I have always liked the words greatness, champion and hard worker.  I apply those to bipolar disorder management.  I like to see myself as a champion. I certainly hope for greatness. To me these words mean that I simply keep going no matter what bipolar disorder throws at me. Sometimes I limp- fall down, hurt myself and dont’ want to go forward.  I know that is what bipolar disorder wants. I remember coming out of some manic episodes in the past and feeling that I would never recover from what I did while I was manic. But I recovered. I remember being so suicidal that I could hardly move because of fear I would do something I regretted. When I realized that I could make it through anything, that’s when I started to write my books. You may not know this, but I wrote all of my books while depressed. I am sure you can understand that I wasn’t exactly sitting down to write when the hypomania decided to show up.

How are things for you today? Maybe you just got out of the hospital, did something stupid while you were manic, said something awful to someone you love, thought of killing yourself or spent money you didn’t have.

I’ve been there! I’ve done that!  My idea of a champion is someone who makes it through bipolar situations and then finds a way to keep going so that they can create a plan for the future- a much better future.

Julie

Oh boy can this illness make a person sick.  That is just a fact. I guess you can change that sentence around-  We all get sick and tired of having this illness. One thing I want to do on this blog is to encourage people to keep going and going even when the days are really tough. One good thing about bipolar disorder is that it’s episodic- that means mood swings end. You can get better. Sometimes it takes way longer than expected- but life can be stable.

I tend to talk a lot about depression as that is what I experience the most- some of my friends talk more about the agitated mania or the psychosis they live with, sometimes for a long stretch of time. Sometimes you can have all three at once- dysphoric mania.

Today is a good day because I can get work done- today is a good day becuase I have a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) event tonight.

It’s important to focus on the good stuff during the day when you’re having a hard time- even if it’s only a small thing.

Julie

Life is good. I am working and getting things done.

I’m not manic.

I’m not depressed.

I’m busy like a normal person who isn’t manic would be busy.

This is such a dream come true. I just wrote a newsletter about the topic of goals and how long it takes to reach them when bipolar disorder is involved. I am never sure how long a period of stablity will last, but I will do everything in my power to keep it going!

How are you doing?

julie

I think you will really like my new website- especially if you have visited the old one for the past few years! This one lets people know more about my work in general. It also explains my family and partner coaching work as well as information on all of my books.

My webmaster Emanuel is so supportive of my work- he understands bipolar disorder and understands how I operate. That is all you can ask for in a webmaster!

I hope you enjoy the podcasts, videos and my radio show interviews on the site as well.

www.juliefast.com

Julie

Hello!

As you may have read in my post from last week- I broke my toe. Thanks to all who wrote such nice messages. I have to admit- a broken toe- some 100 degree days here in normally moderate Portland, Oregon and the finishing touches on a 20 page article on psychosis for healthyplace.com can take a toll on a person!

But, the mood has been good. I am so thankful for that. I have continued to work.

How is the weather where you are? There are readers below the equator who may be quite cold right now.  I has been so hot here, the air conditioners in the restaurants aren’t strong enough to keep them cool!

Julie

I have had many things happen physically since being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Lot’s of tripping- balance problems and vision problems from bipolar disorder medication side effects. It’s odd how depression can make a person so vulnerable.

Well, I have no excuses for this one. I just stepped off a curb the wrong way! I am so thankful my mood has been stable. I have a lot of work to do and made a plan to get it all done this weekend. I said to myself, “You have a writing project that is due and you are almost done! Don’t let anything stop you from getting it done!” I broke the toe about two hours later.

This is a blog to make you smile! The toe will be fine.  I am thankful I am well enough to handle it with ease!

The foot is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get an xray of our brain that shows an exact spot for bipolar disorder and then the doctor could say- there it is! We can fix that! I am sure that the PET scans of brains of people with bipolar disorder will teach us a lot.   Julie

I just received a question from Michael asking- Do  your books come in ebook format?

Hi Michael,

I started my career with ebooks. My Health Cards Treatment Plan for Bipolar Disorder and my books Tips for Talking with Health Care Professionals and Bipolar Happens are available in ebook form. My coauthor Dr. John Preston has an ebook called The Medical Treatment of Bipolar Disorder.  These books are available on www.bipolarhappens.com. If you scroll to the middle of the page, you will see the ebooks.

My books Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder and Get it Done When You’re Depressed were all traditionally published. They are available in ebook form for the Kindle. The Kindle is the new amazon.com hand held electronic book reader. These books are also available in book stores. You can also ask your local mental health organization if they have the books. If they don’t, please let me know how to contact them and I will make sure they have the books for their library.

I’m going to record my bipolarhappens.com ebooks into mp3 files in the next few months. I know that a lot of people prefer to listen to the information, especially when bipolar or the bipolar disorder medications are making it difficult to read. That happend to me when I took lithium!

I love the immediacy with ebooks. Especially when you’re in a crisis or need more information about bipolar disorder as quickly as possible.

There is a pic below of the amazon.com Kindle ebook reader. I have seen one- they are fantastic. I still prefer to hold books, but this is the future. I wonder if it will make it easier for people with bipolar disorder to focus as you can change the size of the font and the look of the screen.

Julie