Bipolar Disorder and Depression: Moving Forward…. when things are tough

My goal when I’m down is to take action all day long to make things better. It’s hard. Where will I go? What project should I do first? Will anything work out? Why are things so hard? Etc Etc

 All good questions.  I will go out and organize my day while I sit at a coffee shop. I will then choose a project and do it.  Whether I am crying, filled with OCD thoughts or hopeless. None of it is real. Problems are real and they can be tackled and fixed. These thoughts are bipolar disorder and they need to be recognized and then ignored!

I will make a list under this post about what I accomplished today – just to show myself that I can get a lot done when I’m depressed.

Julie

Here is the list:

- Visited with my mom even though it was hard to be with people.

- Wrote in [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder and Decisions

Please make a decision for me!

When I have trouble focusing, I’ve learned to ask others to make decisions for me. I’ve trained the people in my life to just go ahead with what they want to do and I will follow along. What do you want for dinner? I don’t care- you choose. What movie do you want to see? Let me know some choices and I’ll give you my choices.  I let others drive, plan parties and do what they want- on the days that I’m having trouble making decisions.

On the days that I’m fine, I make my own decisions- but when the depression and ADHD are here, I say- I don’t care what I do- just help me do something!

It works. I’m also a much more relaxed person around my friends and they appreciate that.

Julie





An Unhappy Morning to a Happy Day- I can do it

I woke up depressed- nothing new unfortunately. I knew it was going to be a tough morning- but it doesn’t have to be a tough day!

Then I turned on the TV and saw Barak Obama being sworn in as President. I felt such happiness.  No matter what a person feels politically, I think that seeing a million people in an orderly gathering in Washington is a powerful thing- and it helps depression because it makes you see that people can get out and do things – even when it’s cold!

I now have to get on with my day. It’s hard to get going when your first thought in the morning is that there is no purpose to your life. I have to remind myself that I didn’t feel this at all yesterday and that this is depression talking. Now I have to get out and work on my book proposal- see friends and [ Read More ]





Get it Done When You’re Depressed: Do your bills with a friend…

It can be really overwhelming to pay bills when you’re not doing well. I swear, so many of my ideas in Get it Done When You’re Depressed have to do with the little things- cleaning a house, making lunches for kids, finishing a project, paying bills, exercising, getting out of bed when you’re in a bipolar down swing! It’s easy for these things to get lost in a depression fog!

One of the most popular tips in the book is to work with a friend. I regularly go to a coffee shop with friends and we simply work together. We talk when we first sit down and then we work. I can do email, write my books, or do my paperwork. I often bring a big pile of letters, bills etc in a bag and just go through them one by one. I bring large clips so that I [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder Mood Swings: Weeks of Depression

Weeks of Depression

I’ve been depressed off and on for weeks. I wake up with it and often go to bed with it. I’ve had to modify my life to take care of it. I’m going out with friends more- more lunches and coffee meetings. I want to work- but it’s time to just work on the depression.

It takes time. Nothing is going on. There were no personal triggers- at least not big ones. I had a manic episode a few weeks ago and this is just the downswing that comes after. I wish I were manic! Though I know that is just as bad.

So, today is tough. I always feel better when my room and house are clean- but it’s hard for me to do it when I’m depressed. My mother came over and helped me. It’s amazing how much it helps the depression.

This is one of the strategies in Get [ Read More ]





A tough bipolar day- a good night (hopefully!)

I woke up sick and crying- darn depression and I was sick for much of the day. It’s always my goal to go to bed feeling better than when I woke up. Well, that won’t be hard tonight!

I told all of my friends that I’m sick. That way they know what to say when I call and cry. They say, “Julie, you’re depressed. It’s hard for you to see reality right now. ” And I know they are right.

I recently wrote about quitting the things that are making you ill. I know what is making me ill and I’m phasing it out of my life. I will get better and stay that way!

Julie