writing Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Bipolar Burble Blog

New Book on Living with Bipolar, Depression — Table of Contents Revealed

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 16, 2016

Today I’d like to introduce you to some of the table of content in the new book I’m working on. This is a book designed to speak to those with bipolar, those with depression and the loved ones of both groups. It contains a lot of my “greatest hits” from both Bipolar Burble and Breaking Bipolar plus new writing as well. I hope this will be the first in a series I plan to release.

I’m very pleased to say I’m in the editing process for the book which means it’s well on its way to publishing. The ebook version will be out first and then a dead-tree version will likely be available at some point after that. There is no official publication date as of yet, but I’ll let you know when I firm something up.

To get updates on how the book is going, a free short ebook on coping skills and other interesting mental illness tidbits, be sure to sign up for my newsletter (sign-up form at the bottom of this post).

Live Successfully with Mental Illness — Top 5 Coping Skills Ebook — FREE

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 26, 2016

I know I haven’t been producing as much writing as I usually do, but there’s a reason for this — it’s because I’ve been working on a short ebook called: Live Successfully with Mental Illness: Top 5 Coping Skills. As the title suggests, this ebook talks about five, critical skills you need to cope with any kind of many illness (and, in fact, life, in general). This ebook contains my thoughts but also scientific references on facts that are asserted in the text.

Live Successfully with a Mental Illness: Top 5 Coping Skills Ebook

Covered in this ebook are skills like:

Developing positive self-talk
Identifying and fighting cognitive distortions
How to get a good night’s sleep
Gaining insight into your mental illness and your thoughts and emotions

Skills are broken down simply and I use examples that are easy to understand. This book is for anyone with a mental illness and their families and friends will likely learn from it, too.

So, how do you get a copy of this mental illness coping skills ebook? That’s easy, just join my mailing list (below) and I’ll send you what you need to access a copy — completely FREE of charge.

Bipolar Burble Blog Listed as a Top 10 Health Blog

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Mar 17, 2015

I’m extremely pleased to announce that Healthista, the health channel for women, has listed me the Bipolar Burble as one of 10 Health Blogs to Start Reading Right Now.

Erasing the Stigma Leadership Awards and Natasha Tracy

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 26, 2014

So, as it turns out I’m a bit of a mental illness stigma eraser – or at least so sayeth the amazing folks at Didi Hirsch. I’m extremely proud, honoured and humbled to announce that Didi Hirsch will be honouring me at this year’s Erasing the Stigma Leadership Awards in Los Angeles.

365 Days of Bipolar Art

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 11, 2014

The Bipolar Burble blog welcomes Missy Douglas Ph.D, a British artist and writer with bipolar disorder who works under the studio name ucki ood. Her latest project, the 2:365 Art Book, is available now on Kickstarter.

It’s a commonly held belief that there are close links between bipolar disorder and the creative voice. If you just type the words “bipolar” and “artist” into any Internet search engine, the names of Vincent Van Gogh, Jackson Pollock and even Michelangelo scream out at you like the painted hero of alleged fellow sufferer, Edvard Munch.

Much as I hesitate to mention myself in the same breath as these four great artists, I do believe this theory to be true. As a girl, I walked the unstable line between anxiety and precociousness. If I was charming and witty, I was also withdrawn, furious and conceited in equal measure. Yet one thing was unerringly constant: the crayon in my hand. Despite various professional flirtations, what I was to become – an artist – was never really in question. By the time I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 19, it didn’t really come as a shock. I was an artist, and all artists were “crazy,” right?

Creating Art through the Manias and Depressions of Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 20, 2013

The Bipolar Burble blog welcomes guest author somePlaywrights, a collaboration of two writers based in Annapolis and Brooklyn, who face, seemingly weekly, a struggle to succeed as a creative, bipolar collaboration.

On its own, the practice of creating art is bizarre: fusing this abstract feeling with that concrete image, trying to convince others of something only you can see, and all the while endeavoring to balance concept with content. With the addition of bipolar disorder, a condition that is just as, if not more, slippery, firm, and fleeting, the artistic process often teeters between genius and delusion, between coherence and disunion. It is in this realm, where mania meets medium and depression intersects with artistic production, that we, as bipolar artists, must carve and claim our collective space…

How to Keep a Bipolar Blog Running During the Depressed Times

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Oct 30, 2013

Note: For this post I used Grammarly’s grammar correction feature because writing without good grammar is like skydiving without a parachute: you don’t need good grammar to be hired as a writer; you need good grammar to be hired as a writer twice.

I’m a bipolar writer. This is not news to anyone. As a person with bipolar disorder, I naturally have good days and bad days. Specifically, I naturally have average days and horrifically depressed days. And it impresses people that the Bipolar Burble blog manages to stay running through it all. Every week I get one or two posts up no matter what.

So people have asked me, how the heck do you do that? How do you keep a (popular) bipolar blog going through the depressed times?

Go Kill Yourself for Writing This Bullshit – Writing about Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Oct 7, 2013

Don’t get me wrong, most of the feedback I receive for writing the Bipolar Burble blog and elsewhere is positive. People, mostly, appreciate what I do and how I do it.

Nevertheless, some people, not so much. Today I received this regarding my writing:

I hope this individual kills herself for writing this bullshit.

Go fuck yourself you ugly bitch.

This comment never made it online, for obvious reasons, but as I’m the moderator, I see it nonetheless.

Intelligence and Bipolar Disorder

This comment was in regards to this post I wrote on the intelligence of people with bipolar disorder.

In the post, I point out that people with bipolar disorder are not, in fact, more intelligent than the average person and, actually, exhibit cognitive deficits. You can go read the post for details, but basically, people with bipolar disorder suffer from a variety of cognitive deficits which may factor into your definition of intelligence. (You’ll note that, in the article, each cognitive deficit contains a link to the source for the information. You’ll also note that I never said anything about creativity. It may be the case that people with bipolar disorder do show more creativity.)

And boy, do people take offence to that fact. There is this prevalent myth out there that people with bipolar disorder are somehow brilliant and that’s a good part of having bipolar disorder.

Um, no.

How to Become a Famous Mental Health Writer/Blogger

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 9, 2013

One could argue that I am a famous mental health writer. Under “mental health writer” on Google, a post I wrote is on the first page and my bipolar blogs are on the first and second page of the Google search results for “bipolar blog.” Moreover, I have over 35,000 followers on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

So yes, I’m arguably a “famous” mental health writer.

And lots of other people want to be where I am. I get questions weekly from people starting blogs or writing careers who want advice on how to go about doing it. Well, if you want to be a famous mental health writer, or just plain old build a following, here are a few tips.