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Drinking alcohol with bipolar is a no-no, but over the holidays, it can be hard to remember that. After all, at holiday parties, everyone seems to be drinking. What might help is understanding why people with bipolar disorder shouldn't imbibe alcohol.
My battle with anorexia was never just about caloric restriction or exercise compulsion. Those behaviors were surface-level indicators of a more complex issue underneath. The main fear that drove my illness had nothing to do with food itself—on the contrary, I longed for nourishment and sustenance. My source of terror was a loss of control. When life seemed too chaotic to manage or even make sense of, I found solace (however fleeting) in at least being able to dominate myself. But I have a much different outlook now. As I continue on this healing journey, it becomes increasingly obvious to me that eating disorder recovery means accepting when I lack control.
Facing verbal abuse is an awful situation to be in, regardless of your age or the circumstances. Often, if someone is dealing with verbal abuse, they don't have the strength or confidence to stand up for themselves. This situation can allow the abuse to continue and worsen over time. However, some people are able to face abusers and call them out on their behavior when they aren't the victim of the situation. Why is it easier for some people to stand up against others? 
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about identity labels. More specifically, I've been thinking about whether identity labels help or hurt us. In today's post, I will look at the ways that identity labels support us and, at times, the ways they might hinder us.
I deal with schizophrenia anxiety around COVID-19. The pandemic hit me especially hard. I still haven't recovered my former level of social activities, and much of my time is spent indoors and alone -- isolated. I still wear masks in the grocery store and don't dine indoors in restaurants (I live in a warm climate). When most of the world went on with their lives and returned to normal, my paranoia and anxiety kept me stuck in a loop of fear, worry, concern, and the possibility of adverse outcomes. Even though we took many precautions against contracting the virus, my husband returned to work over a year ago, and last week, he started having symptoms. Two days later, I did, too. After a few days, we both tested positive for COVID-19. 
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and relationships can pose some unique challenges. The constant fear of rejection looms around every corner, making it difficult to fully embrace the positive moments that relationships bring. Even when surrounded by love and support, the fear of impending abandonment can act as a barrier, preventing the full enjoyment of the positive aspects of a relationship. This struggle underscores the complexity of managing BPD within the context of interpersonal connections.
As my time writing for HealthyPlace ends, it presents the perfect opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months and prepare for what lies ahead. Before I leave, I would like to share what I have learned about myself while writing this blog and how it has reinforced my motivation to keep moving forward.
Sharing gambling addiction recovery stories really matters. As much as we discuss gambling and addiction, the picture that’s painted is that of hopelessness. Granted, the thrill and hope of a big win have a dangerous grip that leads people down the path of compulsive gambling, but it is the stories of hope and triumph that give people with addiction the hope they need to overcome the struggle.
With verbal abuse, avoidance may be present with the abuser, the target, or both, depending on the situation. This tactic has two sides that can be helpful or harmful based on the contributing factors. Avoidance in verbal abuse is common.
It's the holidays again, and I've found that this is a good time of year to not only say thanks but actively practice gratitude to help my anxiety. I've learned that gratitude can be a very powerful emotion and can actually help reduce stress and lessen the symptoms of anxiety that I experience.

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Dan R
I feel like I need to apologize to everyone. I should not posted all that about my ab/dl lifestyle. In no way do I want to turn this into an ab/dl discussion group. I just posted about that because I thought it might be relevant to the topic of discussion but I probably shouldn’t have posted all that about it. I really don’t know why I have those feelings so strongly about ab/dl stuff but when I regress those are just the thoughts and feelings I have. They say that being bipolar; you always have that feeling that you have done something wrong and I feel like I need to apologize.
Natasha Tracy
Hi Thalia,

I can't tell anyone what to do with their bipolar. One thing I can tell you, though, is the more episodes you have and the worse they are, the harder they become to treat. Your prognosis gets worse. The idea is to keep a person at baseline on medication so that doesn't happen.

Here is one study that talks about that: https://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0213-61632006000100003

Here is another: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4733595/

Best of luck. I hope you stay at baseline.

-- Natasha Tracy
Sarah
Hi, I'm just wondering... Did your husband know about your mental health and the challenges that do happen sometimes daily in every day life? Was he interested in learning more about it at all or did he just say basically that it's ok, he can handle it and he doesn't judge? I've been married for over 21 years now, and really hope to find answers to a lot of questions I wish someone would have asked me...
T S
I'm a single mother three children ages 20, 18 and 14. My daughter the oldest, moved in with my sister when she was 15 because of his appointments Etc and behavior was already just all about him. He is the youngest one 14 now. My 18-year-old son moved out and moved in with his girlfriend 2 years ago because of the same thing. I am a single mother, there's no one that wants to deal with him and his outwards he's been having them since he's about three and of course they've gotten worse and worse over the years. None of my family will help me I have lost pretty much all my friends now. I can't work because you can only leave so many times to pick up your kid before you get fired. I've lost everything because I can't support us anymore. He has like 4 hours of school a week and for the library if that, Forever on services and other things have done no good he is been seeing doctors and in the services since he was in preschool now he refuses to go and he's too big for me to make him. So now he's not on any meds anymore and I am under constant barragement and I have talked to every school every therapist I have made phone calls I have called every mental health place in a 1500 mile radius and no one seems to ever be able to do anything. I've always been open about it and asked anyone I met or seen anyone if they remotely had any idea or name and places anything that could help no matter how much would give me anything. I have did all the things have been supposed to do all these years and then nothing works after a few years and I kind of give up and then I somehow try again and I'm at the end of my rope I don't even know where my rope is anymore. It's caused us to be homeless no no vehicles and he doesn't seem to care he's not suicidal so the acute care places won't take him anymore. When we were going all the time he was in the wraparound program and seeing therapist no home-based person all these things and that kept saying he needed to be in a residential and I've had four psychiatrists tell me that he was going to run me into the ground if something wasn't done. Yet, here we are nothing was done and now I have nothing he has nothing everyone has failed him and in turn me. My other kids won't even talk to me because that's all I talk about they want to talk about happy stuff but that's my life is I don't know what to do anymore. I called DCs on myself once, but apparently, you have to be on drugs for them to help. Trust me they we're incredibly surprised when I passed the test and they even asked me to take another one at the office the next day which I did. They think that I passed it somehow because I look terrible. I explained to them that's what has happened to me I've slowly deteriorated into whatever this is I am now. I need help. Last time I brought into the ER, which has been a while because previously mentioned reasons, I was told that the places didn't want to take him because he wasn't suicidal and I and cried and told them what about me what about me I'm suicidal please help me. They called security and gave me his release papers and had us escorted out. So no help there either. I've done this to the school his therapist psychiatrist pretty much anybody that will listen. This is the first time I've done this though. I don't know what to do anymore I guess I'm just
Neo
This issue is that this is basically just saying to change your perspective on things, but it doesn't say how. I literally cry when I answer a question wrong, even if it's something we're actively learning. I can't just unlearn it like that. How??