About Julie « Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

Partner with Bipolar? Join Julie A. Fast on The Stable Bed on Facebook

Julie A. Fast is the author of Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder: Understanding and Helping Your Partner. She runs a group for partners on Facebook called The Stable Bed. The post below is an example of posts on The Stable Bed.

Hello dear reader! I am still on my self imposed break for a few weeks from daily social media and writing. This is an essential part of my bipolar management plan. I don’t like it! I feel ridiculous to need breaks just because something normal is happening in my life such as an upcoming move. My goal on The Stable Bed is to show you how a partner with bipolar manages the illness and what you can do to [ Read More ]

Bipolar and Avoidant Behaviors

I have a writing project due.. so I…

1. Watched videos. 2. Worked on my new photography backdrop with my mom’s dog Cookie as a subject. 3. Made Thai curry from scratch. 4. Got an iced coffee. 5. Scrolled through Instagram. 6. Texted my pics to friends.

Enough already! This avoidant brain is the reason so many of us with bipolar have trouble working. I will get through this. I know what to do. I wrote a book on it!

So, time to set outside limits, be my own drill sergeant, ask for help and GET IT DONE. I will not use any social media until I have met my first goal of writing five sections of the book.

If I can move my [ Read More ]

How You Can Help a Person with Bipolar Depression 💙

😿 I lived with dangerous suicidal depression from age 19. I had ECT in my mid 40s. I was very sick. I use all of the ideas in my books to stay alive and remain stable enough to work and have relationships. I taught the people around me to help. ✍️ 📘 Here is a bit of my story and what led to my writing Get it Done When You’re Depressed, a book that teaches you how to help a loved one or client who is depressed how to get out of bed and out of the house to get on with life… even when the depression is strong. 🌧 In 1997, I realized that if I didn’t teach myself to get out and do things when I was [ Read More ]

How long does it take to ‘accept’ the bipolar disorder diagnosis? 🤔

This is a post from my Julie A. Fast Facebook page. I write about life with bipolar on this page daily…… It’s amazing that we can use little pictures to capture life with bipolar mood swings! 😀😕🤕😟😢😭….🤠😀🤪🤣…🤬😈👿👹… 😕🤕😟😢😭….🤠😀🤪🤣…🤬😈👿👹… and on and on it goes! A few thoughts on acceptance and bipolar. I know that many read my posts and never comment or like so as not to be seen on a bipolar page. That is fine with me. The fact that you are here is what matters. It means you are thinking about your brain. It might help to know that I have never really ‘accepted’ this diagnosis. I am still shocked and upset that I have a serious mental illness. I am never used to it fully. I have had symptoms since age 16, was diagnosed at 31 and now in my mid 50s I still struggle with the [ Read More ]

Julie, can you be more positive! PLEAAASSSSEEEEEE!

I know I can write a lot about what is not working in our current mental health system. I know that I talk about the abuse many family members and partners experience if a loved one has untreated bipolar. I know that I have compassion for all of us who have the illness, especially if we also have secondary diagnoses such as psychosis.

Where are the positives? Oh, there are SO MANY. I am alive and you are alive. I know that I have bipolar disorder and a psychosis disorder. This helped me figure out why my life was so chaotic for so many years. I call this my get out of jail free card!

I am so thankful for my diagnoses. They saved me. For [ Read More ]

Growing Older with Bipolar: Caring for Aging Parents

My nephew David with my mother Rebecca

My mom is a powerhouse. She’s 78 and has the energy and lifestyle of a 60 year old woman. For this reason, I have been able to ignore the reality that my mom is aging. When I think about the aging process of my most important supporter in life, I realize that one day our roles might change. One day, I might be the one who has to be the #1 support.

As a person with bipolar, I am not sure what I will be able to do. I will not be able to stay with her at night. I will not be able to take care of her if she gets ill. I will not be able to travel much or financially [ Read More ]