Archive for March, 2009

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Newsletter: Are you choosing the right relationships?

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Getting better day by day…  by choosing loving relationships

I’ve cut back on almost everything in my life the past few years.  If I see my life as a tree, I have done a ton of pruning. I currently don’t have ANY troublesome relationships. Can you believe it! It took a few years to know what I could handle and ultimately what I wanted. This has improved my life 100%.
 
I have a few relationships that cause me pain, but that is because I can see the other person is hurting and there really isn’t anything I can do.  This is particularly hard when it’s a family member. I don’t add to their pain nor do I try to fix them. I used to try that and always got hurt.

If you look through your life and picture all of your relationships, what % cause you pain and what % bring you joy? I certainly have ups and downs with the people in my life- but that’s all normal stuff. No one makes me depressed or psychotic or suicidal! I used to have quite a few people like that in my environment. Once I got more clear on what I wanted, it was a lot easier to say yes or no to people!
This has helped my stability as much as my medications.

Julie

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Posted in Newsletters, Relationships | 1 Comment »

I’m glad THAT weekend is over! Now I march onward!

Monday, March 30th, 2009

There are always good things that happen over the weekend- seeing friends, some sun- reading books with my nephew. I try to focus on the good things first.

But man oh man, the depression was terrible. This word comes to mind: relentless!

It was relentless. But here I am on a Monday ready to face the world again. I made sure I had a lot of plans this week. The publishing world- which is a large part of my business these days is changing and not in a good way. I have to rethink my goals for this year. This is definitely possible, but it puts added pressure on my health. So, the only way to deal with this is to work- plan and remain positive. Change is an opportunity for a new and better direction. I truly believe that getting things done is the answer.

If you have lost a job- are worried about money or feel that things will not get better, I suggest the book Think and Go Rich. It was written right after the Great Depression- and it’s truly fascinating to read. I feel so much better when I read it! We can all make it through tough time. How are you doing? Do you have fun and productive activities scheduled for this week? Is there something you have been meaning to do such as joining Toastmasters or taking a dance class? Now is the time to do what we have always wanted to do.

We can march onward- even when we are depressed!

Julie

PS: Watch out for mania! That is my motto.

Posted in About Julie, Depression, affirmations | 1 Comment »

Inspirational, Funny and Educational Podcasts

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

Did you know you can download free podcasts from Itunes that are very helpful in all areas? A reader commented yesterday that listening to sports radio made him happier than listening to the news these days. I agree! If you love sports, the Dan Patrick Radio Show podcast is hilarious. And free! I literally can laugh for three hours when I listen to the show – and all of the biggest names in US sports are interviewed regularly. If sports are not your thing, there are weight loss podcasts, prosperity podcasts, spiritual and language podcasts!

 All free. Ipods are certainly not the only way to get this great information. Most people have their podcasts on a website. You can also listen to live streaming radio. Believe it or not, I listen to Dan Patrick before bed every night. It’s so great to laugh before sleeping.

Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me (very funny) and Fresh Air interviews with Terri Gross are amazing as well. There are also political and spiritually oriented podcasts such as Dave Ramsey on money or Marianne Williamson on spiritual miracles. Podcasts are great for walking! It’s endless entertainment and education.

If you want to create your own podcast, you can download a recording program at audacity.com. It’s super easy to use and  many make the recording using the mic on their computer! This program turns your recording into a file you can then send to itues or put on your blog. There is free information on the web on how to do this!
Julie

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Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips, Podcasts | 1 Comment »

Healthy Wealthy and Wise for bipolar stability!

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

I wonder what it would be like if everyone in the world worked at being healthy, wealthy and wise! I know what it would look like for me.

Healthy: Lose weight slowly and keep it off forever! Stop chewing ice! Work on my posture- ( as I wrote this I noticed I was totally bent over my computer!) Avoid situations that cause mood swings. Get plenty of sleep.  (As I reread this I noticed I was bent over my computer!)

Wealthy: Stop behaviors that create debt. Use cash. Think before I spend. Remember that there is PLENTY of money in the world. Help others. Save my money for a rainy day. Never let the government affect my money situation. Read wealth creating books.

Wise: Listen as much as I talk! Admit that I’m human when I’m cruel, mean or petty. Remind myself that ‘it’s an illness!” Lose weight, use cash, stop chewing ice. Say, “I’m sorry” and mean it.

What a great exercise. This comes from the rhyme:

Early to Bed, Early to Rise
Makes a Person Healthy, Wealthy and Wise.

I would add that a relentlessly positive attitude helps in all of these areas. I’ve certainly experienced a lot of setbacks in all of them due to this illness. That is really the main challenge. I’d be interested to see your healthy, wealthy and wise list!

Julie

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Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips, affirmations | 2 Comments »

Thank you for your reader comments!

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Thank you so very much for your kind reader comments. I had NO idea the blog was helping so much. I know it helps me to write it! I wish I could respond to each comment on this blog individually. I will do what I can- and will get to as many questions as I can! Reader comments of any kind- positive, negative, confused, disagreeing with my post, scared or wondering about the future are all appreciated.

Julie

Many of the answers to questions I get on the blogs are answered in my books. There is a link about that says About Julie’s books- it’s hard to find that link sometimes!

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Posted in reader comments | 1 Comment »

Bipolar Depression and Mania (euphoric and dysphoric)

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

I often wonder how to describe the difference between mania and depression.

Depression: Feel you are the only person in the world.
Mania: Feel completely at one with the world.
Depression: Living in the past
Mania: Living completely in the moment- this is particularly true with euphoric mania
Depression: Silence
Mania: Chattering nonsense when it goes too far

I could go on and on! Things get really complicated when the moods are combined- this is known as a mixed episode or dysphoric mania. People with dysphoric mania have all of the energy of a person with euphoric mania, but it’s agitated, uncomfortable mentally and physically and often comes with psychosis.

I have had a few mixed episodes myself. Anti psychotic medications- including Zyprexa, Abilify, Risperdal and Serequel are often used for dysphoric mania along with the mood stabilizers Lithium, Depakote and Tegretol. I find that Lamictal helps me a lot, especially since I can’t take anti psychotics due to side effects. The problem is that Lamictal alone is not a treatment for full blown mania- I have hypomania (Bipolar II) so it works for me.

What kind of mania have you experienced? If you care about someone with the illness, what kind of mania do they experience?

Julie

PS: I will be a broken record for the next five months- spring is here and summer is coming- you have to know the signs of mania as this is mania season!

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Posted in Mania | 5 Comments »

FDA Approved Bipolar Disorder Drugs

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Here is an interesting list- the FDA (federal drug administration) has to ok a drug for use with bipolar disorder before a drug company can advertise that the drug can be used for bipolar disorder. Here is a list of the approved drugs with their initiation dates. I will write more on this topic in the next few days:

FDA: Acute Mania
       *   1970:  Lithium
      *   1973:  Thorazine 
      *   1995:  Depakote
      *   2000:  Zyprexa    
      *   2003:  Risperdal  
      *   2004:  Seroquel
      *   2004:  Abilify
      *   2005:  Geodon
      *   2005:  Equetro (Tegretol)  
 
FDA: Acute Bipolar Depression
            *  2004: Symbyax
                 (Prozac-Zyprexa combo)
         *  2007: Seroquel

FDA: Maintenance (for use in managing bipolar disorder in general)
  
            *  1974:  Lithium: both
         *  2003:  Lamictal:
                         depression
         *  2004:  Zyprexa: both
         *  2005:  Abilify: both

This list can be a bit confusing- especially when it comes to how the drugs are categorized- I will go through this information step by step in future blogs!

Julie

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Posted in Bipolar Treatment Tips, Medications | 2 Comments »

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