Marie just left a comment on my mania post below. It was very insightful and helpful.

And… she asked this question- it REALLY made me think.

I would like to have one really good healthy day in which I did not question myself! How about you?

At first, my answer was- oh yes! Just one day this week! Then I had another thought- it’s rather esoteric.
This illness stinks. It has been terrible for me this week and it may be terrible today- luckily I woke up pretty stable- but overall, I am a different person because of this illness.

I have to manage bipolar disorder 24 hours a day in order to stay stable. I watch what I say, do and really try to counteract what I think when I’m sick. This makes me a better friend, partner, daughter, student, teacher, etc.
 
We have to be more aware when we have bipolar disorder - which means we can be more aware of the people around us. Most people aren’t like this. They are just living life (lucky!) - but we have to examine our lives continually in order to stay well. We might as well make the most of it.

Julie

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I really do need to change my heading on the top of this blog! People ask me this question all of the time.

The Health Cards are the treatment system I created in 2000 to help myself manage the illness. I was very sick- I basically couldn’t function in the real world in terms of friends and work. I certainly had a life, but it wasn’t a quality life. So I created the Health Cards and got my life back. You can read about them on bipolarhappens.com

The Health Cards are used by the person with the illness as well as the people who care about them.  They work! I have a blog on teenagers and bipolar disorder below. Teenagers especially respond to the Health Cards as they can be done in private and then discussed with parents.  I wish I’d had them when I was a teenager!

 They are a system to accompany medications- especially when the medications aren’t working as well as we would like them to!

Julie

When you go to bipolarhappens.com- there is a newsletter link at the top of the page. I try to send out newsletters with truly helpful treatment tips- they are a bit more treatment oriented than the blog!

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Bipolar Disorder and Teens- a guide for parents.

I did two newsletters on teens a few months ago. The response was amazing. There is not enough information for parents or teens with bipolar. He is a quick tip on how to distinguish ‘normal’ teenage behavior as compared to ‘bipolar’ teen behavior.

It can be difficult, but it’s not impossible.

It’s all about degrees- ‘normal’ teens and bipolar teens act in similar ways, but not at the same intensity.

Here are some examples:

 It’s not the behavior only- it’s the way the behavior is played out.  I know bipolar when I see it because I’ve lived it. If you’re a parent with a teen- start writing down the behavior you see in ‘normal’ teens- the ones who go to school, hang out with friends, have good relationships with their family,  don’t have a lot of fights, crying, etc. and then write what you see in your child.  You can find the difference there. If you’re a teen, you can do the same.

Adults with bipolar disorder have the same dichotomy of course- but we have more ability to recognize and change the extremes. For teenagers it’s all so new! These are often first time emotions.  If you’re a teenager with bipolar disorder, you will have to grow up faster than most people.  You will have to learn about your emotions sooner than other kids in your life.

You can do it. I’ll write a lot more about it in future blogs.

I made it through teenage bipolar disorder as did all of my friends. There is SO much more information now- if you were diagnosed in your teens- or if you care about someone who was diagnosed in their teens- it’s a really good thing to find out about the issues early and go from there.  I wish it had happened to me!

Julie

 PS: My Health Cards Treatment System for Bipolar Disorder is available at www.bipolarhappens.com. This is an exceptionally good system for teenagers with bipolar disorder and the people who care about them.

Are you manic Julie?

I get so pissed when my mom asks me this question! Of course, I taught her to ask it and I want her to ask it, but it always makes me mad.

I mostly have euphoric hypomania. It is wonderful at the beginning. It’s tricky as it usually comes after a depression- so I desperately want and need to feel better. But I know that what goes up must come down, so I have to be ready for the downswing.

I’ve trained myself by using the Health Cards to go into treatment mode as soon as the hypomania starts. Damn, damn, damn. That is actually mild language for what it feels like to realize that feeling good is actually being manic.

If you have a lot of mild manias, this means that you’re rapid cycling. It means your meds are not working fully or that you or something outside of you is triggering the mania in some way. Like many people, I have a lot more euphoric mania in the summer because of the sunlight.

What a complicated, awful illness this is! Bipolar mania is dangerous. It’s sad that something can feel soooooooooo good and be so dangerous, but it’s something we must accept if we want to get better. Stability is good; mania is bad.

So, when my mom says “Are you manic Julie?” I get pissed, but I always listen and do what the Health Cards say I have to do. 

Julie

Wow, I’ve had some great blog comments lately. They are so appreciated. I read them all.  There is a small icon above each post- if there is a comment, a number appears beside the icon.

 Of course, I want to answer all of the comments, but this is pretty impossible. I’m finding it hard to work these days, but I will keep going! And I will respond to comments when possible.

I saw a great movie tonight called In the Shadow of the Moon. I mention it because it was hopeful and uplifting. We need that! Julie