As someone who suffers from bi-polar disorder, you have to stop and take a look at the big picture. You face more daily challenges than the average person but what does your big picture look like? Do you have your health? Do you have a small group of friends that have your back? All families…

Deciding whether it is time to give up depends on whether you are facing a temporary challenge that needs rest or a harmful situation that requires a change in direction. Signs It May Be Time to Walk Away • Chronic Unhappiness: Your experience is consistently more stressful or painful than rewarding.• Value Misalignment: The goal,…

If you suffer from bipolar disorder, every single dispute that takes place in your life is a losing proposition. You must lose because you cannot defend yourself for fear of being perceived as manic and then possibly being placed in the hospital. The best course of action in every situation is to give up. Don’t…

There are times when you have to take stock in your relationship. Sometimes we find that we are still a couple despite the enormous amount of red flags and disconnects that exist. My recent relationship was toxic and although I realized this, I stayed because it was easier to stay than go. It takes guts…

Couples with at least one partner managing bipolar disorder experience higher divorce rates, ranging between 50% and 90%, which is 2 to 3 times the average population rate. However, this percentage varies significantly; relationships involving untreated bipolar disorder or concurrent substance misuse face the highest failure rates. I can corroborate with bipolar disorder ruining 4…

It has been 2 1/2 years since the manic episode of summer / fall 2023. This is the manic episode that almost ruined my life. I lost everything – home, job, girlfriend, family, friends, and any sense of positive self esteem. After 3 weeks in jail and 4 months in a psychiatric ward, I was…

In the fall of 2023, I was in a manic state and my life was slowly falling apart. A manic state, or manic episode, is a psychiatric syndrome characterized by abnormally elevated energy, arousal, and an expansive or highly irritable mood lasting at least a week. It significantly disrupts daily functioning and is the primary…

One of the key factors in mania is not being able to determine the difference between right and wrong. And in the last days of my manic episode, this is precisely what happened. I signed a lease with my real estate agent and a landlord to rent a 4 bedroom house for $3,000 per month.…

Once you are diagnosed with bipolar disorder, your family and friends look at you from a different perspective. First, you may have done something to hurt them during a manic episode. Even though you didn’t know the difference between right and wrong, you still made a negative impact on their lives. The vast majority of…

Normal describes what is usual, typical, or expected, conforming to a standard, average, or regular pattern. It applies to behaviors within societal norms, expected patterns, or standard measurements like temperature or health. But is there truly such a thing as normal. It has different meanings for different people. I think normal is the ability to differentiate between…