Mariko Hewer The other day, I looked out my living-room window around 7:30 p.m. and was surprised to see how dim it had gotten outside. The vibrant goldenrod of the late-afternoon sun had already deepened into the burnt sienna, indigo, and magenta glow of sunset, and...
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: Claire Gault For me, self-stigma comes from the what if? questions I ask myself. What if my manic episode never happened? What if it happened, but I decided to remain at my college instead of transferring to another school? What if I made different choices,...
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: 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: Valéry Brosseau Bipolar depression is like an old faded blanket that’s worn out in just the right spots. The one I can’t bear to throw away. Once in a while it falls out of the closet and I pick it up, wrap myself in it and hide from the world. It’s...
Author: Claire Gault As someone with bipolar disorder, I have a fascination with reading about and researching the illness itself. I believe that the more information I learn, the better equipped I can be to manage the illness. My favorite way to learn is through...
Author: Cassandra Stout Trigger warning: This post discusses 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 SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for...
Author: Natalia Beiser I became angry when overhearing someone saying that people with bipolar disorder should not receive disability accommodations because “…all that they need it to take a pill.” As most individuals with bipolar disorder know, it is not usually that...
Author: Rebecca James Talking to someone with bipolar disorder can be confusing and overwhelming, particularly if the person is in crisis. Here are some key words to use to connect with your loved one. Tell me. Tell me what you’re feeling. This gentle command can be...
Author: Rebecca James Bipolar disorder has always made me impulsive, whether I’m manic or depressed. One sure way to know that I’m either manic or I’ve missed my medication is to observe an impulse to break up with my best friend. He has been here for me before,...
Author: Cassandra Stout Self-care. It seems self-explanatory; after all, the term indicates caring for the self. But why is self-care so hard to accomplish, especially for people who suffer from bipolar disorder? The answer is easy. When we’re manic or...
Author: Rosebuds and Thorns Through my experience with Bipolar Disorder, I have learned many things. To tell someone newly diagnosed with bipolar everything I have learned would take more pages than one could bear to read. So, I will focus on three things: time,...
Author: Natalia Beiser In the past, it was difficult to acknowledge that I needed to acknowledge self-care; in fact, when my therapist brought up that term four years ago, it was foreign to me. I determined that some of the self- care tasks cost too much money, were...
Author: Rebecca James I’ve been keeping a journal since I was fifteen. That was twenty years ago! But journaling has never been as important to me as it has been in the last seven years, since I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. For me, journaling makes sense...
Author: Angela McCrimmon Is the relationship equal or is there a power struggle? Does mutual respect spill over the sides or is the respect demanded from the “Professional?” Hang on a minute though…..which one is the Professional? Is it the one who...
Author: Sasha Kildare As of June 12, 2020, I am unemployed. It’s scary, because the only manic episode I had in 25 years occurred during the Great Recession. Other than a seasonal part-time retail job in 2009, I did not have a full-time job for 18 months. After a few...
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...
Resources from MHA General www.mhanational.org/bipoc-mental-health www.mhanational.org/infographic-bipoc-mental-health www.mhanational.org/issues/healthcare-disparities-among-black-indigenous-and-people-color www.mhanational.org/bipoc-communities-and-covid-19...
Author: Jessica Kaushik I was diagnosed in 2004 and have been largely living hospital-free for the last thirteen years. So, I do have a few coping strategies for living with Bipolar Disorder that I’d like to share with the newly diagnosed. …I wouldn’t say the list is...
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: Claire As someone living with bipolar 1 disorder, I sometimes feel resentful towards others that don’t share my struggles. The vast majority of people cannot truly comprehend mania, nor spend much time contemplating it. In daily experiences and in social...
A recent headline reads: Cortisol: Why the “Stress Hormone” is Public Enemy No. 1. But here’s an idea. Maybe we don’t want to eliminate stress from our lives. Here is a three-part alternative: Understand it. Manage it. Modulate it. Understand it. Definition: Stress is...
In life, experiencing stress and tension is normal. But what happens when a certain thought becomes too overwhelming that it ends up taking over your entire headspace? As you walk through this journey, certain triggers are likely to happen every now and then. While...
Author: Cassandra Stout Are you bipolar? There is a day on the calendar to celebrate your struggles with the disorder. World Bipolar Day (WBD) is celebrated each year on March 30th, in honor of Vincent Van Gogh’s birthday, as he was posthumously diagnosed as...
If you suffer from bipolar disorder, then you may already know how difficult managing romantic relationships can be. Even being a partner with a bipolar disorder sufferer is difficult. The manic and hypomanic phases of the disease can include lapses in judgment,...
Both in my profession and as a mother of a 22 year-old daughter who has been living with bipolar disorder since age 12, I have personally seen the difficulties experienced by both the loved one and those who care about him/her, particularly at the outset. My hope is...
By: Cassandra Stout The holidays strike fear into many hearts, especially those of us with mental illness. But they don’t have to. People with mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder, can thrive during the holiday season. Don’t Neglect Basic...
By: Thea Madeline Porter I grew up in a typical middle class neighborhood in southern California. During my childhood I enjoyed being creative, playing sports, taking Irish dancing, listening to music, watching movies and hanging out with friends and family. I was...
By: Cassandra Stout Medication interactions are serious business. You could take two medications which counteract each other, which could make you sick enough to end up in the emergency room, or even die. October 21st is National Check Your Meds Day in the US. Making...
By: Greg Walshaw I was finishing my first year of a Master’s program when things started to change. The first time I stayed up all night to work on a paper, I thought nothing of it: the paper had to get done, and this was the cost of getting it done. I remember...
By: Cassandra Stout Seeing a therapist can be enormously helpful in sorting out issues you may have in your life. You can also develop coping skills in therapy to deal with serious problems, or just the less-serious issues of everyday life. But how do you start...
By: Sophie Prosolek Self-discovery is an important part of learning to be an individual, but in my opinion it’s all the more important when that individual has Bipolar disorder. Bipolar, in its many guises, can be a really two-faced friend; it occasionally allows you...
By: Cassandra Stout As a parent with bipolar disorder, you might worry about the effects of your unchecked mental illness on your loved ones, especially your children. The devastating mood swings of bipolar disorder can cause instability for your kids. One example, a...
By: Laura Sanscartier (Trigger warning for sexual assault) There’s a song by Sarah MacLachlan called “Hold On”. The first line is “Hold on, hold on to yourself, for this is gonna hurt like hell.” I often think of it when it comes to hard...
By: Brandy Higgins, RN,BSN National Sleep Awareness Week is March 10-16, 2019 this year! I love to sleep. Unfortunately, I have battled all of my life to sleep normally. My mental illnesses make it really hard for me to sleep like an average person. I have insomnia....
By: Sydney Batt Students living with Bipolar disorder have challenges not many people see or understand. Features of bipolar disorder make it tough to thrive in school, so it may feel like a lonely battle in the classroom. School stressors can contribute to triggering...
By: Courtney Davey, MA, LMFT The holidays are a wonderful time: family, friends, feelings of good will etc. However, these additions to your schedule also can create high levels of stress. Holiday movies are notorious for making gags out of the difficulties with...
By: Andrienne Kennedy This is the most wonderful time of the year! For many people the holidays signifies happiness, family and fun. But what about those who struggle when holiday time comes around? While the meaning of the holidays is beautiful, it can be a rough...
By: Megan Malfi
By: Danielle Workman I’ve said it in many other posts and even in my book, but the day I received my diagnosis and was told I had Bipolar Disorder, I truly felt alone. The days that followed, the feeling remained. The more I searched online and the more I dug, the...
By: Emily McGuigan “If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” ~ Edward Hopper As an artist with Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), I have primarily used drawing and painting to help me cope with and explain...
By: Conor Bezane There are 5.7 million bipolar people in the US, and 60 percent of them are addicts, according to the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study. Co-occurring addiction is more common in bipolar people than in any other psychiatric group. We drink and use...
By: Michelle Vasiliu In 2015, my first picture book, My Happy Sad Mummy, was published. My Happy Sad Mummy is a Picture Book for 3-8 year olds. It is a story that portrays the emotional response of a young girl living with a mother who has bipolar disorder. The book...
By: Danielle Workman The day I received my diagnosis for Bipolar Disorder, I felt so alone. I remember it vividly, because it was so incredibly painful. I didn’t know anyone with Bipolar Disorder I could talk to about it. The people I knew that had anxiety and...
By: Serena Goldsmith As a peer counselor, speaker, and mental health clinician, many people have shared with me that they feel stigmatized by having a mental health diagnosis and they feel reluctant to tell others about it. I felt that way too for many years after I...
By: Allison Strong When I first did intake for group dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), I sorta ‘flunked.’ Temporarily. It was determined that I’d been traumatized and I was transferred to their Trauma Resolution and Integration Program (T.R.I.P.) for individual...
By: Megan Malfi Check out Redefining Success Part 2, here! For more vlogs from Megan Malfi, check out the playlist here.
By: Allison Strong A year ago, I wrote about Zen, Mindfulness and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). DBT is an update on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy—both written by Marsha M Linehan, Ph D. Originally, DBT was strictly for the treatment of borderline personality...
By Melanie Luxenberg You don’t want anxiety to win, but let’s face it; sometimes it happens. I say don’t be hard on yourself when it does. Anxiety and bipolar disorder seem to really like each other- a lot. Or at least that’s what my experience has been. Anxiety...
