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Finding Gems in the Rubble & Link Up On the Edge #107
I know I have been sharing a lot recently about my Bipolar journey and I apologize if the topic is becoming redundant. You see, writing about it is the healthiest way I have learned to cope with it. Writing has been my main source of therapy since the very beginning. It allows for a process of purging. All of the destructive thoughts and internal demons get expelled by memorializing them into actual words. It’s a paradox of sorts…giving them life is the only way I can destroy them. I used to only write about it in my private journals, feeling like it was just too dark and fucked up to…
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Shelbee Says… “Trust the process.”: 8 Steps for Managing Bipolar Mood Swings
On Friday, I wrote about the battlefield that is Bipolar Disorder and I discussed how I have developed a great capacity for managing the mood swings when they start. Often when I share my story, I am met with the question of how I manage my Bipolar Disorder so effectively without medication. Every time I am asked this question, I am left without an adequate answer. All I can ever come up with is, “I don’t know. I just do it.” However, I am fully aware that this answer helps absolutely no one. So I decided it was time to sit down and really think about how I navigate my…
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A Bipolar Battlefield & Link Up On the Edge #106
Life inside of a Bipolar brain is tricky to say the least…even after you have reached a point of mostly understanding it all. You see, the last week as been a rough one for me…mentally and emotionally. I can’t really pin point the reason. That is the mystery of Bipolar Disorder. Why and when and how it operates the way it does. I have talked a lot about how I have come through this disorder to the other side and what brilliance and happiness I have found by coming through it. Actually, the good life lies not in coming through it, but in working through it. If you need help…
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4 Ways to Deal with the Unstructured Days of Summer
*As I browse through the internet, blogs, and social media, I am reading how everywhere it is nearly back to school time. A week or two is all that is left of summer before school is back in session. However, in Northern New York, we still have a full four weeks of summer break remaining before the kids head back to their regular school schedules and this mother of two can finally return to my normal state of sanity. At this point in the summer, four weeks seems like an insurmountable time for me to survive to the end! So I thought it would be a good idea to revisit…
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Shelbee Asked…”How Can I Manage My PMDD?”
I am a woman who has suffered from moderate PMS symptoms since the onset of my first menstrual cycle at 12 years old. However, in the past year, I have noticed an increase in the severity of my symptoms. Oftentimes, in the days leading up to my period, I end up losing days of productivity due to the extreme fatigue, debilitating cramps, and various other symptoms that sometimes feel like the onset of the flu. Rage and depression take over my mood all too frequently during these few days. To say it is frustrating is an understatement. It is an absolute interruption to my life. Knowing that I cannot possibly…
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The Benefits of Boredom
When boredom sets in, most people tend to complain about it, especially children. My God, do the children complain. In a society that seeks constant stimulation, that old feeling of ennui can be quite unpleasant. We have all felt bored in our lives. Those times when nothing seems to engage you. You cannot find anything to do with yourself that is adequately interesting. A sense of dullness and tediousness seems to take over the days. It can be an unwelcome feeling indeed. And if you remain in a state of boredom for too long, it can often lead to feelings of depression or sadness. Because our minds need to be…
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Shelbee Says…”It is up to you how you respond to your fear.”
There is a common misconception among people that asking for help indicates an inherent weakness of sorts. Weakness in spirit. Weakness in soul. Weakness in initiative. Weakness is self-sufficinecy. But it takes a certain amount of courage to seek help from others. We come into this world completely dependent on other people for survival. Dainty, fragile newborns are weak in every aspect of the word. They depend on other humans to provide the basic necessities for survival. Without someone else to feed them and nurture them, none would survive. Yet they are resilient, hardy, and tenacious at the same time. Very early on in their young lives, we begin to…
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When a Bad Dream Reminds You & Link Up On the Edge #101
Have you ever had a really bad dream that startles you awake and shakes you right down to your core? It’s as if you can feel your soul shiver and you can’t erase the images that flashed through your mind. Even after you have (thankfully) awaken from the dreadful reflection that your subconscious decided it was going to deliver to you. It’s dark. It’s creepy. It elicits feelings of dread that you thought you had conquered a lifetime ago. Yet, there they are again. Those old feelings that you believed you had laid to rest. Prominently displayed in your mind’s eye. Seemingly urging you to process all of those long…
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Learning to Spot Energy Thieves
A dear friend warned me not too long ago about energy thieves. She explained to me that I have the type of positive energy that draws people toward me. I suppose it is true…I am upbeat and happy and almost always beaming with the joys of life. I have met other people who are like this and it is definitely contagious. It makes you want to be around them. They make you feel good simply by being in the presence of their good energy. When I meet people like this, it absolutely boosts my mood. I have to admit that it is an extraordinary compliment that my friend has classified…
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Shelbee Says…“Self-care is never selfish.”
My personal mental health journey through Bipolar Disorder was a long and arduous one. Because I navigated it primarily alone and without a road map, the lessons I have learned have become sacred to me. And while my lessons may not be the magical solution for everyone, they are certainly worth sharing in the event that they could possibly help someone. And one fundamental principle that I have learned to live by is that self-care is of the utmost importance. This is true for everyone, but it carries crucial significance for people with mental illness. Through decades of self-evaluation and introspection, years of therapy, and thousands of pages of reading…
