Things have been tough- but I’m much better today. I can tell I will be able to work withouth so much PAIN! I am sure you know what I mean. When you get sick- whether it be depression, agitated mania, anxiety, OCD, ADHD stuff- it just makes it hard to sit down and work. I use my tools of course- but it sure is better when I can work wihtout having to use my tools all day.
At least I have them. I recently received a comment asking about my treatment plan. I use my Health Cards treatment plan everyday and have done so since 1999. It has saved my life. I also use the ideas in my books- they are based off the Health Cards. Here are my main treatment plan tips:
1. Have a plan in place BEFORE you get sick. That is what keeps me going- I know that when the mood swings start- I have something ready to help automatically.
2. Surround yourself with people who know you have bipolar disorder and can help just by being there. They don’t have to talk about it with you, help you feel better, give you advice or feel sad for you- they just have to be there when you want to hang out.
3. Create strong bonds with people who can handle your tough days. These are special people!
4. Remind yourself constnatly when you’re sick that IT’s AN ILLNESS>> I CAN SURVIVE THIS.
5. Go easy on yourself when you do [... Read More ...]
Here is a question from Liz.
Her partner has bipolar disorder and recently got out of the hospital. She asks an interesting question- as a partner of someone with the illness, where does help end and needing the person to take care of themselves on their own begin? It’s surely a fine line. I read the question and answer it on the podcast below.
Hi Julie,
I just want to say thank you for having this site and writing your books. My husband was just diagnosed with Bipolar disorder in December after a very scary manic episode where he was on the roof of a McDonalds 45 minutes from our house.
I have learned a lot about bipolar disorder through your book, Loving someone with bipolar disorder and he has just to really begun to read Take charge of Bipolar disorder.
He is on medication and was on sick leave from his job for 6 months and has just returned last week on a light duty schedule. We have a long way to go. As you know, there are bad days and good days. One of our biggest problems is when it is time to go to sleep at night. He cannot go to sleep unless I am in bed with him. We seem to go through the same ritual every night. He goes to bed much earlier than me because he has to get up much earlier for work. He sits on the side of the bed and says, “this can’t be happening to me or I hate [... Read More ...]
Hi, It’s hard for me to write blogs when I’m so suicidal. I wrote a few days ago about a bad experience with Zoloft that put me into a severe downswing.
I just had a conversation with my coauthor Dr. John Preston and he said, “Julie, you always keep the fighting attitude alive. You keep moving even when it’s hard to keep moving.”
And then we asked the question- What’s the alternative!
I don’t want to kill myself, but my brain doesn’t get the message sometimes. I was crying in bed last night with the thoughts, “Is this all there is to my life? Will I always be this sick? Does anyone care about me? Am I going to die from this illness? Will I be alone forever? Does my work have a purpose? Why am I on this earth? I am left out of everything. My life is so small.”
If you have ever been suicidal- you probably have! – this is the common language of bipolar suicidal thoughts. They never change- but my god they feel so real it’s hard to fight them. But as John said- you just have to keep a fighting attitude. So that is what I do. I’ve had these suicidal episodes since age 19- I’m 45 now. I don’t get used to them because they SUCK, but I do keep fighting the desire to give in to them.
Last night was hard. The voices, thoughts and images spit out by a bipolar brain are like the world’s most compelling movie. But that’s [... Read More ...]
There are a lot of bipolar disorder medications that can cause a dry mouth- anti depressants, mood stabilizers and anti psychotics are equal opportunity employers when it comes to side effects. Our bodies are so different – which means that some of us will have a dry mouth with Tegretol while others will have eye problems- but over all, dry mouth caused by bipolar disorder medications is very common.
My mother, who is on Lamictal, found an excellent product that she says helps a lot. It’s called Breath RX. Those the products are for bad breath, they actually help moisten the mouth more than any other product. They really work.
MANY people with bipolar disorder have trouble with their teeth. I know that I do! One theory states that our mouths get too dry from some med side effects and our teeth get brittle. These breath mints can help as they keep the teeth hydrated! At least that is the idea!
I doubt that this company ever thought they would make a product that helps people with medication side effects!
Here is the link. My mom gets them in stores.
https://store.breathrx.com/refresh.php
Julie
My media fast
I decided to go on a media fast a few months ago. All of the depressing news about our world economy was not helping the reality of my own economic situation! So I turned off all news. I stopped listening to NPR, reading Yahoo headlines, looking at newspapers and reading business magazines. It has now been over three months. I am such a differnt person. i don’t wake up at 4AM in a panic. I don’t feel like I’m missing much- I can listen to a download of a show if needed. I am worried about the world, but I can only help the world if I’m well.
It has helped immensely. And I still manage to know what is going on in the world as my friends are very informed.
I will do whatever it takes to stay stable so that I can work and make my own money. I don’t want the media to adversely affect my view of the world!
Julie
Thanks for all of the reader comments!
I really appreciate and learn from reader comments. I read all of them. I try to respond as much as possible. I especially appreciate comments that give different opinions to what I’ve written on the blog and in my books. I really mean this. My view of bipolar disorder is not the only view- that’s for sure!
I’ve learned so much since I became well enough to write my books- this was in 2001. Not that long ago! Since then I’ve found a medication that has helped immensely with my symptoms (Lamictal) and have continued to use my Health Cards treatment plan- but there are definitely areas of my writing regarding myself that are out of date. It can be hard to see your ideas in print when you have changed your situation! For example, in my books Bipolar Happens and Tips for Talking with Health Care Professionals, I mention quite often that I can’t take meds. That changed and now I have to go back and edit the books to make sure they reflect my current situation. My ideas in the books are the same- I just have to keep them up to date on myself!
Do you write about this illness? Do you have a blog? I have found that writing saves my life. I can write when I feel too depressed to live. I can also see the hypomania in my writing as I use over the top happy words and my thoughts are faster than my hand.
The writing reminds me that I [... Read More ...]