Julie A. Fast's Blog, page 84

Depression Management Secret: Every day has a plan

Depression has been my unwanted companion for many years. I work hard to make sure it doesn't take over my life. I've noticed that free days where nothing is schedule are a problem for me. Because of this- I try to schedule myself out a week in advance. This doesn't always work. Would you believe there are people who aren't this crazy about scheduling and say, " Let's see what happens?"

I know what works for me. Scheduling and being with people. This is especially true on Friday and Saturday night. Do I wish I were different and more 'fluid' with my scheduling? Of course! But I'm depressed a lot- and this is what helps.

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Published on December 12, 2011 17:48

Bipolar Social Anxiety and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders!

I once watched a reality show on becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader when I was at the gym. I had a political interview show on my IPOD, but this was far more intriguing ! First of all, it was a pretty weak premise for a show – as watching cheerleader tryouts probably brings back a lot of bad memories for those of us who were not fond of high school! But there was something very interesting on the show.

The women had to climb up a really high pole and jump off onto a trapeze bar. Yes, that was one of the tasks. There was one candidate who was very scared of heights. She cried the whole way up the pole. But I had to admire her. She got up there, stood up and jumped off. It was pretty safe as she [ Read More ]

Related posts:Bipolar Disorder and Anxiety
Excellent book on anxiety!
Bipolar Disorder and Internet OCD! Facebook

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Published on December 08, 2011 13:48

Please note: This blog is under construction.

Hello to Everyone! Please note that the bipolarhappens.com blog is under construction. All of the great information is still here- but we are working on the formatting.

Thank you, Julie

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Published on December 08, 2011 01:47

Reader Question: Julie, have you heard of these bipolar symptoms?

I just received an interesting question from Heather about OCD bipolar disorder symptoms. She wrote that she didn't know that OCD was so common in bipolar disorder. (It is!) Then she asked about her obsessive thoughts:

Julie

I don't understand my own obsessive thoughts or where they came from. I am always thinking about paper cutting my eyeball or slicing my achilles tendon. These thoughts make the relative body parts actually hurt! I have no idea why or when these thoughts pop into my head but I can't get rid of them! Sometimes I wrap my ankles in ace bandages for the psychological 'protection' from the unseen knife. Or last time I was in the hospital having the thoughts about my eyeball, they gave me an ice pack to carry around and cover my eye. It was embarrassing but hey, all of us in there have problems. Do you have any suggestions or even an [ Read More ]

Related posts:Reader question: spirituality and bipolar
Bipolar Disorder and Work – reader question
Reader Question: Bipolar Disorder and Anger

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Published on December 07, 2011 13:47

Ask Julie: Bipolar Anger and Irritation

Hi Julie,

I am going to court tomorrow, and I have been a mess, shaky, anxious, and frustrated at everybody around me. I feel like everything someone says is just irritating and worthless to me. I don't' want to around anybody, but I know that is not healthy for me. I have been getting worse all week leading up to this stressful situation. I am worried that I am going to have a full blown depression episode. I cannot concentrate and am having trouble sleeping.

Hi Colby,

Isn't it amazing what stress can do to our bodies and minds… I would be stressed too. It hits us harder- that's for sure. It's amazing that you are aware of your anger and frustration- this means you can keep it from ruining relationships and getting you into trouble. I was majorly irritated yesterday and even yelled at a friend- I felt terrible and then realized that is [ Read More ]

Related posts:Complain O' Meter
Bipolar and Political Stress
Testy, snappy people – and bipolar disorder

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Published on December 06, 2011 13:48

Vincent Van Gogh

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassions, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." — Elisabeth Kubler Ross

Related posts:My friend Sherri P. What an amazing woman!

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Published on December 05, 2011 17:42

Mancession: Depression in Men During a Down Economy

Men and women are different- so it makes sense they would get depressed differently as well. Here is an interesting article on men and economic change.

Male depression is expected to become a factor for more Americans in the coming years because of growing social and economic pressures.

http://www.thirdage.com/news/depression-expected-hit-more-american-men_3-1-2011

I can't stress it enough that depression is treatable. Especially with the right medications. If you are a guy with depression, you have different pressures than women. Find a male therapist if that will work better- talk to other guys who are depressed and read books by men who have managed the illness.

Julie

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Published on December 05, 2011 17:42

Crying

I just received an interesting question: Julie, why do some people with bipolar disorder cry and cry when they are deoressed while others don't cry at all? I am not sure why people cry. Melissa.

I am not an expert on this, so I asked my coauthor Dr. John Preston for his explanation.

Hi Julie,

Crying likely serves several purposes. The first is crying as a distress signal. Babies do this, and the result is that loving parents are alerted to their discomfort and feed them or rock them. Likewise, crying is a social signal that may elicit support for others. Additionally, crying has been found to result in significant emotional relief. There are basically two types of crying: one is an aborted crying spell; here the person tried not to cry…they hold back tears and this is often accompanied by a flood [ Read More ]

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Published on November 30, 2011 21:45

Vincent

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassions, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." — Elisabeth Kubler Ross

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Published on November 29, 2011 17:39

Bipolar Disorder and OCD thoughts

Most people I know with bipolar disorder have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) symptoms. They are normal.

It's hard to get OCD thoughts to stop- but I do have a trick. If I'm obsessing about a person and the person's name is going over and over in my head or something the person said is looping in my head- I just say to myself- "This will be over soon Julie. This isn't forever. It's the bipolar. Learn from this Julie and keep away from the trigger so it doesn't happen again."

Sometimes this is easier than fighting and answering the thoughts themselves.

Julie

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Published on November 28, 2011 21:39