Self-Talk: Managing Your Inner Voice

February 20, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

Self-talk is something we all do. In psychology they call it intrapersonal communication – or communication with oneself. It could be the voice of your mother in your head tell you to “take a jacket” or the voice of an old lover telling you that “you’re fat” or simply a recitation of the lyrics to YMCA for an hour at a time. However you do it, we all have it no matter how unconscious it may be.

And self-talk, like most things, can be used for good or for evil. Self-talk can be used to lift yourself up, make you resilient and help you get on with your day or self-talk can work to tear you down, defeat you and make you sleep on the couch for the rest of the afternoon. Self-talk is a double-edged swored.

And I would argue that due to the power of this particular sword, self-talk is one of the most important things to manage in the fight against mental illness.

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Recognition of Irritation and Anxiety

February 16, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

Self-harm is mentioned below.

When I was at university I was a busy girl. I was attending school full-time, working three part-time jobs and skydiving on the side. There wasn’t a lot of time for dilly-dally.

And, of course, through this I was also getting treatment for bipolar disorder. This was at a time when treatment has started becoming successful but we were still tweaking things to try and get the most from the medication. As most lab rats know, this means upping the dose.

And, one day, I was at work and suddenly found myself needing to excuse myself to the lady’s room so I could slice open my ankle.

Drat. Keep reading »

Telling Your Family You Have a Mental Illness – You’re Not OK

February 13, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

When I told my mother I had a mental illness, I’m pretty sure she didn’t believe me. She didn’t come right out and say it, but it was pretty clear she was suspicious. Once she did feel something was wrong, she was sure it could be fixed with vitamins and herbs.

It couldn’t.

And this is a pretty common reaction from family members. You have one of the hardest conversations of your life and the family member responds with, “you’re not sick.”

Or, “you look fine to me.”

Or, “you’re just being dramatic.”

Or many other things that will tell you that they don’t believe anything is wrong.

So how do you approach a family member and explain to them that everything is not OK.

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Why Didn’t Evolution Cull Bipolar Disorder? – Bipolar Benefits

February 9, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

Most, including myself, would argue that, particularly without treatment, bipolar disorder is a decrease in functioning. Untreated depression and mania disrupt every part of a life in negative ways – that’s what drives people to get treatment in the first place.

But if bipolar disorder is an illness and is a decrease in functioning, why hasn’t evolution naturally selected out bipolar disorder? Why do we still see bipolar disorder today?

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Bipolar Disorder, Depression and Psychosis

February 6, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

Bipolar disorder is associated with extremely high (mania/hypomania) and low (depressed) moods. This is typically seen with emotional changes, behavioral changes, energy changes and so on.

Psychosis, on the other hand is the presence of delusions and hallucinations. Delusions – false beliefs that persist in spite of the existence of contrary evidence – and hallucinations are most closely associated with schizophrenia.

However, symptoms of psychosis can occur in bipolar disorder and depression as well.
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Bipolar and a Broken Identity

February 2, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

There is a persistent myth that having bipolar disorder means you have a “broken identity,” or even, “split personality.” I would imagine the term “manic depression” (an older term for bipolar disorder) conjures up these images for some people. But I’m here to tell you, my identity is just fine as is my personality. Keep reading »

Bipolar Disorder and Drinking

January 30, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

Last night I drank.

Alcohol.

OK. You probably don’t need to alert the media. But I do need to alert you about the horrible effects alcohol can have on a person with bipolar disorder. Keep reading »

Psychiatric Drugs and Weight Gain + Video

January 26, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

Yes, psychiatric drugs can cause weight gain. It’s not a rumor; it’s not a myth; it’s true. It’s one of the most unfortunate things about medication.

But what can you do about drug-related weight gain? Keep reading »

Mental Illness Diagnosis Removes Responsibility from the Patient

January 22, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

As I work, I battle the misconceptions around mental illness. It feels like often, all day, every day, it’s the only thing I do. But I do it because I feel it’s important. I feel it matters. I feel it changes people’s lives.

And one of the misconceptions I’ve heard multiple times recently is about bipolar and mental illness diagnosis. That by accepting a diagnosis of a mental illness this somehow removes the responsibility from the individual for their own wellness. That, somehow, a mental illness diagnosis makes the patient weak because now they are looking for someone to “save” them or “cure” them.

Well nothing could be farther from the truth. Getting a mental illness diagnosis is only the first step in what a patient must do in order to recover. Keep reading »

Hatred Towards the Bipolar Community

January 19, 2012 / by / Breaking Bipolar

Today I was made aware of a site that went up specifically to make fun of, and show hatred towards, those with bipolar disorder. Specifically, the site is aimed at me and all those who use psychiatric services in the treatment of mental illness. Whoever wrote the site feels it’s OK to take advantage of people with an illness, people who are in pain.

Well, it’s not OK. We’re not a joke. We are people. Real, flesh and blood people. And we do not accept your hatred. I do not accept your hatred.
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