mental illness issues Archives - Page 16 of 51 - Bipolar Burble Blog

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?

Pressure to Function Perfectly Because of Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Oct 10, 2018

I feel like there’s a huge amount of pressure on me to function perfectly because I have bipolar disorder. While everyone wants to do their best, certainly, I feel pressure to do the best just to prove that a person with bipolar can. It’s like I’m letting everyone with bipolar disorder down if I don’t function perfectly.

The Connection Between Anxiety and Pain

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 20, 2018

I believe anxiety and pain are connected. I think so, and I’m not the only one who does. I, unfortunately, have been experiencing this pain-anxiety link for months now.

Suicide Isn’t a Dirty Word — Talking Suicide and Bipolar

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 12, 2018

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and so I want to talk suicide and bipolar. But I don’t just want to talk about suicide and bipolar disorder, I want to straight talk about it. I don’t want to get caught up in stigma or political correctness or whitewashing the pain. Because I believe we need to really talk about suicide to show that suicide is not a dirty word and to help all those who struggle with it.

How to Develop Insight into Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 22, 2018

In my last article, I talked about how many with bipolar disorder don’t have insight; so, the next question is, how do you develop insight into bipolar disorder if you recognize you don’t have it? Developing bipolar disorder insight isn’t necessarily easy – it requires looking inward and doing the work – but it is possible.

Why Don’t People Have Bipolar Disorder Insight?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 16, 2018

Insight into bipolar disorder is critical. Insight into anyone’s life is a good idea but for those with a mental illness, it’s vital. It’s a big part of what makes managing bipolar disorder possible. But so many people don’t have insight into bipolar disorder. Why is that?

Mental Illness Symptoms You Can’t See

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 17, 2018

Mental illness is considered an invisible illness and that’s because there are many mental illness symptoms you can’t see. In fact, most of the worst symptoms of many mental illnesses can’t be seen. This causes many problems for people with mental illness. Because mental illness symptoms can’t be seen they’re often not thought of as real – but mental illness symptoms are as real as the pain of a two-by-four to the head, trust me.

Bipolar Feels Like a Trauma

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 28, 2018

Some would argue trauma can cause bipolar disorder. I would argue bipolar itself, feels like a trauma. I’m not suggesting bipolar disorder de facto gives you posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but I am saying the trauma reactions seen in trauma survivors are similar to what I experience with chronic, obstructive, severe bipolar disorder.