Author: Kitt O’Malley
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Grounded by the Flu
The whole family got the stomach flu. Grounded me. Slowed me down. On the positive side, I caught up on sleep and am on a more even keel. Not hypomanic as long as I feel this fatigued. Not as productive, either. At least my mind is at rest — for now.
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Freestyling It
Neither line dancing nor Zumba are for me. Don’t enjoy doing the same thing, the same way at the same time as everyone else. Goes against my nature. I’m more of a free-style dancer, mixing up my moves, varying dance styles, dancing with the beat, then at double beat, then slowly to the melody. Never…
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No More Grad School For Now
Okay, so the other night, or maybe it was in the morning, I’m not sure, through LinkedIn I checked out Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of Psychology and their PhD program in psychology. Got to thinking, do I want to pursue a PhD integrating theology and psychology? What they are doing is what interests me, yet…
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Lent | The Rites of Spring
For many, spring is a time of celebration and remembrance. – Deseret News, March 7, 2009 Two days ago was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Although I did not have my forehead smudged with ash, I do acknowledge my human mortality, I mourn and begin a period of atonement. For dust you are…
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Flurries of Hypomania
Or, is it just that I had iced tea yesterday with my lunch? Since I’ve been mildly hypomanic, I enrolled in my psychiatrist’s therapy group to take a look at what happens to me when I am in a social situation. For me, social stimulation, like the sun, can trigger hypomania, anxiety, and mood cycling.…
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Mother and Wife
When my son was young, I juggled working outside the home with mothering and homemaking. By the time he was four, I found it unsustainable and ended up in a psychiatric hospital for two weeks and then months in partial hospitalization spending my days in structured group therapy sessions. Since then I have been a…
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Playing Therapist
At group this week, I played therapist. I was a PATIENT, not the therapist, who, by the way, calmly and ably led the group. For a while, I took over. I could not contain my reaction to what I heard. The part of me that reacts to perceived danger and is impassioned about protecting people…
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Freaking Out
Both my husband and my mother have expressed concern that I am ramping up (becoming hypomanic and experiencing mixed emotional states) as I’ve started the Ticket to Work process. I have had trouble sleeping, my mind is racing, I’m anxious, and I’ve shed a few tears. I put in a call to my psychiatrist. Both…
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Do I Need an Editor?
Do I need an editor? Do I need to organize my writing into a more cohesive whole? Or, does this format fit what I am trying to accomplish? What is it I am trying to accomplish? I believe that I have a ministry to educate others on mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder, more to the…