Category: Self care
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Cocooning
Cocooning Recovering from social demands From social interaction From caring for others My son My husband My parents From caring about too many From caring too much You may not hear from me You may not read much from me I’m depleted I need to refill Not to care so much about others But to…
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Fingers Moving, Fingers Typing
Fingers need to move nervous energy prompts them to keep busy Just as my thoughts my mind will not be silent My fingers will not be still so I play Solitaire or now type I imagine myself crocheting as I did long ago as a young girl Used to crochet needlepoint embroider and sew Used…
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Connecting With Others #Online
Guest Post: Connecting With Others Online – by Fliss Baker for NewLifeOutlook Connecting with other people is vital to surviving, living and enjoying life. It is imperative in managing our mental health; we are encouraged to talk, talk and talk some more about how we feel and how our illnesses affect us. However, the stigma of bipolar disorder…
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Kitt's New Media Kit
Getting ready for BlogHer16 I set up a new Media kit page. Noticed that my statistics have fallen this year. Yes, 2016 is not over. Still, it is more than half over, and I’m at lower than half the views I had last year. I know I’ve been busy with caregiving. I’m blogging more about it and less about…
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Arm's Length
My psychiatrist has asked me numerous times how my sister has handled my parents differently than I have? How has she protected herself? How has she kept herself from being so enmeshed in the family dynamic? The answer is that my sister says no. She keeps my parents at arm’s length. She didn’t answer the…
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Conferences This Summer
In August, I will attend (or at least I registered for and paid to attend) two conferences: #BlogHer16: Experts Among Us in Los Angeles and NAMI California: Back to the Future – Building on the Past for a Better Tomorrow in Burlingame, a suburb of San Francisco near SFO airport. I’m kind of freaking…
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What If I Don't Blog About Bipolar?
Recently I’ve been blogging about caregiving and about exhaustion more than about living with bipolar disorder. That said, obviously coping with major life events, such as taking on the role of caregiver of two parents struggling with dementia, is a HUGE stressor and potential trigger for mood cycling. Cocooning in bed right now. Treated myself…
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Caregiver’s Bill of Rights
National Aphasia Association Caregiver’s Bill of Rights I have the right to take care of myself. This is not an act of selfishness. It will give me the ability to take better care of my loved one. I have the right to seek help from others even though my loved one may object. I recognize…
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Journal Entries – Late April
April 21, 2016 So here I am writing, journaling, trying to get burden off my back, out of my chest. Too heavy. Too painful. Not exceedingly so, but like a long keen. Yes, I am keening, mourning the loss of my parents. They are alive, but I mourn their loss of cognition. Nick [my husband]…