I’m extremely excited to announce that I’m releasing my second book. For those of you who don’t know, I released a book in 2016, Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar. It’s a combination of memoir and self-help. It was very well received by people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones alike. I’ve certainly written a lot since 2016, and this new book is a result of that and so much more.
I hate platitudes in general, but I especially hate platitudes when they’re applied to mental illness. It’s so condescending when people offer some simple piece of advice and tell you it will fix everything. It’s disgustingly pious when people tell you you’re looking at things or handling things the wrong way because they know of a rhyming couplet. Not only are platitudes unlikely to be helpful in general, I would suggest they are even less so for people with a mental illness (especially serious mental illnesses like bipolar disorder). Here’s why people need to stop offering platitudes to those with mental illness (and maybe everyone else).
I have lost many years of life because of bipolar disorder. No, I don’t mean that I have a decreased lifespan because of bipolar disorder (although that’s likely true, too). What I mean is that there are years of living that are missing because of bipolar disorder. At 46, I can look back at the decades and see these lost years of life very clearly.
Support for bipolar is important, but the support for bipolar that you actually need is even more so. We’re all different, and the support we need is different too. The trouble is, it can be hard to get the support we need when we need it. I would say that obtaining this support is actually a skill. So, if getting the support you need for bipolar disorder is a skill, how do we learn it, and how do we practice it?
Recently, I’ve had days when I was useless due to bipolar disorder. My brain became a rock. I couldn’t get a thought through it if I tired. And thanks to my brain’s inability to think, I also couldn’t work. Trying to do anything — and I mean anything — brought about nothing but crushing overwhelm. And all of this lack of productivity brought about a lot of self-flagellation. I need to learn to forgive myself when I’m useless because of bipolar, though.
As a mental health advocate, I’ve observed people attributing everything to bipolar disorder, from feelings and thoughts to actions. While a mood disorder does influence feelings and thoughts, not all emotions and thoughts are a result of bipolar disorder. It’s crucial to take responsibility for actions and not blame them solely on the disorder. Learning to separate actions from thoughts and feelings, investing in therapy, and taking responsibility can help in personal growth and improve relationships.
Living with bipolar disorder can be challenging, and living with bipolar disorder over the holidays even more so. While there are many great things about holidays, bipolar stability often isn’t one of them. I believe we need to embrace the good parts of the holidays while protecting our mental health for after the holidays, too. Here are holiday tips when dealing with bipolar disorder.
Magic mushrooms (psilocybin) are being looked at as a treatment for bipolar disorder. And good news came out this week about using psilocybin in the treatment of bipolar type II depression. Specifically, the results in a very small clinical sample were extremely promising. That said, there are things you need to know before you run out and buy magic mushrooms from your local drug dealer. Here’s what we know about magic mushrooms working for bipolar disorder.
Because of the black box warnings (also known as boxed warnings) on antidepressants, many people think that antidepressants cause suicidal thinking, suicidal behavior, and suicide. The black box warning on antidepressants is, after all, the strongest warning the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can place on a medication. However, the black box warning on antidepressants was authored almost 20 years ago, and we have learned a lot and have synthesized a lot of data since then. Does this more recent data indicate that antidepressants increase suicidality or cause suicides, and what can we learn from this new information? Should we be scared of the risk of suicidality with antidepressants? (TL;DR here.)
I have spent years of my life with bipolar medication not working — or, at least, bipolar medication not working to the extent that one would want. I know this isn’t the common refrain around medication — the common refrain being, take bipolar medication and get better — but it is a reality that many of us live with. So, the question is, what do you do when the bipolar medication isn’t working? What do you do when you have treatment-resistant bipolar disorder?
As most of you know, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline morphed into the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline last year. This has broadened its scope and who it aims to serve. Millions have accessed the 988 Lifeline through calls, texts, and messages in the last year. This is extremely impressive. But how successful is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at helping people, and would people call 988 again if they were in distress?
World Mental Health Day 2023 has been given the theme by the World Health Organization (WHO): mental health is a universal human right. I couldn’t agree more. But what does this mean? What is the impact of that statement? There’s more controversy there than you might think. The idea that mental health is a universal human right means one thing to the WHO, but it means something a little bit more to me.
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