Julie A. Fast's Blog, page 111

Newsletter: Mania, hypomania, euphoric mania, dysphoric mania- my plea to you!

Mania is devastating. Mania ruins relationships. Mania gets people fired. Mania gets you drunk, makes you gamble away your child's college fund, gives you STDs, makes you so 'creative' you can't see that what you're creating makes no sense. Mania… is… dangerous.

I talk about mania in these terms because I have been there, my former partner was there and in the hospital for two months and I work with families in my coaching business who are either dealing with a manic child who has left the...

More Money Saving Tips for People with Bipolar

The post below received a lot of great comments and advice. Here is one from Shelley:

Hi Julie,

I, too, have gone cash only; with the exception of a low limit credit card to purchase books online that can't be purchased any other way.

I find that I don't get the shopping rush if I JUST DON'T GO IN THE STORE. This is tough. I had to go to the store recently for some necessities with cash only. However, I spent all the cash. I felt great while I was putting things in the buggy and not so great...

Secrets of Extreme Savers- and help for those with bipolar too!

Hi,

People often ask me for financial management advice for people with bipolar disorder. I am going to do a teleseminar on the topic and will keep you posted. If there are particular things you would like me to cover in the teleseminar, just let me know.

The following article was in Yahoo Finance today:

http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finan...

It has a lot of great tips- of course, it describes people with jobs and what seems to be a...

The Four Agreements – a book for getting through life…

I have read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz many times in the past ten years. I have listened to the recorded version even more.   The four agreements are simple:

1. Be impeccible with your word.

2. Don't take anything personally.

3. Don't make assumptions.

4. Always do your best.

I have lived my life using these agreements since first reading the book. It has been hard. In fact, writing about them today gives me a good reminder that I have a situation in my life right now where the...

Datind and Bipolar Disorder

 As many of you know- one of my greatest regrets of the past few years is that I could not date due to panic attacks, OCD and a lovely dash of psychosis-  this often leads a person to spend time with someone who is not the right someone!  Dating was just too stressful for my bipolar disorder. Note that I say it was too stressful for the bipolar. What is so frustrating is that the real me under all of the mood swings is not all that stressed out by life situations.  But unless it's treated...

Guess What….

I went on a date! As many of you know- one of my greatest regrets of the past few years is that I could not date due to panic attacks, OCD and a lovely dash of psychosis- and possibly my propensity to being attracted to depressed men! The situation was just too stressful for my bipolar disorder. Note that I say it was too stressful for the illness. What is so frustrating is that the real me that is under all of the mood swings is not all that stressed out by life situations.  But unless it's ...

Wow! Thank You Sandra!

I am trying to think of how long I have had this blog- I know it has been years. I know many of the postings have created great conversations- but nothing has ever, ever resonated as much with people as Sandra's post on this blog.  You can see it below.  I must say thank you to all of you who wrote such encouraging comments- and then thanks to Sandra- because believe it or not, she answered the comments! What a special person.  I know that many of us will find a lot of encouragement and hope ...

Reader Story: Sandra and the Teacher

Hello to everyone, I have a post here that I think everyone will find amazing, hopeful, fascinating and encouraging.  It's a reader story from Sandra, a regular commentator on this blog. I answered her story after her post. This is a long post, so plan to read a story from a strong woman – I think it will make your day!   (Everyone on this blog is strong.)

Dear Julie,

 As I write this, I am shaking and quite upset.  But I just have to get what is inside of me out, so I hope this will help.

 I...

200 sign ups this weekend!

I am not sure what was in the water this weekend- but there were 200 sign ups for the blog. I guess it was from the newsletter on Watch out for Summer Mania. We all need that reminder. If you scroll down you can read the newsletter on the blog.

I also received many comments on the posts and promise to have them posted as soon as possible.  I read each comment carefully and though I can't answer each one in detail- I can definitely get some advice in there and point people in the right...

No, just leave me alone- I will not listen to you!

A July 4th 'celebration' retrospective:

The morning of the 4th.

I woke up feeling ok this morning. I am very much looking forward to watching the World Cup semi finals.  I have my morning planned out so that I can get my work done before and after the match.  The weather is nice and I actually got to sleep without needing meds last night! All good stuff.

Then, as I was walking to Starbucks where I am doing my email, I started to have these thoughts:

"Something is not right. I am in the wrong...