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Amanda_HP
We asked Cristina Fender to respond to the following question: With all the stigma surrounding mental health and specifically bipolar disorder, why did you chose to come forward and talk/blog about having bipolar disorder?
As a follow up to the importance of implementing relaxation techniques into our lives, I want to share with you why yoga is my favorite relaxation technique and a great anxiety tool. It always amazes me just how refreshed and rejuvenated I feel after completing a yoga session. Even 20-30 minutes can greatly improve my mood. I feel like I have washed my slate clean, opened up the windows and let some fresh air in, and I get a burst of energy. Meditation is so important to reduce the stress in our lives.
Who hasn't forgotten what they were about to say in a conversation, or forgotten why they entered a room? Forgetfulness is part of life. So what makes plain ole forgetfulness different than the ADHD variety?
At this past appointment, my psychiatric nurse offered to add another 300 mg of Lithium to my bipolar medication cocktail. She wrote me out a prescription and I accepted it tentatively. Do I want to be more medicated? Do I want the side effect of shakes to return? What am I doing?
Researchers find there’s some truth to the expression of being “bored to death”. Here are 3 ADHD ways to stave off the Reaper.
Chronic anxiety sufferers can greatly benefit from learning relaxation techniques. Relaxation is a practical coping strategy used to help manage stress in our lives. While taking a hot bath or watching TV can be relaxing, in order to have a noticeable effect on our anxiety we need a regular daily practice of some form of relaxation or meditation. This is important because we need to balance out all of the heightened intense feelings (heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, muscle tension, etc.) our bodies experience when in the fight or flight mode.
Amanda_HP
I was reading one of the self-injury conference transcripts on HealthyPlace about getting help for self-harm.  In it, Dr. Sharon Farber, therapist and author of When The Body Is The Target: Self-Harm, Pain and Traumatic Attachments, discusses her belief that self-injury is an addictive behavior.  And it got me thinking, like many addicts, do self-injurers carry on their self-injurious behaviors throughout their lives, do they face relapses over time, and is it something they manage, much like any other addict who fights the urge to return to the bottle or some other addictive substance?
It’s hard to trust my psychiatric nurse. How do you trust someone completely who could turn around and put you in a mental hospital? I used to tell her what was going on with me in small doses. She was on a need to know basis. And, then one day, I began to tell her everything. She constantly tells me that I have a lack of coping skills, but I disagree. It’s not the coping skills that are holding me back. It’s my bipolar disorder.
Amanda_HP
I began self-injuring at age 13, after I felt like I wasn't understood by anyone and fell into a deep depression (What Is Self-Harm, Self-Injury?). Fights with my parents, having a hard time with school, and general anxiety prompted me to self-injure for the first time, because I felt like it calmed my nerves and alleviated my anger almost instantly. From there, I began using self-injury to respond to almost every emotional situation - be it sad, angry, disappointed, depressed, or general thoughts of self-loathing and body image. I felt like it numbed all of my emotional reactions and I began to depend on it.
I caught the bus on time, but did I catch the right bus? Learning to laugh at our ADHD mistakes helps us keep our self-esteem intact.

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Natasha Tracy
Hi Sam,

Thank you for your comment. I'm sorry you're having such overwhelming experiences. That sounds hard.

I would say that when I get really wrapped up in talking to myself because of hypomania, it's similar but I don't feel like I'm in an imagined place or dreaming. That's the part that may be concerning.

If you're experiencing distress because of these experiences, you absolutely should tell your doctor -- and make it clear that it's causing your distress. It does sounds like it falls into the mild psychosis category, but that doesn't occur with cyclothymia. That only occurs in bipolar I. Of course, you may be experiencing bipolar and psychotic symptoms, just in an unusual way. (There is a category of bipolar disorder for this called "Other Specified Bipolar and Related Disorder.") https://www.healthyplace.com/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-types/what-are-the-types-of-bipolar-disorder

Experiences like that are normally treated with antipsychotics. A low dose of one of those medications may be just what you need. Antipsychotics are serious medication, though, so you want to carefully consider whether you think it's worth taking them. Thoroughly discussing your options with your doctor should help you make that decision: https://www.healthyplace.com/thought-disorders/schizophrenia-articles/antipsychotic-medications-for-treating-psychotic-illness

If you choose to go down the medication route, go slowly and continually assess along the way. There are many antipsychotics available, so it can take time to find the right one for you.

It's really good that you've recognized these issues in yourself. Now you can work on lessening them.

Good luck.

-- Natasha Tracy
Amanda F.
To Cassie Peterson- I am 16 and just recieved my Sacrement of 10th grade confirmation on May19th.All of us girls had to wear,white,poofy,short sleeve,floor length dresses with a veil,wrist length gloves and under our dresses,a white undershirt with a 10 ply thick cloth diaper,white adult size rubberpants,white tights and the white patent leather shoes! The parish gave each of us girls the white rubberpants and our moms had to make the diaper.Our tights had to be the high waist kind to completely cover our diaper and rubberpants.Our moms used baby powder on us when they put the diaper and rubberpants on us,so we all smelled of babypowder! It was a little embarrassing for all of us girls,as the boys knew we all had to wear the diaper and rubberpants under our tights.Towards the end of my party,mom took the diaper off of me and i had to wear the rubberpants under the tights untill bedtime!
Wboobo
Not helpful but very kind and very professional
Carol
I am so sorry to hear you are battling myeloma - horrible disease. I feel for you and understand your post completely!!