Losing Time, Bipolar Psychosis, and Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
Content from the week ending July 6, 2024, and Scott’s update
Links to last week’s content are at the bottom of the newsletter.
New Writers
Two new writers joined our community this week. Welcome to:
BK Bergman: “In 2023, I launched the Write Now Therapy website as a self-help site for those who suffer from mental setbacks, devastating losses, and unforgettable grief. Based on scientific-proven evidence, the website includes articles and exercises designed to allow individuals to move forward with their lives. I hold a Master of Science in Psychology, a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications.”
Candace Barrett: “I’m a therapist and also live with Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, and OCD, and therefore have decades of experience as both a mental health client and a survivor.”
Announcements
- Writing prompt responses for 2024 are now grouped in this list.
July 2024 Writing Prompt
- When we think of gratitude, our minds may reflect on images of yellow daisies or blue butterflies, but what about the unpretty things that make your life better? Inspired by Kerry Purvis’s story, My Unpretty Gratitude List, our July writing prompt is: Show us your unpretty gratitude list.
- Please tag me (@speakingbipolar) in your response and mention this prompt, so I know to add your story to the list. Thanks!
- 2024 Prompt Responses
Scott’s Weekly Update
Two weeks ago, I attended the annual health leaders convention of Health Union. I was excited to attend because I was a finalist for one of the Social Health Awards, but the program also had a lot of good information. (No, I didn’t win.)
I seldom think of myself as being a health leader. It was never my goal when I started writing online, but I guess I am.
By sharing my experiences with bipolar disorder, I’m hopefully helping to remove stigma, increase understanding, and help all of you feel less alone.
Sharing your story is rarely easy, and neither is living with bipolar disorder. The conference reminded me why it’s important for others to read about both the good and bad times.
One of the health leaders featured during the web meeting shared how her journey started because she posted on Instagram the struggles she was facing with her illness. She wanted a place to express how frustrated she was, her fears, and her triumphs. She started posting as a way to help her cope.
Before long, people connected with her posts. There were others who also felt invisible, like doctors didn’t understand what they were going through, nor did their families and loved ones.
Those individuals needed to hear how awful things were for her so that they knew they weren’t alone.
Even though I’ve been writing online for years, I still struggle with sharing the painful parts of my life. I know it’s relevant for readers to see those parts too, but some topics are still tough to talk about.
Sometimes when I’m vulnerable, it feels like weakness. I know it’s not true, and those are the posts readers love the most, but they are the hardest stories to write and edit.
Then a few days ago, Speaking Bipolar writer Harlow Adair shared her story. Scared as she was, she opened up and posted her words online, and the story touched my heart.
Her story also reminded me why it matters that I share both my good times and the messy parts of my life.
Living with a mental illness is hard. You will have good days, but you will also have bad ones. It’s important to remember that a few bad days do not mean that everything is going to pieces. Things will usually improve again, though sometimes that will mean a medication change.
It’s okay to acknowledge the hard days. Find someone in your life you can trust and who will listen to you without being judgmental. Then tell them how awful you feel.
Share the worst feelings inside, including any weakness you feel or any self-loathing. Own your feelings, because often that’s the only way to move past them.
I’ll keep working at trying to do the same.
Until next time, keep fighting.
Scott Ninneman
Last Week’s Content
- Bipolar Disorder: How To Make Friends by Scott Ninneman
- Bipolar Insight: A Medical Label or Route to Soul Growth? by Barry
- Charity Begins At Home by Heather Bradford
- Committed to the Psych Ward by Harlow Adair
- Dark Places by Wendi Lady - It's a Wendiful World
- Euphoria and Reckoning: My Journey Through Mania by Obeaswan, B.Sc., M.Sc.
- Insomnia — A Stirring of the Mind by Barry
- July 2024 is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month by Nicole Dake
- Losing Time When You’re Bipolar by Julio Angel Rivera
- Navigating the Labyrinth: Critical Thinking as a Lifeline in Bipolar Psychosis by Obeaswan, B.Sc., M.Sc.
- What’s on My Unpretty Gratitude List? by Julio Angel Rivera
- When Reality Folds In On Itself by Wendi Lady - It's a Wendiful World
Best of Speaking Bipolar
- Top 10 Most-Read Stories (Updated Monthly)
- Boosted stories on Speaking Bipolar
New writers welcome. Share your mental illness journey, poetry, and mental health tips by writing for Speaking Bipolar on Medium. Click here to find out how.
