Bipolar Burble Blog Features Archives - Page 2 of 4

Exercise and Bipolar — Evidence and My Experience

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 2, 2019

Many suggest that exercise can help with bipolar disorder. For those of us with severe bipolar disorder, this is a bit frustrating. After all, if you can’t get out of bed, taking a brisk jog is right out of the question. And I’m a stellar example of someone who has always hated exercise — before bipolar and now with bipolar disorder. I’m also someone who has tried to exercise over and over again with great failure as a result. So today I want to talk about the evidence of exercise in bipolar disorder and my past year-and-a-half attempt to exercise.

Employment and Bipolar: How Working with Bipolar Feels

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Mar 6, 2019

Employment in bipolar disorder is a big topic and trying to work with bipolar disorder is no easy thing. If you have a job that requires the use of your brain, you’re going to have trouble if you have a brain illness like bipolar disorder. This is just logical. But what is this “trouble” like? What how does it really feel to work when you have bipolar disorder?

Bipolar — I Lied; I Don’t Have Good Days and Bad Days

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 11, 2019

I have bipolar and I lie. I have bipolar and I often feel my life is a lie. It isn’t lying...

The Most Radical Self-Care for Bipolar

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 30, 2019

Radical self-care is a thing I was thinking about this morning when I came up with the most radical self-care option for those with bipolar disorder (or any serious illness). It’s something some of us have tried but many of us don’t do because we’re often told we’re not supposed to. But radical self-care is about moving self-care up on your priority list and doing some of the things that society tells us not to do. So here’s the most radical self-care option those with bipolar disorder should consider.

Bipolar, Depression and Diet — The Evidence

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 23, 2019

Can your diet actually impact your depression or bipolar disorder? This is the question. While people claim that certain diets do help with mental illnesses like depression and bipolar disorder, the evidence just hasn’t been there. About the only thing the research can say is that eating an unhealthy, processed diet can lead to nutrient deficiencies and this can make mental illness outcomes worse. That’s it. And that makes perfect sense. But can your diet actually improve your bipolar disorder, depression or other mental health issue? Here’s what we know today.

10 Tips on How to Tell Someone You Have Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 3, 2019

At some point, those of us with bipolar need to tell others we have bipolar disorder; but the question is, how do you tell someone you have bipolar disorder in a way that avoids negative outcomes? This is something I have wrestled with and it’s something I get asked about a lot. Here are some tips on how to tell someone you have bipolar disorder.

Chronic Illness Requires Chronic Effort — It’s Ridiculous

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 20, 2018

Bipolar disorder is a chronic illness, a severe one for me, and I’ve found it requires chronic (read: Herculean and constant) effort. And no, I don’t just mean the effort needed to take medications or go to therapy and psychiatry appointments, I mean the effort required to do all the little things in life. I mean the fact that I need to somehow locate a massive amount of effort to get through the day — every day. Chronic illness requires effort that just doesn’t stop.

Why Would a Person with Mental Illness Stop Talking to You?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 6, 2018

I get variants of this question all the time: My friend with mental illness stopped talking to me, what do I do? It is both incredibly sad and very heartening question to get asked all the time. It’s incredibly sad because it means there are so many people with mental illness refusing to talk to people who care so much about them. The heartbreak when this happens is very, very real. On the other hand, it’s heartening in some ways because it means that these loved ones want to reach out anyway. These people asking me this question clearly care and are showing empathy to the person with mental illness and want to help. That’s a beautiful thing. So today I’m going to try to answer the question: Why would a person with mental illness stop talking to you?

Bipolar Disorder Type II Is ‘Real’ Bipolar Disorder Too

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Oct 17, 2018

I’ve been wanting to write about evidence that bipolar disorder type II really is bipolar disorder and really does exist. Why? Because some very vocal people have attacked me on this point. There is this ridiculous notion that bipolar disorder type II is made up just to sell more drugs and that I am pushing this evil agenda. But, well, I just haven’t had time to get the facts and evidence together for you. So today I just want to speak from my own experience — I have bipolar disorder type II and yes, it is real bipolar disorder.