What I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me During My Bipolar DiagnosisWhen I was 20 years old, I was crying often and without reason. I traveled across Europe at that age, tears blurring the sites I had always wanted to see...
Will I Ever Find the Right Bipolar Treatment?It was a Friday night the first time I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I was sitting in front of my computer screen 25 years ago and reading page after...
Choosing Medication for Stability and PeaceI remember the day I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder vividly. It was a mix of relief and confusion, a moment where so many aspects of my life suddenly made...
Routine and Bipolar DisorderConsistent daily routines are important for people with bipolar disorder. Biological processes that regulate daily body cycles (circadian rhythms) may not work well in people with bipolar disorder. Stabilizing daily...
Bipolar Disorder: Why Does It Feel Like No One Understands?I've often found living with mental illness to be a lonely thing. Much of that loneliness stems from the isolation of being in one's own mind. The average person can...
Waiting For the Other Shoe to DropOne of my favorite expressions used to talk about bipolar is "waiting for the other shoe to drop." A little Googling informed me that this expression originated in turn of...
"The Lost Years": Before Diagnosis and RecoveryI needed a good cry for quite a long time. I thought I was ready. It turns out you can plan a therapeutic cry just about as well as you...
5 Things Not to Say to Someone with Bipolar DisorderI have been a professional mental health advocate for 14 years now, and I have a lot of experience hearing supportive and decidedly unsupportive utterances. While people rarely mean to...