Over the Top and Below the Norm – Bipolar Ups and Downs

A good friend of mine who has bipolar disorder and I were talking about the ups and downs of bipolar disorder and I said,

 “Up sort of implies something good and down implies something bad. It’s not like that with bipolar disorder. Mania is just as ‘bad’ and as dangerous as depression. You’ve been in the hospital with mania and depression- and my mania – even though it’s euphoric has actually wrecked my life just as much as the depression.“

So, I decided that I need another way to describe the illness that shows how both the up and the down are ‘bad.’ I came up with over the top and below the norm. Some people have trouble with the word normal- I don’t. I know that I’m not normal when I get depressed or manic! I can compare myself to the millions of people around the world without the illness. When I get manic [ Read More ]

Ok: A note to my dear friends… summer bipolar mania has arrived!

Ok: A note to my dear friends… summer bipolar mania has arrived [ Read More ]

BP Magazine Blog: Dysphoric Mania. I’ve got to get out of here! I hate my life!

BP Magazine Blog: Dysphoric Mania. I’ve got to get out of here! I hate my life! [ Read More ]

Funny Bipolar Disorder Mania Stories

When I get together with my friends who have bipolar disorder, we naturally talk about how rotten this illness is and how meds work but have side effects and the sleep issues are horrible, etc. But we ALWAYS tell our mania stories. Here are a few great ones: (These are often the behaivors that lead to a bipolar disorder diagnosis.) [ Read More ]

BP Magazine Blog: Why Can’t I Take Anti Depressants or ADHD Meds if I Have Bipolar Disorder?

 

I am a regular columinist and blogger for BP Magazine. (If you don’t alreade receive this publication, it’s amazing. Especially for family members and partners.)

My BP Magazine blog is normally separate from this blog, but the one this week is so imporant, I want to post it in two places.

Here is the first paragraph of the blog- you can then click over to the mag site to read the rest:

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Why Can’t I Take Anti Depresants or ADHD Meds if I Have Bipolar Disorder?

The answer is that you can- in some very carefully monitored situations. One of the main problems I see in my coaching clients is where a child or partner has a manic episode due to taking an antidepressant or stimulant. It’s a huge problem in the health care profession due to lack of [ Read More ]

e Charlie Sheen and Bipolar Mania

      I was just on the radio in Dallas. I thought the interviewer did an excellent  job. He wanted to help his audience understand bipolar disorder. He was respectful and really seemed to get it that bipolar is an illness. I explained that Charlie Sheen either has bipolar and has hidden it really well- which would not be impossible considering that Hollywood can be pretty insular- but I think he did some crack and brought out the full blown manic episode. I am tired of journalists not doing even just a wee bit of homework before they write their articles. Here is another one I read this morning. I wrote the author with some info on mania. This article is interesting because she does a very good job of recording what Charlie Sheen is actually saying and doing. It could be in Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder on the mania explanation page!

The article is from [ Read More ]

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