Bipolar has had a big hand in making me who I am today. That’s just a truism. But is this actually a good thing? People often say they are thankful for everything they have been through because it has made them who they are today. In fact, it’s a new year and people are saying this all over the place. But can you be thankful for bipolar because it made you who you are today?
Many with a disability want to know how to work for themselves. This is understandable. With a disability, working in a structured environment can be almost impossible and the flexibility of working for yourself might seem like the answer. And working for yourself with a disability can be an answer but it’s definitely harder than it sounds. Here, I’m going to talk about how I started working for myself with bipolar disorder, and my current thoughts on disability and working for yourself.
Recently, I started looking for mental health-improving gifts. And while you can get something generic as a gift for mental health (like the popular weighted blanket) I want to point out some gifts really targeted at mental health, mental illness or chronic illness. Read on to learn about gifts for those with mental illness, their loved ones or those who just care about mental health (in other words, these are gifts for everyone).
“Trauma-informed care” is a semi-new buzzword that is heard all over right now but trauma-informed care gets a lot wrong when it comes to bipolar disorder (and other serious mental illnesses). I don’t say this because I don’t think trauma-informed care works — I think it probably does. But like anything, it only works for a certain population; and, like with anything fashionable, right now (look, it has its own conference) they are trying to shoehorn it onto every population. And when it comes to bipolar disorder, trauma-informed care gets a lot wrong.
I despise toxic positivity and I especially despise toxic positivity around my mental illness. Toxic positivity shrouds itself in “helpfulness” and yet hides a shiv beneath it. Toxic positivity comes in forms like, “Yoga will help your anxiety,” or “Meditation will calm your feelings of depression,” and when you scowl, it is then followed quickly by the words, “I’m just trying to help.” Well, here’s the thing, positivity may have its place in the world and in mental illness, but when positivity crosses the line and becomes something that actually hurts instead of helps — that’s toxic positivity and it has no place around serious mental illness.
I have felt for years that bipolar symptoms feel like punishment. It’s not so much the regular, everyday symptoms that feel that way — it’s more the bipolar symptoms suffered after fun that feel like punishment the most. It feels like if something good occurs or if I feel good for some reason, the bipolar won’t like that and it’ll come up and whop me with a punishment. This week is a perfect example of this. I’m being punished with bipolar symptoms because of receiving an award in Vegas last week.
Delusions in bipolar disorder are common. It depends on where you draw the line as to how many people actually get them. What I can say for sure is that the majority of people with bipolar disorder do experience psychosis, and delusions are commonly (although not necessarily) a part of that. Here is what we know about delusions in bipolar disorder.
I wish people would take responsibility for their feelings and not blame me for them. Somehow, it’s my problem, as a writer, if my piece makes other people feel something that they don’t want to feel. Trigger warnings are supposed to mitigate this but you wouldn’t believe what I get crap for writing. In short, I wish people would learn to take responsibility for their feelings and not place the responsibility on me — a stranger.
Fake it ’til you make it” with mental illness, does that actually work? In fact, does that really work when it comes to anything? Considering how often you hear it, it seems like it should. Here’s an examination of faking it and making it in specific situations and when you have a serious mental illness like bipolar disorder.
I’d like to spend some time this World Suicide Prevention Day sharing what I feel are life-saving suicide posts for people that are suicidal and for those who are not. I’ve spent more than a decade writing about suicide, suicide attempts and other mental health-related topics. I’ve covered a lot of ground. These posts have helped save lives over and over. No, this isn’t ego talking, this is the power of words talking. Suicide information does have the power to be life-saving.
So, if you are suicidal or if you need to support someone who might be suicidal, please review these suicide-related posts.
Bipolar disorder can lead to periods of prolonged isolation, especially during depressive episodes. In my experience, this disposition seems to be even sharper in the type II variant of bipolar, since manic episodes are absent. So what are the positives and negatives of bipolar disorder and isolation?
Two mental health facilities that provide acute, inpatient, psychiatric care are slated to close their doors in Wheeling, West Virginia. My name is Katrina Bell, and I have worked for the last 14 years at Ohio Valley Medical Center’s psychiatric facilities. These are the Robert C. Byrd Child and Adolescent Center as well as the Hillcrest Behavioral Center. These facilities are the only inpatient, acute, psychiatric centers in the Northern Panhandle of the state.
We were recently informed that our hospital will be closing within 60-90 days and no later than October 7th of this year. We were devastated by this news, not only for us but for the vulnerable population we serve. We want your help to save these life-saving facilities.
Subscribe to my monthly newsletter to get the latest from Bipolar Burble, Breaking Bipolar, my vlogs at bpHope, my masterclasses, and other useful tidbits -- plus get a FREE eBook on coping skills.
Recent Comments