Category: Bipolar Disorder
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LMFT
Back in 1990 I got an MA in psychology from New College of California. I worked hard over the next two years to rack up the then required 3,000 internship hours, and study for and pass both the written and oral exams to become what was then called a Marriage Family and Child Counselor. The…
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To Work or Not to Work
My past experience has been that in the workplace I become overstimulated, that I take on too many responsibilities, overwork, and burn out. Taking care of my husband and son, as well as myself, taxes me as it is. I need social contact, but still feel that it must be restrained, limited, flexible to my…
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Not Just Dysthymia
Not until I was 39, was I diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. I am now 50. At 39, I recognized the symptoms of mania in myself, euphoria, the feeling of being called by God to a particular church, to a particular path. The diagnostic criteria have changed over the years. For two decades, I had been…
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Forgot to Take Meds
Last night I forgot to take my Depakote (actually I take generic Divalproex). I was tossing and turning in bed with racing thoughts and the impulse to write and edit. Finally, I took Sonata (once again, I take the generic version, but I do not recall the generic name) and fell asleep. This morning, I…
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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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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.…