Monitor Your Bipolar Disorder Mood Swings

I’ve kept a chart of my mood swings for the past year. It’s amazing to see what triggers most of my downswings. Without question, it’s difficult relationships. I knew that this was a problem, but seeing the reality on a piece of paper forced me to make some serious behavioral changes. I have to limit contact with certain people, no matter how much I care for them. I wish I were the type who could have exciting, but difficult people in my life, but as my chart clearly pointed out. I can’t.

There is a mood swing chart and an example of one of my charts at the back of my book Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder. The Health Cards can provide you a lot of information as well. I faithfully chart my mood every night. It’s depressing to see how this illness controls my life, but I at least know I am doing [ Read More ]

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Mancession: Depression in Men During a Down Economy

Men and women are different- so it makes sense they would get depressed differently as well. Here is an interesting article on men and economic change.

Male depression is expected to become a factor for more Americans in the coming years because of growing social and economic pressures.

http://www.thirdage.com/news/depression-expected-hit-more-american-men_3-1-2011

I can’t stress it enough that depression is treatable. Especially with the right medications.  If you are a guy with depression, you have different pressures than women. Find a male therapist if that will work better- talk to other guys who are depressed and read books by men who have managed the illness.

Julie





Guest Post: Craig Hamilton part 3 of 3

Craig Hamilton – My Story part 3   (Click here for part 1)  (Click here for part 2)

Today I  know so much more about this thing called depression, this thing called mania ,  chemical imbalance in the brain etc.

Knowledge really is power.

Today , I manage Bipolar Disorder with self-awareness, medication, yoga ,regular exercise and a holistic approach to staying fit and healthy.

I have also reduced my alcohol content which has helped with my overall health.

My self-awareness is simply more fined tuned today to my stress levels and when I need to pull back, slow down and rest , I do it – that simple.

Bipolar still provides me with many challenges.

I have been hospitalized twice in the [ Read More ]





Posted on August 30th, 2011 | Tags: , , | Category: Guest Bloggers

Guest Post: Craig Hamilton part 1 of 3

Craig Hamilton – My Story part 1 of 3

Craig: Sports broadcaster, writer, and motivational speaker. Wow!

In September 2000 I was hospitalized for two weeks after suffering a psychotic episode at Broadmeadow Railway Station in Newcastle, Australia.

The subsequent diagnosis from the team at the James Fletcher Hospital was Bipolar 1 Disorder.

It will be ten years in September since that traumatic time and I have had time to reflect on a great deal about the illness and the best way to manage it and stay well.

Bipolar Disorder, like so many other mental illnesses has a stigma associated with it that makes management of the condition even more difficult than it should be.

 For many people with Bipolar disorder , managing the illness and coming to terms with the sometimes severe mood swings is something managed in [ Read More ]





Posted on August 2nd, 2011 | Tags: , , | Category: Bipolar Treatment Tips, Guest Bloggers

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 ]





Posted on July 14th, 2011 | Tags: , , , | Category: Bipolar Symptoms, Depression, Mania

It Takes Longer to Worry About Something than to Do Something!

Remember:

You can unload a dishwasher in three minutes.

You can clean your room or vacuum your house in 30 minutes.

Get rid of a lot of email in one hour

Think of it in terms of watching television. It’s so easy to sit in front of the TV for hours getting nothing done. I used to do that when I was depressed. Now I know that getting up and doing something for just 30 minutes can make a huge difference in my mood.

Julie

PS….this is one of the tips in my amazing book “Get it Done When You’re Depressed.” 

Here is a link to buy it from amazon…..now it’s on the Kindle too…. exciting!! 

http://www.amazon.com/Get-Done-When-Youre-Depressed/dp/1592577067/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309293012&sr=8-1





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