Sleep

Ahh, sleep. For some, like my dog, he easily sleeps through the night and part of the day. For me, sleep is illusive, like losing weight and keeping it off. I am on medication enough to theoretically put down a horse, but for some reason my body chemistry doesn't seem to be impacted by it. Lack of sleep is one of the triggers to Mania, something I've enjoyed, yet work hard to avoid. Some solutions for this challenge are finding exercises that are calming, like yoga & meditation, or even golf. Golf doesn't actually work for me as I curse like a sailor when I whiff or find myself chasing that darn ball all over the fairway. That said, it doesn't have to be exercise. Artistic activities can also be calming. Look for the things that relax you and take the noise out of your head. Everyone has something, it's just not the same thing for everyone, much like this disorder. Be careful and make sure you're getting some good sleep. Find that thing that makes you peaceful and practice it before bedtime.

Isolation

My Meet-up, Beyond Coping With Bipolar Disorder held its first meeting on Friday the 19th. I was nervous about starting this group with a variety of people at different stages of mental health. I was pleasantly surprised at how the meeting exceeded my expectations. There were a few glitches, but for the most part, people seemed genuinely happy to have a place to connect. Listening to everyone introduce themselves reminded me that one huge impact of this disorder is isolation. Typically people lose their friends, family members, and sometimes even their children when they get sick. Most people don't understand what BiPolar Disorder or Depression is, and the kinds of things it can make us do. It's much easier to push away because we're afraid of what we don't understand. When someone you love says something like, "get out of my way or I'll hurt you," it really makes you question whether you have the stamina to stay together. I look forward to the day when people understand that this disease is like any other medical disease that we have no control over.