Tomorrow morning I’m flying off to Japan to visit a friend for two weeks. I have to say I travelled loads in 2014, but most of that was work-related or just too short to really be relaxing, so going away for this long feels like a treat. I know that travelling is a huge trigger for me, and I only just started taking lithium, so I’m a bit wary about it all. However, my friend knows all about my situation and I’m sure she’ll be able to help me if something goes wrong. (more…)
acceptance
Bipolar and relationships
As of 1 January, 2015, I’m no longer a single woman. Once again, I have been tricked into the bizarre world of having a boyfriend. He’s amazingly caring and mentally stable, which is probably exactly what I need, but at the same time exactly what terrifies me most. (more…)
Accept the disorder or fight it?
Yesterday I met with my therapist to work on my relapse prevention plan. Basically, this means writing down any triggers that may cause a depressed or (hypo)manic episode, and the early signs of such episodes, so that in the end, you may be able to prevent an episode from spiraling out of control or, ideally, prevent them from happening at all. I had been doing quite well since I started taking the meds. However, the day before yesterday I kind of had a relapse – I don’t really know what else to call it – and ended up getting drunk and staying up ’till 4 am. I had the meeting with my therapist at 9, but didn’t wake up until 9:15 when he called me. Oops. (more…)
Road to acceptance
I’m still on the waiting list for a general personality test and thus still waiting for an official diagnosis. The process of waiting is wearing me out, but my mood has been relatively stable for the past weeks. In this case, ‘relatively stable’ means my mood hasn’t been stable at all – as a matter of fact, I’m having mood swings on a weekly or even daily basis – but it hasn’t been extreme enough to drastically limit my functioning.
Because I’ve been waiting for months and will still have to wait for a month or two (at least), and because I kept begging my psychiatrist for short-term solutions to deal with my symptoms in the meantime, she sent me to a therapist who can meet me a little more often and finally give me some practical advice.
Bipolar Bear 