Our Blog

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...

The Adams Family: Triumphs and Groans

The Adams Family: Triumphs and Groans

Author: Curtis Hier Great success and great misery come with the bipolar life, and the Adamses had their share of both. John Adams is believed by many to have had bipolar II disorder. Thomas Jefferson described him as “sometime absolutely mad.” But Jefferson had a...

Self-Stigma and What If’s

Self-Stigma and What If’s

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,...

The Time is Now

The Time is Now

Author: Melinda Goedeke Every time I drive home, I have to decide exactly when to turn onto my street as that split second decision could be the difference between making it safely home or not.   My timing has to be perfect. I am sometimes forced (in my mind)  to cut...

Learning to Trust Instincts

Learning to Trust Instincts

Author: Stacey Isaacson Trust your gut. That’s what they say, right? But what if your gut sometimes leads you in the wrong direction? What if, in a spurt of creativity, you come up with a fantastic idea, only to find it less than fantastic when you carry it out in a...

The Power in Overcoming Self Stigma

The Power in Overcoming Self Stigma

Author: Emily Ellison “Please don’t be bipolar” I thought to myself as I sat in the waiting room for my first psychiatrist appointment. I feared this diagnosis. Having done my degree in psychology I understood bipolar clinically and I believed that this diagnosis...

Lithium and Dialysis

Lithium and Dialysis

Author: Natalia Beiser At the age of eighteen, I experienced my first full blown manic episode. I was not diagnosed with bipolar disorder at that time; it is not uncommon for bipolar patients to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. In 1990, there were few treatment...

Eternal Sleep 

Eternal Sleep 

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...

The Dogwood Tree

The Dogwood Tree

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 after...

Visionary

Visionary

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...

Theodore & the Roosevelt Bipolar Inheritance

Theodore & the Roosevelt Bipolar Inheritance

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,...

How Carrie Mathison Changed my Life 

How Carrie Mathison Changed my Life 

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...

Mental Health Stigma

Mental Health Stigma

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...

She Would Want Us to Talk

She Would Want Us to Talk

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...

Gratitude

Gratitude

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 that...

I Am Bipolar Strong

I Am Bipolar Strong

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...

Go Forth

Go Forth

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...

Being Kind to Myself

Being Kind to Myself

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...

What I Wish Others Understood About Having Bipolar Disorder

What I Wish Others Understood About Having Bipolar Disorder

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...

Discrimination

Discrimination

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...

Weight, Diet, & Bipolar Disorder

Weight, Diet, & Bipolar Disorder

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,...

Bipolar Disorder in Men

Bipolar Disorder in Men

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...

Self-love & Mental Wellness

Self-love & Mental Wellness

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...

Emotions Aren’t the Enemy

Emotions Aren’t the Enemy

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...

Black History Month

Black History Month

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...

To The Ones Who Got Better

To The Ones Who Got Better

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...

Hypomania and Anemia

Hypomania and Anemia

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...

Grief Is Love

Grief Is Love

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...

Trapped Light

Trapped Light

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...

Through The Tunnel

Through The Tunnel

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...

Mental Wellness Month

Mental Wellness Month

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...

Mental Wellness: Positive Psychology for Bipolar Disorder

Mental Wellness: Positive Psychology for Bipolar Disorder

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 psychology...

Reflecting Back on My Initial Diagnosis: Part 4

Reflecting Back on My Initial Diagnosis: Part 4

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 happening......

A Letter to my Fellow College Students 

A Letter to my Fellow College Students 

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...

How Does Social Media Impact Bipolar Disorder?

How Does Social Media Impact Bipolar Disorder?

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...

Crystal Clear

Crystal Clear

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 childhood...

Everyone Suffers

Everyone Suffers

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...

Therapist by Day, Bipolar Caregiver by Night

Therapist by Day, Bipolar Caregiver by Night

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...

“Everything’s Not Lost”: Song Review

“Everything’s Not Lost”: Song Review

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...

A Warrior in Sheep’s Clothing

A Warrior in Sheep’s Clothing

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 you...

Penpaling for Mental Health 

Penpaling for Mental Health 

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,...

Finding My Purpose

Finding My Purpose

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...

A Letter to the Lonely

A Letter to the Lonely

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....

Bipolar Disorder and Coping During COVID-19

Bipolar Disorder and Coping During COVID-19

Author: Stanley Clark The COVID-19 pandemic still causes fear and uncertainty worldwide. Although the lockdown measures may help slow the disease’s spread, it may also cause greater mental stress. People with bipolar disorder may have a more challenging time coping...

The Time is Now

The Time is Now

Author: Sophia Falco When I was in the depths of depression I decided, I needed a higher power to lean on though I understood it was up to me to improve my mental health, and I am so grateful for my support system in my life. Furthermore, this year was a mark in time...

Gratitude

Gratitude

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...

Showing Gratitude

Showing Gratitude

Author: Alexis Crase Having a support system when you have a mental illness is essential, but leaning on others can often mean feeling burdensome, or worrying about burning others out. Practicing gratitude is a powerful way to help alleviate these feelings, as well as...

Are There Others?

Are There Others?

Author: Melissa Anderson I've been stable for nearly a year. There was a time when I wasn't sure I would ever be able to say that. Stability. And for a whole year! Wow! I can hardly believe it. It feels good, I must say. It was just before Thanksgiving last year when...

A Mother’s Marathon

A Mother’s Marathon

Author: Melinda Goedeke I remember when Laura was little staring at me with a mix of defiance, confidence and spunk refusing to walk without her doll stroller. She was 16 months old and could most definitely walk. She knew walking solo meant moving to the “big kid...

My First Experience with Mania

My First Experience with Mania

Author: Natalia Beiser I experienced my first full blown manic disorder, as experienced by those with bipolar 1 while in my last year of high school.  Prior to being sent for inpatient treatment, my behavior had been sporadic and I had many angry verbal outbursts. ...

My Story

My Story

Author: Kim Barnett I was born in 1982 in a small city in Ventura County. I had two loving parents, two siblings, and we all lived in a nice house. We were one of the first black families to move into this predominantly white and Hispanic city. As a child this was a...

Gathering the Light from the Stars: A Guided Imagery

Gathering the Light from the Stars: A Guided Imagery

Author: Sophia Falco Find a comfortable position where you can either sit or lay down for about 10 minutes. If you feel it’s appropriate to close your eyes, then please do so, and if not keep your gaze downwards—this is totally fine too. First, get in tune with your...

A Bipolar Story

A Bipolar Story

Author: Elizabeth Horner I debated on whether or not to share my story for a very long time. I’d swing back and forth like a pendulum; feeling like I should just own who I am and throw myself out there one day and then revert back to the very private person I usually...

The Power of Just

The Power of Just

Author: Melinda Goedeke When my beautiful daughter was 23,  she was asked to be in one of her best friend’s wedding. Running towards me with her infectious smile, she shared the news with me talking so quickly I barely understood. What I did understand is that she was...

The Mask

The Mask

Author: Melissa Anderson I started waking up at 2:00 AM. By 4:30, I was completely awake, unable to will my eyes closed anymore. The day before, I began noticing the beginning signs of the excess energy, so it was no surprise to me that I had difficulty sleeping. It...

Lighting the Darkness

Lighting the Darkness

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...

5 common misconceptions about bipolar and how to dismantle them

5 common misconceptions about bipolar and how to dismantle them

Author: Madeleine Russell Stigma around bipolar disorder can be gradual and subtle, but with very harmful effects. Bipolar affects 1 in 50 Australians and tends to run in families. Stigma is a well-known driver of poor health outcomes, yet continues to permeate...

How Bipolar Disorder Has Prepared Me for Unpredictability

How Bipolar Disorder Has Prepared Me for Unpredictability

Author: Christina Chambers Lately, I have noticed a pattern emerging and re-emerging. It weaves itself through my life like vines climbing a lattice. That pattern is chaos. There is a consistent inconsistency, predictable unpredictability, and almost an order to the...

Ignorance Is Not Bliss: The Importance of Screening

Ignorance Is Not Bliss: The Importance of Screening

Author: Willa Goodfellow I didn’t want to find out I had bipolar disorder. I was on a plane. The person in the seat next to me saw the Journal of American Psychiatry in my lap. He was curious, he said, because he was a doctor and worked on a psych ward. Why was I...

Comforting Affirmations for Bipolar Disorder

Comforting Affirmations for Bipolar Disorder

Author: Rebecca James The bipolar mind is often a chaotic place. It can be scary, lonely, sad, or wild. In the center of it, we all need some moments of peace. I’ve found that affirmations, or easy, reassuring sentences, help me navigate the bipolar mind. Here are a...

The Bipolar Creative Genius

The Bipolar Creative Genius

Author: Jasper James “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness” – Aristotle It has long been said that those with bipolar disorder are more creative than average. Famous bipolar individuals of the past include Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, and...

Mania and Psychosis

Mania and Psychosis

Author: Kim Barnett I have Bipolar I Disorder, which causes manic and depressive episodes cyclically. I’d like to share with you some of my experience with Bipolar Mania, in hopes to explain the difference between insomnia and a Manic Episode, and how this topic has...

Embracing Gratitude

Embracing Gratitude

Author: Sophia Falco I delve deep into the dreamland of my imagination. I embrace envisioning light flowing throughout my body, and soothing my mind edging out the darkness that has taken up residency for far too long. The beauty of the natural world speaks to me in...

Cheers!

Cheers!

Author: Melissa Anderson Can we just take a moment out of our busy lives to congratulate ourselves? Bipolar disorder can be a beast. We are either living with it or supporting someone who does, and that deserves some recognition. Every day that we get up and face the...

Bipolar Depression

Bipolar Depression

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...

Bipolar Disorder Book Recommendations

Bipolar Disorder Book Recommendations

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...

How Other People Can Support Me If I’m Feeling Suicidal

How Other People Can Support Me If I’m Feeling Suicidal

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...

Change Can Begin With You

Change Can Begin With You

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...

Reflecting Back on My Initial Diagnosis: Part 3

Reflecting Back on My Initial Diagnosis: Part 3

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...

How to Talk to a Loved One with Bipolar Disorder

How to Talk to a Loved One with Bipolar Disorder

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...

My Experience With Behavioral Health Units

My Experience With Behavioral Health Units

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...

A Rainbow of Hope

A Rainbow of Hope

Author: Melinda Goedeke I remember this moment in time clearly - standing in my office holding my friend Pat’s hand listening as her words tumbled awkwardly yet resolutely out of her mouth and tears quietly cascaded  down her cheeks. “Now, I don’t even have hope.” ...

Bipolar Impulses | How to Deal With Them

Bipolar Impulses | How to Deal With Them

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,...

Back to School, Sort of

Back to School, Sort of

Author: George Hofmann I’m the father of a 9-year-old girl who will be starting school in front of a Chromebook this fall. I also have bipolar disorder, and sticking to a strict routine has been crucial to my recovery and stability. That all changed last spring. Our...

10 Self-Care Ideas for People Suffering from Bipolar Disorder

10 Self-Care Ideas for People Suffering from Bipolar Disorder

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 hypomanic,...

It’s Going to be Okay

It’s Going to be Okay

Author: Fatima It felt as though a trap door had opened under me and I was free falling. “What you experienced was a manic episode” the doctor said. “You have type 1 bipolar disorder”.  My world was rocked. Bipolar disorder? What did that mean? What did that entail? I...

Happy or Hypomanic?

Happy or Hypomanic?

Author: Angela McCrimmon "I'd give anything to feel like you for even just one day".....I smile because I realise they're trying to compliment me but I also want to shake them and make them comprehend what it's really like to be me in the middle of a hypomanic...

Bipolar and Being Sober

Bipolar and Being Sober

Author: Katie Barber I never thought that I had a problem with drinking. There were no interventions, nobody had expressed concern. In fact, a lot of people in my life drank far more than I did.  The reason I felt like I wasn't an alcoholic (and therefore did not need...

Advice for Someone Newly Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder

Advice for Someone Newly Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder

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,...

We are All on the Ride

We are All on the Ride

Author: Melinda Goedeke Chaos is what I know; it is where I excel.  Keeping on the move ironically slows my racing thoughts and brings a loud silence to my brain.  Right now it seems chaos is the norm for many amidst this unpredictable pandemic that is careening down...

My Experiences with Suicidality

My Experiences with Suicidality

Author: Violette Kay Being suicidal while manic is probably the strangest thing I’ve ever experienced. Normally my manic self would think “I would never kill myself. How could I ever be so cruel as to deprive the world of my light?” but this time was different. As I...

A Letter to Liberate

A Letter to Liberate

Author: Sophia Falco Dear Sophia, You are deeply loved. You have not let bipolar disorder 1 define you while living with it for nearly a decade. This is not your fault, and you don’t deserve this suffering. You have persevered through challenging times in the past as...

My Self-Care Regimens to Stay Balanced

My Self-Care Regimens to Stay Balanced

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...

Bipolar Disorder is a B%!#*!

Bipolar Disorder is a B%!#*!

Author: Kitty Dedicated to all of those we have lost due to mental illness. I strive to endure because I know you are beside me. Surviving an abusive childhood left me with many mental obstacles but I can confidently say that for me personally, bipolar disorder was...

LBGTQI + Bipolar is… Complicated

LBGTQI + Bipolar is… Complicated

Author: Willa Goodfellow It goes back to Freud. You could call him a liberal for his day. He did not believe that homosexuality was a character flaw or degeneracy. He viewed it as a kind of arrested development. Does arrested development sound better than the later...

What Is It Like to Not Work Anymore?

What Is It Like to Not Work Anymore?

Author: Allison Hatch Many of you know all too well what it is like to live with multiple diagnoses.  For many others, I know you have probably have a similar tale like mine to tell, or maybe you support someone who cannot work right now, or even now you are trying to...

Being Brave By Being Vulnerable

Being Brave By Being Vulnerable

Author: Courtney Casal I’ve found the stigma to be true, at least in my experience: having a conversation about your mental illness with your professors, much less anyone, is incredibly daunting. No matter how confident you might feel, you are immediately fearful of...

High Hopes, Not High Expectations

High Hopes, Not High Expectations

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...

Journaling through Bipolar Cycles

Journaling through Bipolar Cycles

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...

Big Red and Ocean

Big Red and Ocean

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...

Gardening as Gateway to Look Outside Myself

Gardening as Gateway to Look Outside Myself

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...

Translate »