mental illness issues Archives - Page 31 of 53 - Natasha Tracy Bipolar Expert

When it Comes to Mental Illness and Depression, Stigma Kills

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 16, 2014

The Bipolar Burble welcomes guest author Joshua R Beharry, a Vancouver, B.C., Canada-based mental health advocate.

I developed depression in silence.

I remember the months before I became severely depressed; it was the summer of 2009. Deadlines at work had me more stressed than usual and I was increasingly unhappy with my lack of social life. I noticed my thoughts becoming more erratic and desperate but I didn’t know what this meant or where it could lead. I was 22 years old.

When anyone asked how I was doing, I lied and said I was fine. I didn’t tell anyone I wasn’t sleeping well, that my appetite was down or that I felt weaker and more tired than normal.

I saw mental illness only as a label and I didn’t want to admit I may be having issues with my own mental health. I didn’t know enough about depression to see all the warning signs. I kept silent as my thoughts grew darker and I began to fantasize about ending my life.

Depression Overwhelmed Me

I remember the night I realized I could no longer hide my depressed thoughts. I lay in bed unable to fall asleep, my stomach cramped. I felt hot, sweaty and nauseous. It was one of the longest nights of my life.

New Year’s Resolutions When Your Bipolar is Trying to Kill You

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jan 1, 2014

I recently posted an article at HealthyPlace where I recommended some New Year’s resolutions for people with bipolar disorder. These resolutions included:

Resolving to deal with anger
Resolving to initiate a bipolar routine
Resolving to track your moods
Resolving to reduce your stress
Resolving to learn anxiety- and stress-reduction techniques

I believe that all of these are solid, serious, doable resolutions that can improve 2014 for someone with bipolar disorder.

But when I look back at my 2013 and ahead to be 2014, I can only think of one thing: I just want my bipolar to be better.

My Psychiatrist’s Reaction to EMPowerplus/Truehope Treatment

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 30, 2013

I was really nervous to have to tell my doctor that I had decided to take the Truehope product EMPowerplus. I was pretty sure he was going to either laugh or chastise me out of his office. My anxiety about it was so bad that I didn’t want to mention it at all. Of course, that would have been a poor decision. Allowing anxiety to override your logic is never the right call.

So I told him and surprisingly, he was nonplussed. He just sort of said, “Alright then.”

A Bipolar Holiday Guide for Stability over the Holidays

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 18, 2013

It is not lost on me that next week is the holidays. Whether you’re religious, or, like me, just like a finely-dressed tree, there tends to be a lot going on.

So here is a bipolar holiday guide on maintaining bipolar stability over the holidays, which, as we all know, can be tough.

Losing Hope for Bipolar Wellness When a Role Model Gets Sick

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 15, 2013

There are many reasons I don’t typically talk about my own, personal, current mood and treatments. I’ve written about why I don’t write about my bipolar treatments here. Similarly, I don’t talk about my current bipolar mood state because my writings are less about me, in particular, and more about the experience of bipolar, in general. I believe that’s one of the reasons my writing is so popular. I take my personal experience of bipolar disorder and use it as a springboard to speak to what it’s like to experience bipolar for so many.

But one of the other reasons I don’t talk about my personal, current mood state is because I’m a private person. I know this seems weird considering how much I share online. But I’m careful with what I share, and what I don’t.

And finally, I know that I’m a role model for some people and I don’t talk about my own current mood episode because I don’t want other people to lose hope. In spite of recent accusations, I do actually bring hope to thousands of people with bipolar and people who love those with bipolar disorder and I don’t want to do anything to injure that hope.

More Ways to Die from Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 4, 2013

As I said last week, bipolar disorder can be a lethal disease. My point was that suicide can be a symptom of bipolar disorder and this is the cause of death for many people.

However, there are other ways to die from bipolar disorder as well. In fact, suicide is not even the most common cause.

A Bipolar Life Without Medication – a Possibility?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 2, 2013

As people who read this bipolar blog know, I’m on medication, lots of it, actually. Nevertheless, many people (philosophically, even me) wish to be medication-free. I’m the first one to say this usually isn’t possible; however, today I’m talking with CEO and Medical Director Dr. Kim Dennis from Timberline Knolls (a sponsor) about bipolar disorder without medication.

Can You Die From Bipolar Disorder?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 25, 2013

In short: yes, you can die from bipolar disorder.

Now, I know, many people would disagree with me on this, after all, bipolar disorder doesn’t produce a tumour in your body that will eventually kill you, it doesn’t create plaque in your arteries to eventually kill you and it doesn’t spread a virus through your cells to eventually kill you. I know, bipolar is not like that.

But, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), suicide takes over 35,000 lives a year in the United States and many of these are our brothers and sisters with bipolar disorder. You think that suicide isn’t the same thing as death by bipolar disorder? Think again.

Creating Art through the Manias and Depressions of Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 20, 2013

The Bipolar Burble blog welcomes guest author somePlaywrights, a collaboration of two writers based in Annapolis and Brooklyn, who face, seemingly weekly, a struggle to succeed as a creative, bipolar collaboration.

On its own, the practice of creating art is bizarre: fusing this abstract feeling with that concrete image, trying to convince others of something only you can see, and all the while endeavoring to balance concept with content. With the addition of bipolar disorder, a condition that is just as, if not more, slippery, firm, and fleeting, the artistic process often teeters between genius and delusion, between coherence and disunion. It is in this realm, where mania meets medium and depression intersects with artistic production, that we, as bipolar artists, must carve and claim our collective space…