Bipolar Social Anxiety and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders!

I once watched a reality show on becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader when I was at the gym. I had a political interview show on my IPOD, but this was far more intriguing ! First of all, it was a pretty weak premise for a show – as watching cheerleader tryouts probably brings back a lot of bad memories for those of us who were not fond of high school! But there was something very interesting on the show.

The women had to climb up a really high pole and jump off onto a trapeze bar. Yes, that was one of the tasks.  There was one candidate who was very scared of heights. She cried the whole way up the pole. But I had to admire her. She got up there, stood up and jumped off. It was pretty safe as she [ Read More ]





A Note to Readers from Julie

Hello to everyone,

I want to say thank y0u to all of the readers who leave comments on this blog. I know that we all can learn so much from each others. I get a lot of questions from readers- I want to let everyone know that I read all of them-  I try to answer in the blog posts themselves.  I still have not found a way to get to the questions as mush as I would like to.  My books answer the questions about bipolar disorder treatment and management- so that is where I lead people first- but I know there are many personal questions I would like to answer. I do encourage readers to leave their opinions and advice on the comments.

I  just added new videos to www.bipolarhappens.com that give more information on the topics of managing the illness, medications and teens with bipolar. I will add more to the [ Read More ]





Posted on February 21st, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: About Julie

Bipolar Medication Woes

For an unknown reason, my Lamictal stopped working for a few months.  I do have some ideas on why this happened, but to be honest, they are not great explanations:

1. I really got off track with my dosage for a few weeks. It was hard to remember what I had or had not taken. I tried a variety of ways to deal with this. I have special pill boxes and reminders. I did everything that was needed.  (I got back on track quickly and it seemed like things were getting better. )

2. I have more stress in my life than normal. This can definitely make it harder for my meds to work effectively.  ( I use my Health Cards Treatment Plan for trigger management and dealing with stress.)

3. I had a different bottle of Lamictal. I don’t take generics as they don’t work for me, but the bottle was definitely a new [ Read More ]





Posted on February 15th, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: About Julie, Lamictal, Medications

Bipolar Disorder and Anxiety

Writing through anxietyAnxiety comes in many forms- but there is one thing they all have in common. Physical symptoms.  These symptoms include breathing problems, uncomfortable waves of fear, restlessness and in some, paralysis! Anxiety is complicated because it can be seen as a person’s inability to deal with life- when in reality it’s a well documented and treatable illness. I’ve often sat down to write a book and felt such waves of anxiety I felt there was no way I could go on. I can usually write through them- on really tough days I walk around. Then there really are some days where I just give up and write more later. When I had my own radio show- I loved being live, but the anxiety was so bad a few days before the show I felt like I was going crazy. I’ve never experienced anything like it. When you listen to the shows, I bet [ Read More ]





Is it depression or bipolar depression? A Quiz!

The following is an excerpt from an article I wrote for healthyplace.com on the difference between bipolar depression and uni polar depression.  I wonder how well you can do! A lot of it was new to me as I wrote the article! A Quiz:  Name that Depression

The following examples will help you (or someone who cares about a person with depression) get really clear on the depression you experience. This can lead to the right treatment plan.

1. Have you ever been depressed and thought, “What is going on? I felt fantastic just last month! I had so much energy and life was great. I don’t understand this. Nothing happened? What’s wrong with me? Who am I?” and then you feel fine again a few months later.  (BP Depression with rapid cycling between mania and depression.)

2. You went through a job loss and got depressed for the first time and then the depression [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder Mania- Hypomania

Beware of mania if…

You had a tough winter depression. Things are starting to look good and you think to yourself- “I’m finally feeling better! It’s so great to feel good again!”  A stable mood doesn’t usually talk that way. Your skin looks better- your hair looks better- your eyes are clear and you have a lot more energy. You feel like doing things you did in the past when you were manic- such as getting up at 4AM because you think you’ve had plenty of sleep even though it has only been about five hours. You want to go out more.

I could go on and on here. If you have the Health Cards, now is the time to get out your mania card- and definitely read my mania Health Card as it shows the really subtle signs that mania is starting. People certainly do get manic in the winter- and there are many [ Read More ]





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