Julie A. Fast's Blog, page 108

Behind on my answers….. so send me quick questions!

Hello to everyone.. I always try to leave a reply on the comments I received, but as you can probably tell- wanting to do something and being able to do something is quite different. So, I have an idea I may have mentioned before.

Feel free to send me questions of one to two sentences and I will answer with the same. That way I can get to everybody and we can get some quick solutions to problems. Sometimes we really can find out what to do just from reading a few sentences.

Please keep your...

Bipolar Spectrum Disorders

I recently posted and asked people to comment on all of the different names used to describe bipolar disorder. Sandra just wrote in with another name:

Hi Julie,

I purchased a book called "Break the Bipolar Cycle" by Elizabeth Brondolo, Ph.D. and Xavier Amador, Ph.D. and they use the term Bipolar Spectrum Disorders (BSD) as an umbrella term that includes all types of Bipolar Disorders. That was the first I'd heard that term before.

Sandra

Here is my answer:

Hi Sandra,

The term bipolar spectrum...

JulieFast Twitter account…. update

Hello to all,

I have received a few emails asking about my Twitter account. Well, it was inadvertently deleted. In other words, I pushed some buttons I should not have pushed. I'm changing it to a daily bipolar disorder management tip- 365 days of quick ideas and thoughts to get a person up when they are low and more stable when they are manic. Though, I have found that a person who is manic can use Twitter and Facebook pretty much 24 hours a day- but not to get tips on managing mania. 

I...

CBN Article: Faith and the treatment of bipolar mood disorder

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article from the Christian Broadcast Network website called Loving People with Bipolar Disorder by Allison Johnson. I was naturally interested. As we all are! We either have it or care about someone who has it which is why we are here. 

I have always been honest in saying that my current path is not a spiritual path as I have struggled in this area for many years- but I do understand the importance that spirituality plays in a person's life. There are...

Bipolarity – a new word to describe bipolar disorder

My friend Karen just read a memoir of a woman with bipolar disorder- and the author used the term 'bipolarity' throughout the book!

Has anyone heard of this term? I have been writing bipolar management books for over ten years and bipolarity is new to me! I know that there are different names used for the illness: [... Read More ...:]Related posts:Bipolar Disorder and Suicidal Depression DownswingsBipolar Disorder: Over the Top and Below the NormReader Question: Lamictal dosage...

We can all get better and better no matter what…..

I've always known that it has always taken really big changes for me to stay well enough to work. Here are some of the changes I have made in the past few years.

- Celibacy (yes, celibacy!)
- Less travel
- No contentious relationships
- Avoid work situations that will make me sick
- Using my Health Cards daily
- Visualizing my strategies from Get it Done When You're Depressed
- Watch inspirational reality TV instead of downer TV

I could write a lot more here! By the way, the celibacy thing is j...

Reader asks if her partner can forgive her..

Dear Julie,
I have this huge problem that started about 2 and half years ago. During a mixed episode of rapid cycling I decided and did leave my husband. Over this past 2 and a half years I have been severly depressed. Well in the past two months my new pdoc changed my medication and I am thinking more clearly and having fewer mood swings then ever. The problem is that I want my husband back. Read answer on [... Read More ...:]Related posts:Bipolar Family and Partner CoachingReader Story...

Reader Comment on Rapid Cycling post…

This comment from Lynn has one of the best descriptions of rapid cycling that I have heard in a very long time!  It's a reply to the comment on the blog below.

**

I am also rapid cycling bipolar. One week I am at my therapist so depressed I can barely explain what I feel, and the next I am so excited about life and plans. Spins the head around. I am trying to think of my life as a giant super-ball, the kind that when you throw it and it hits the wall, it bounces over and over again seemingly...

Reader Question: Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder

A Bipolarhappens.com blog reader tells a story.

Hi Julie,

I just read your post on your rapid cycling. I didn't even know what it was a few years ago. My doctors said I was rapid cycling- but I thought that was what happened with all people with bipolar. I didn't know it's not that common.  Things have been tough lately. I'm Going Up Again.. and Again. And then going way down again and again.

Bipolar is wearing me out.  I have had over 10 mood swings in the past three weeks. I know this because ...

Bipolar Disorder Rapid Cycling: Up and down and up and down

A Reader Tells a Story. I often get comments on my posts from readers who are experiencing similar situations- but this one from Marcee was very interesting as it very closely describes what I go through.

Hi Julie,

I just read your post on your rapid cycling. I didn't even know what it was a few years ago. My doctors said I was rapid cycling- but I thought that was what happened with all people with bipolar. I didn't know it's not that common.  Things have been tough lately. I'm Going Up...