showing me how to listen, to be kind, and to have an open mind. I can’t tell which drops come from my tears...
Author: Natalia A. Besier Therapy has benefitted my mental wellness journey by teaching me to reclaim my mental health “toolbox” by rethinking and restructuring my negative thoughts. I find that I benefit most from cognitive behavioral therapy and this focus causes...
Author: Sophia Falco These letters cannot spell what has been cast on me to that magnitude, they ask: “Where do you feel this in your body?” and with each breath my chest feels heavier these legs those stairs too much. I’m scared to write to you directly, to...
Author: Angela McCrimmon Read Part I here In laying down my resilience, I found a new “normal”. I developed new routines and I learned what feels right for me in my body, mind and soul. 2021 was an awful year in many ways, but it was profound in the lessons it...
Author: Angela McCrimmon Anyone who shares a diagnosis of Bipolar, regardless of what “type” resides in your brain, is going to share a lot of similar traits and experiences. For example, our high and low moods are way more extreme than those...
Author: Courtney As a child, I was always very hyper and recognized that I was different from many of my peers. It wasn’t until the first couple years of high school that I started suffering from depression. I did not recognize that what I was feeling...
Author: Cassandra Stout When you’re depressed, forget about thriving – you’re in survival mode. Which means you need to be especially gentle with yourself. If you’re telling yourself that you should get everything done on your impossibly...
Author: Sharnisha Stokes #BipolarTogether is a hashtag that’s been needed and will continue to be. To provide hope in times where none can be found. Resources when coping mechanisms that are detrimental have been exhausted. Education for those caring for...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
Author: Christina Chambers Writing down a wellness plan upped my Bipolar Disorder management game exponentially. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder Type I in 2008. I had rapid cycling, so I had at least four episodes each year for twelve years before even...
Author: General Gregg F. Martin, Phd, General Major, US Army Retired From my teenage years on, I benefitted from what was a positive personality: high levels of energy, enthusiasm, drive, extroversion, positivity, happiness, and optimism. This was the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Author: Dayna J. In full disclosure it has been years since I struggled with aggressive depression. I was so depressed in 2007 that I attempted suicide. I have also fought off suicidal ideation, suicidal thoughts, for three decades. The darkness can...
Author: Major General Gregg F. Martin, US Army Retired The Army I joined the US Army in 1975, at age 18. My motivation for entering the US Military Academy at West Point was first and foremost, to obtain a top-notch education on a full scholarship. Once there, I...
Author: Claire Gault Esmé Weijun Wang, one of my favorite mental wellness advocates, has a workshop called “Dream Hunting with Limitations.” To me, that title encapsulates everything I’ve been wanting to do since my diagnosis four years ago: actualize what I...
Author: Dayna J. Living with bipolar disorder since 2006 has presented challenges to accomplishing New Year’s resolutions year after year. The fluctuations in my moods – especially crippling depressive episodes – puts a huge burden on the discipline it...
Author: Sophia Falco Call it an act of defiance against the self, but not self-inflicted more like by something opposite to a God. Darkness embezzled my words yet to be born. Each letter was stuck in no man’s land, and I was left staring at this sheet of blank paper....
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...
Author: Maria Eva Jacobs My name is Maria Eva Jacobs and I have lived with Bipolar Disorder my entire adult life. I’m here to tell you, there is life after diagnosis! Though still on medication, I live today in remission and while that is not a perfect walk, it is...
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...
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...
