Advice For Newly Diagnosed:

First, deep breath. Whether you are afraid of or enthusiastic about your future (or both), take it one day at a time. Life is unpredictable under the best of circumstances; add in mental illness and the instability multiplies. Get confident in your capacity to make mistakes (you will) and to learn from them (you should!). Furthermore, get comfortable with being emotionally in tune with yourself and communicative about your mental health needs with others. That communication may well be a lifesaver down the line!

Something I am Proud Of:

Having lived with my mental illness for 15 years now, I am proud that I continue to learn how to manage its fluctuations. Bipolar disorder has always felt to me as though I am navigating an extremely small and flimsy dinghy through an impossibly turbulent gale. It’s been an illumination to realize that the storm is of my own making, and much more under my own control than I ever could have guessed.