I believe I wasn’t diagnosed as bipolar until I was 19 due to my daily, rigorous exercise routines in middle school and high school. I played sports year around, and I never gave myself off days; often doing extra running after games. Even in the summers I would exercise daily. I was addicted to exercise, …
High school mania
After I was diagnosed and came to accept my diagnosis, a certain day in high school suddenly made much more sense to me. It was a Friday morning of my senior year. It was the beginning of volleyball season, and we had a tournament. We all had to wake up at an un-Godly hour because …
My first day
My first day at the hospital was on the Saturday following my 75 hour bout without sleep. I went there every weekday after that for a few weeks, but my assigned psychiatrist discharged me somewhat unexpectedly. The weeks I went to the out-patient facility are a blur to me now, and I cannot differentiate my …
My take Fridays: My take on dogs (Part II)
On Fridays I will choose a topic on which to give my take. Take being a nice word for opinion. I will simply share my thoughts on whatever random topic comes to mind. I look forward to seeing where this section leads us. My post last week about dogs was the story about how I …
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I’m not going to get pregnant
I like my psychiatrist. He’s a little quirky, but he is kind and very good at what he does. He doesn’t just prescribe my medication, he is also interested in how I’m doing on a larger scale. I see him every four months, so a lot can happen in my life in between my appointments. …
Dear Medicine, thanks for stabilizing me…
When I was first diagnosed, my doctors did not have to go through the entire pharmacy to find what medication worked for me. I am taking the same medicine I took when I was diagnosed in 2011. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. It’s characterized by extreme moods. People with bipolar disorder have mania up …
Continue reading "Dear Medicine, thanks for stabilizing me…"
My take Fridays: My take on dogs (Part I)
On Fridays I will choose a topic on which to give my take. Take being a nice word for opinion. I will simply share my thoughts on whatever random topic comes to mind. I look forward to seeing where this section leads us. Dogs are the best. There is just no way around it. Growing …
Continue reading "My take Fridays: My take on dogs (Part I)"
The saints who are my parents
The week after going 75+ hours without sleep, and the ensuing psychotic break, I started going to an out-patient facility during the day. My mom and dad both worked, and there was no way I could stay home alone, so the facility was our only option. I would go from about 9:00 am until 4:00 …
I am not bipolar, or am I?
To save time and energy, when I tell people I have bipolar disorder, I actually phrase it, “I am bipolar.” I’m all about mincing words, so describing it as “I am bipolar” cuts out an entire word. Winning! Some people have tried to convince me that saying I am bipolar is demeaning towards myself. They …
It’s a beautiful thing…
I have always had an aversion to taking medicine. In middle school and high school, I often refused to take pain killers even when I had the makings of a migraine. Going to the doctor has been similarly disdained by me. But guess what? My illness is not conducive with an aversion to medicine, nor …