Newly-Diagnosed Bipolar – What to Do

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 13, 2010

One of the things that happens because I write about bipolar disorder so much, is that people ask me a lot of questions about what they should do with their bipolar treatment. I understand this. People feel like they don’t know what to do. And often people just don’t have a good relationship with their doctor/psychiatrist.

No One Can Make Mental Illness Treatment Decisions But You

The thing is, I can’t tell you what to do with your mental illness treatment. I can give you information, I can try to help, I can suggest reliable, mental health resources, but you have to make the treatment decision. It’s a scary thing I know. I still hate it myself.

And the people who have it the toughest are the ones who have just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or another mental illness. So here’s what I suggest you do if you’ve just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Unusual Bipolar / Depression Treatments

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 29, 2010

I’ve been “living the bipolar lifestyle” for over a decade now, and due to my general obsession over all things factual, I’ve done lots and lots and lots of research on bipolar treatments. Lots of research on lots of psychotropic pharmaceuticals specifically, but I’ve looked at, and tried bipolar disorder treatments too. I’ve written about unusual mental illness treatments here from time to time but I decided to put together the top 5 list of bipolar / depression treatments you might not know about for HealthyPlace.

Unusual Bipolar Disorder / Depression Treatments

Included is:

L-methylfolate: A Burbled Article – L-methylfolate as Antidepressant Enhancing Agent
Omega-3: My Burble Article – Diet and Depression / Bipolar
Calcium Channel Blockers – Burblicious – Anticonvulsants as Calcium Antagonists in Mood Stabilization
Thyroid Hormones – I was on Levoxyl, oddly I didn’t write about it.
Light Therapy – somehow I can’t find anything on this either. Which is weird, because I actually like this one.

It’s probably that I just didn’t get the chance to write about the last two. Sometimes I really mean to say something but I don’t get around to actually doing it. Anyway, you can check out the HealthyPlace article for more.

How long do side-effects last? When will medication work?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 27, 2010

A common question bipolars and depressives ask is about the duration of side-effects and delay for effective treatment. These are completely reasonable and understandable questions. unfortunately, the answers aren’t great...

Bipolar Disorder and Remission

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 25, 2010

I’m not sure that remission is something we will all get to enjoy, as bipolars. And the remission from depression, the remission from hypomania, the remission from bipolar we do experience seems to be a very watered-down version of the lives we want, the lives we deserve and certainly the lives we’re promised by doctors and treatments. So if remission isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, what is remission in bipolar disorder?

What Happens When Your Doctor Gives Up On You?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 19, 2010

I have had two doctors give up on my bipolar disorder (mostly depression) treatment. One almost a decade ago, and one just a couple of months ago. I didn’t take the most recent doctor abandonment all that well, as I’ve mentioned. In fact, if I saw the woman today, I’d still want to call her a cunt. An unfeeling, malpracticing, cold-hearted cunt. It seems I’m still a little upset about it.

A Doctor Giving Up on You is Unacceptable

But regardless as to my personal feelings about this woman, I feel that a doctor dismissing a patient without referral, medication, treatment or care, is unacceptable. It leaves the ill person with few visible options outside of suicide. A depression, suicidal person with no options. Peachy. These doctors are killing people through their own ignorance.

So, what should you do if your doctor gives up on your treatment? (You know, other than call them nasty names online, which I heartily recommend. It’s cathartic. HealthyPlace isn’t a fan of such things, however.)

Are You Bipolar? Do You Have Bipolar Disorder?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 12, 2010

When you think of mental illness, bipolar disorder, do you consider yourself to be bipolar or do you think of yourself as someone who has bipolar disorder? Just like: Bipolars have mood swings vs. people who suffer from bipolar disorder have mood swings. (I also think I’m crazy, and no, I don’t think “crazy” is derogatory necessarily.)

HealthyPlace Writing Clears Up Bipolar Confusion – I Am Bipolar

Personally, I say I’m bipolar all the time. I don’t have a problem with “being bipolar.” I know some people do dislike this concept for psychological reasons though, so on Breaking Bipolar there’s Are You Bipolar, Or Do You Have Bipolar Disorder?

Do Others Want You to Deny You Are Bipolar?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 9, 2010

It’s pretty common to deny you have bipolar disorder, before, and even during diagnosis of bipolar disorder. None of us wants to be sick, and none of us wants to be crazy-sick (sick-crazy, crazy and sick?). And it can take us a long time to come to terms with living with a mental illness like bipolar disorder.

Deny You Have Bipolar Disorder?

But sometimes, worse is the fact that those around us want to deny, or want us to deny, our bipolar disorder. They want us not to talk about bipolar, or to “control the symptoms of bipolar” or they just don’t believe in mental illness or treat it like a disease at all.

So earlier this week I wrote a piece at Breaking Bipolar about Bipolar and Denial. (Hint, I’m not for it.)

It’s Scary to Show People Bipolar, and Not Just Tell Them

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 28, 2010

There are two types of writing I do about bipolar. The first type talks about being bipolar, what it’s like, information around it and so on. It’s generally not overly emotional. The second type is written from the point of view of my bipolar, period. It’s not therapied or controlled or softened.

And that second type really bothers people.

Showing People Bipolar Disorder

It has happened many times over the years that people have come onto my blog and gotten upset at my very “real” writing. Often bipolars tell me it expresses exactly how they were feeling and they are grateful. Others though, complain that I’m illogical, need help, and am just generally crazy. They want to yell at me, for expressing the sickness. Yell at me for showing bipolar disorder as it is.

So today on HealthyPlace I write some more about showing someone the bipolar versus just telling them about it.

Depression: Why Do People Keep Asking What Happened?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 16, 2010

I have had this exchange a thousand times,

“I’m really depressed.”
“Why, what happened?”

Have you been missing the plot?

Bipolars Get Depressed

Bipolar disorder is defined as the cycling of moods between a depression and a mania, or hypomania. It is not characterized by being cut off in traffic and then being depressed about it.