I believe that I have to practice what I teach.

Every once in a while, I will try something new and think- oh, that’s such a great idea! It will be fun and will help my business. So, I started a FACEBOOK account. Well, if you read this blog a lot, I am sure you know where this is going. Fun for others can turn into a bit of an obsession for me. It’s not that I was obsessed with Facebook- it’s that my brain found it stressful. I am sure you know what I mean.  It was an experiment that I am glad I tried.  It IS good for business to get myself out there so that I can connect with readers. and it IS a good idea to keep up to date with my writing friends and their projects.

In theory.

 I want to stay well- especially when it comes to internet use.  Treat bipolar first is my motto and has been for over 10 years. Thus, I am closing my Facebook account! My dear friend Sherri- who has bipolar one- had to do the same thing. I need to use my energy for work, instead of spending time on the internet.

Have you had similar experiences? I would love to hear them!

julie

I just received the following comment on the blog:

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I am unable to stop focusing on the economic situation. I can’t seem to stop worrying about the future and this is just feeding into my triggers. If anyone has a good suggestion about this, I would appreciate it.

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Wow, most of us can commiserate with this! I suggest that we all focus on and take care of the bipolar disorder side of the worrying – which will help with the obsessive thoughts.  This can help us view the economic crisis realistically.

If you read my past entries, I’ve had some terrific OCD problems this past month. Many of them were financial. That’s normal.  OCD symptoms simply mean that an obsession gets in your head and won’t stop talking and talking. This leads to fear that something bad will happen in the future. 

Most people have a worry and then it calms down so that they can realistically think about the worry. Those of us with bipolar disorder don’t have that luxury when something triggers our symptoms.

 Here are my tips:

1. Talk back to your worried obsessions:

We have a new president coming up and no matter what, things are not going to stay the same. There is a good chance they will get better. I will wait and see.

Worrying about this right now is making me sick. I’d rather take an action to make myself feel better.

People make it through economic crises all of the time. I can do the same.

This helps me a lot.

2. Separate your real thoughts from the obsessive economic obsessions.

When you’re lying in bed and they start, try this:

Rationally examine the thoughts and feelings that are rushing through your head. Pull out the thoughts that are real- such as, I’m worried I can’t pay my rent next month- vs. what is going to happen to the world if our housing marketing really collapses and I can’t buy a house in the future and then I lose my job and my bipolar gets worse and I can’t afford my meds and now I can’t sleep and I have to work tomorrow… etc.

You can see the difference. Remind yourself that the second set of worries is mostly about bipolar disorder as they are a rather nebulous fear for the future. The thought that you might not be able to pay rent is real. Now you have something to work with. Say to yourself: I can take care of one economic crisis worry at a time. Is it realistic that I can’t pay my rent? Has it been that way in the past? Ok, I can see that I need to do something about this. What is the first thing I can do tomorrow to help with the situation? I can get started with that.

This completely rewires your brain and gets you from obsessive fears to rational concerns that you can tackle with your own actions.

Last night, I was lying in bed extremely anxious about the new book that I’m writing – so I said, Julie, what are the realities? You have to get it done. You will and if you can’t, you will get an extension. What are they going to do- cancel the book? Picture what needs to be done and then make a plan for tomorrow. How do you want to work time wise tomorrow? What can you get done. Isn’t it great you can finally work a lot. You will get your project done tomorrow and then you can go to the next step.  Just make a realistic plan.

This is calming. I woke up with a plan.

3. Manage your sleep as best you can. OCD type worries really affect sleep which triggers bipolar disorder.  I took Ativan last night as I knew it was going to be hard for me to at least get seven hours!  There are a lot of sleep tips on this blog.

4. Finally, create an economic crisis/OCD Health Card. I use my Health Cards to take care of all new problems that come up.  If you look at my OCD card, you can see we all have the same fears and obsessions!

These tips should help! This is a crisis, not a permanent situation.  We make it through crises by taking actions to calm ourselves bipolar wise so that we can focus on what really matters.

There are many OCD entries in this blog-  you can click on the right menu to see a list of entries.

Julie

PS: I know a lot of you read this blog from amazon.com. You can read about my Health Cards  Treatment System for Bipolar Disorder Treatment System at www.bipolarhappens.com. This system is the basis for all of my books! The actual blog address is www.bipolarhappens.com/bhblog

More About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Six characteristics of OCD

1. Overestimation of Risk
2. Excessive feelings of responsibility
3. Controllability
4. Overimportance of thoughts
5. Intolerance of ambiguity
6. Perfectionism

People with bipolar disorder may share some of these characteristics. I certainly deal with 3, 4 and 5 regularly!

Julie

I have experienced OCD for most of my life, but I never really understood the term technically.

Many people with bipolar disorder have OCD symptoms, especially under stress. I know that my OCD obsessions come from dating situations, travel and work stress that puts me under too much pressure.

What is OCD?

The initals say it all- Obsessions that lead to compulsions that become a disorder when they affect a person’s ability to lead a ‘normal’ life.

 Obsessions are thoughts- compulsions are the actions a person does to calm the obsessions.

For example, if a person has the thoughts- “I left the stove on. I left the stove on. Oh my god I left the stove on. My house will burn down. I left the stove on. I left the stove on.”  the compulsion to calm the thoughts is to go back to the house to check that the stove is not on. Then for a minute, the person feels better and the obsessive thoughts stop. But if the person has OCD, the thoughts come back almost immediately and then the compulsion happens again.

 It’s a terrible way to end. OCD can be treated with antidepressants and talk therapy- but it’s a tough illness to treat. People with bipolar disorder usually  have OCD in episodes that are triggered by certain situations.  

 If a person with bipolar disorder has continual OCD symptoms without the mood swings, they are often diagnosed with bipolar disorder and OCD.

OCD is one of the seven classes of anxiety disorders which means it’s all about fear of what might happen.  I treat my OCD by removing the trigger than causes the OCD- such as staying away from dating. This has really helped.

If you have OCD symptoms that don’t seem to go away no matter what your mood, it’s a good idea to see a psychiatrist. Remember, people with bipolar disorder have to be very careful about taking antidepressants, so make sure you have a doctor who understands bipolar disorder as well as OCD.

Julie

A note to my brain: Please leave me alone!

I recently found myself in a fun and interesting situation with a guy that was simply a mild flirtation. As you may know, I gave up dating almost exactly a year ago and I have not regretted it once. I have definitely felt a bit lonely, but it calmed my brain down so that I could work. My brain doesn’t handle flirting at all. Not even 1%. It starts to do strange things. It talks and talks and won’t stop. What it says is not real. It’s a lot of conjecture and fantasy. It’s chattering away every minute and it affects my ability to concentrate.

Sure, other people go through this. I’ve asked them what it’s like in their brains when it’s happening. They explain that they find themselves thinking about the person when they hardly know them and that sometimes they feel silly- and then I say, “Yes, that’s what I feel too- now multiply what you feel by 100% and you will know the hell my brain puts me through.”

I definitely want a relationship in the future, so I know that one day I will have to get through this. In the past, I always met people and went into relationships super fast. I will never do that again, so it means my brain is going to be a rollercoaster. I am preparing myself!

I’ve actually had experiences where my brain goes so much into overload that I feel like I’m living in a white haze. Whether it’s euphoric or dsyphoric, it’s awful.

It’s human to want companionship- but it’s also human to want fulfilling work. Right now I have to choose work. I’m able to do more these days than in my entire life. It’s because I follow my Health Cards program rigidly, especially my relationship card. I’m willing to give up the things that make me ill, no matter how wonderful they can be.

For today, I just want my brain to leave me alone so I can work.

Julie