Bipolar blog Archives - Page 9 of 82 - Natasha Tracy Bipolar Expert

Magical Thinking Harms People with Mental Illness

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 16, 2021

I hate magical thinking. I most especially hate magical thinking around mental illness and mental health. And that’s because magical thinking actually harms people with mental illness, people like me. And many, people believe in magical thinking without realizing it. In fact, whole bestselling books have been written and devoured that posit magical thinking (the Secret, anyone?). So let’s dismantle magical thinking and stop it from harming people with mental illness.

Do You Really Have Bipolar, Not Depression? Soft Signs of Bipolar

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 7, 2021

Have you ever wondered if you really have bipolar disorder and not major depression? Did you know there are signs that can point to bipolar disorder outside of what we normally consider to be the diagnostic symptoms of bipolar disorder? And did you also know that few doctors take these types of signs into account? If you feel like you have bipolar disorder but have been diagnosed with major depression, you’ll want to know about these signs because diagnosis directly affects treatment, and treatment directly affects you getting better.

Fighting Anti-Scientific Thinking and Antipsychiatry

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 19, 2021

Today, the Burble is honored to welcome guest poster, Marvin Ross. Marvin is an author and well-known advocate for the seriously mentally ill.

I fight anti-scientific thinking and antipsychiatry. Thanks to the reaction by many against measures to help minimize the spread of Covid-19, I have begun to see the common thread underlying the opposition to masks, social isolation, proper psychiatric treatment, and vaccinations. That thread is anti-science thinking and the huge growth in the past number of years in what is called “alternative medicine.”

Trying to Control You By Not Listening to ‘No’ — ‘No’ and Boundaries

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 18, 2021

Some people try to control us. Some people try to control us for altruistic reasons, and others for darker reasons. Either way, though, I think most of us would prefer not to be controlled by another person. But it can be hard to tell when someone subtly tries to control you. One thing I learned many years ago, though, is that if someone doesn’t listen to you when you say, “no,” they are trying to control you — whether they realize it or not.

Living Through Bipolar Mania — Learning to Live with the Mania Monster

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 5, 2021

Bipolar Burble blog welcomes guest poster Bob Krulish. Bob has bipolar type 1 and today, is talking about living through mania and living with the mania monster.

I became symptomatic with bipolar disorder when I was about 16 years old, after my dad abruptly left in the middle of the night, never to return. My mom and I searched endlessly for him, driving the streets at night, shining a flashlight into dark corners of our tiny Florida town, looking for him like a lost puppy. I knew he wasn’t there; she knew he wasn’t there, but looking gave us a sense of control. That’s when my bipolar symptoms started to peek through. At first, the signs of mania were small and quiet, knocking around inside my mind like a tiny, restless mouse. There was cyclical thinking; there were obsessive tendencies, and, of course, there were delusions of grandeur.

Bipolar Depression — Stop Telling Me to ‘Cry It Out’

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 3, 2021

I have a lot of experience with bipolar depression, and I hate it when people tell me to “cry it out.” I find this one of the most useless pieces of advice you can give a person who’s upset, particularly one that’s already crying. It’s built on the idea that you can cry out a sorrow of some sort as if there’s a beginning, middle and end. Well, I can’t comment for people without bipolar disorder, but for people with bipolar depression, “crying it out” isn’t an option.

Treatment Without Consent and AOT Needed for Those with Lack of Mental Illness Awareness – A True Story

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Apr 23, 2021

Bipolar Burble blog welcomes Lynn Nanos, a mobile emergency psychiatric social worker from Massachusetts. She writes about one patient’s experience with psychosis and the need for treatment without consent and assisted outpatient treatment (AOT).

I evaluate many patients with serious mental illness who lack awareness of being ill. Those who don’t understand they are ill, those who don’t have insight, are unlikely to initiate outpatient treatment. Here’s a story of one man who needed treatment without consent for his own safety.

Why Don’t Doctors Listen to People with Bipolar Disorder?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Apr 14, 2021

Doctors often don’t listen to people with bipolar disorder or other mental illnesses. In fact, most people with bipolar disorder know, the instant a doctor sees “bipolar disorder” on your chart, you’re screwed. Now, don’t get me wrong, not every doctor is the same, and I have had some doctors treat me with the same care I suspect they would offer anyone else. That said, on the whole, doctors don’t listen to people with bipolar disorder. Here’s why, and here’s how to fight it.

Let’s Build Bipolar Pride Instead of Ending Bipolar Stigma

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Apr 13, 2021

Today’s guest post is by Curtis Hier. He is a 34-year public school teacher with bipolar I disorder. Today, Curtis discusses how we should strive for bipolar pride over just ending bipolar stigma.

Literature calling for an end to mental illness stigma has been abundant for the past 20 years, to little effect. It has been abundant online, too. End the Stigma was a popular blog with 36.4 K Twitter followers and 42,609 Facebook likes. The blog apparently had more than 17,000 hits. As a new bipolar blogger, I can only hope to reach stats like that.