Tag Archives: mental illness

Mental Illness Awareness Week and Other Stuff

I’m actually a little late in writing this post because it’s almost over, but the first full week in October is, indeed, Mental Illness Awareness Week. (This is different from May, which is Mental Health Month.) I don’t know exactly how (or if) it should be celebrated, but for those of us who carry aContinue reading “Mental Illness Awareness Week and Other Stuff”

Five Years

Today marks the fifth anniversary of my bipolar diagnosis. In some ways it seems like yesterday, while at the same time it’s like it happened half a lifetime ago. I’ll never forget how I felt when Dr. Awesomesauce pronounced the words that changed my life forever. “I’m diagnosing you with bipolar disorder not otherwise specified,” heContinue reading “Five Years”

Suicide Is Painless

…or so went the theme song to TV’s M*A*S*H*. Truth is, it’s painless only for the one who completes it; for everyone left in its wake, it’s a clusterf##k of epic proportions. A friend of mine discovered this recently when a close relative, an untreated bipolar who was having marital problems, suddenly and shockingly took hisContinue reading “Suicide Is Painless”

Three Things I Wish People Knew About Bipolar Disorder

Even though I’m doing well and have absolutely NO symptoms, I thought I’d throw in something educational for the folks with good intentions but who are clueless as to what those of us with bipolar go through. Here are a few of the things I wish people knew about the illness. 1. We didn’t ask forContinue reading “Three Things I Wish People Knew About Bipolar Disorder”

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Now that Will and I have secured a place to live and are moving next weekend, the inevitable question of whether to tell our new housemates about our, ahem, health issues has arisen. I hate the idea of concealing them because it’s going to be awkward when the inevitable happens—it’s a small house after all—and I don’t want theContinue reading “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

On Stigma: World Mental Health Day

Today, October 10th, 2014, is World Mental Health Day—a day to acknowledge the importance of mental health, and a day to educate others about mental illness. Here’s my contribution. Today I’m going to talk about stigma. I’ve discussed it in this blog at times, but I’ve never really gone into it in depth because itContinue reading “On Stigma: World Mental Health Day”

A Fine Mess

And now it begins: The enormity of what I’ve lost, am losing, and am about to lose is beginning to crash in on me, and it’s staggering. My unemployment benefits are running out. I can’t find a “real” job. Will’s Social Security isn’t enough to get us into even a small apartment, ergo, that means we are goingContinue reading “A Fine Mess”

Scrambled Letters, Scrambled Brain

You know you’re in for a bad night when even your most effective means for shutting down your brain doesn’t work. I have this mental picture I use when I’m having trouble getting my mind off something unpleasant: I visualize a giant stop sign right in front of me and say STOP out loud. It usually works by distracting meContinue reading “Scrambled Letters, Scrambled Brain”