Living with Uncertainty is Hard

I just have a phone conversation with my dear friend Gayathri. She has dealt with serious depression for most of her life. I asked her, “Do you have a hard time with your depression when you’re in a situation where you don’t know whats going on?” She laughed and said, ‘YES! I have learned to live with some of it. But I do get stressed.  We can’t make other people tell us what they are feeling. It’s up to them. And we can’t control when something will happen.” She is so right. I’m going through this right now and can feel the depression and anxiety boiling inside of me simply becuase I am in a situation where I have almost no control and have no idea of the outcome.

I have two options:

Option #1   Let it eat me up and affect my work and other relationships. I can let it grow and grow inside me [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder Management Secret….. an answer (not THE answer, but an answer!)

It’s often hard for people with bipolar disorder to know what is reasonable and what is unacceptable. If you’re born with a certain kind of brain- it makes you say and do things that are normal to you. For example, people with bipolar disorder get stressed a lot more easily than the general population. They get more angry- cry more- try to kill themselves more- and definitely get higher than anyone without the illness when it comes to mania.

But that is natural behavior for us! It’s not ok and it’s certainly not a very productive way to live- but it’s what our brains do. So it makes sense that we will all have to learn what is reasonable and acceptable. How can you stop behavior that is unacceptable and non productive?  I have found an answer that took me a long time to master, but I’ve kept at it for 10 years and it’s [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder: Relationships and Respect: Reader Question

Here is a reader question from my blog on respect in relationships:  

Hey Julie!

Here’s a terrible question.  What if the person who is not treating you with love and respect is your husband of 16 years?  My friends comment on how he treats me.  He’s not a complete ogre – just mostly.  But I’m afraid to address the issues and stand up to him and advocate for what I need.  Any thoughts?

Hi M,

This is not a terrible question AT ALL. It’s essential that we know who exacerbates our mood swings before we can actually do something about it. At least you’re not lying to yourself and that’s admirable.  Here is my advice- the day that you decide you are worth more than the pain- and that you will not longer be treated disrespectfully is the day that you will stand up to him and say-

I love you. But I am [ Read More ]