We talk a lot about triggers these days. So I thought I'd write a blog about my own triggers in the hope it will help better people understand how they affect people with my condition. The American Psychiatric Association describes triggers as this... What are triggers? We generally know the word trigger to mean an… Continue reading Triggered (Well…nearly) (John)
This is a really serious topic but I can't write about it with any darkness or weight or sense of seriousness or I'll be smothered by darkness and weight and seriousness. It's a bit fundamental, and you can only approach fundamental things from out the corner of your eye. Staring truths straight on can blind… Continue reading Holding it all Lightly (Elle)
Q: Why do so many comedians suffer from mental health issues? Or is it the other way around – why do so many people with mental health issues make such good comedians? A: Again, I know where this comes from. The perception of the clown who’s crying on the inside is very common, but it’s… Continue reading Creative Sparks (John)
I struggle a bit with the term self medicating. To me the term suggests taking a substance for (percieved) beneficial or calming results. (John) Over the past couple of blogs Elle and myself have discussed the ideas and the term of self medicating. The quote above is from my last post. The problem is I… Continue reading Self Medicating (ii) John.
Well this is nice. We've ended up with a transatlantic conversation here on the idea of Self Medicating. Bipolar Barb has just blogged regarding this, on her own site, in response to Elle's last post Self Medicating (Elle) on here. Much thanks for your input Barb and now I'll add mine to the mix. I definitely see my… Continue reading Self Medicating. (John)
As my consultant said recently, medication has its role, but it's not the be all and end all. I really respect her for this view - it's close to my own opinion. So this had me wondering how else I 'medicate' myself aside from the meds I take. My first risky run in with self-medication… Continue reading Self Medicating (Elle)
Basically I'm for anything that gets you through the night – be it prayer, tranquillizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels. (Frank Sinatra) I feel like my brain is full of crushed salt and vinegar crisps and red hot needles. I say this with some sort of satisfaction because I believe it's a better description… Continue reading Bipolar Mixed Episodes (Elle)
so I decided to go to bed and prepare for my mission tomorrow. I had no idea what this mission was, but it was definitely important and I was quite looking forward to it… A few weeks back I did a couple of posts about my first dalliance with psychosis. I finished the second part… Continue reading Onset psychosis (iii) John.
When I first met Elle I was struck by her ability to analyse some of the ways I go about explaining/coping with things. She spotted something that one of my favourite psychiatrists noticed when I was under her care. I use diminishing language to cope with major events, especially events relating to my own mental… Continue reading Hurdles. (John)
(=In Real Life) Starting this blog has changed the shape of my world. I used to be an unconnected island of one. I've never had a facebook page or twitter account. My mobile phone is dumb. Then all of a sudden I launched into co-writing this blog, and became connected to the whole world. The… Continue reading IRL (Elle)
Mind Palaver 