Summer Lovin’, Wild Rides, and Winged Therapists (and more!)

The newest content from the week ending June 15, 2024, and Scott’s weekly update

Welcome! | Photo by author.

Links to last week’s content are at the bottom of the newsletter.

New Writers

Join me in welcoming these new writers to our little family!

Chiachitseng: “Hello, my name is Chiachitseng. I have 15 years of experience in psychological education, and I am currently particularly interested in the field of education.”

Deb Burns: “I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder a long time ago. I thought I had beaten it but I was hospitalised again about five years ago. I’ve now accepted that I may never truly beat bi-polar, I’ve just become very good at managing it.”

WaterLilly: “Hello! I’m WaterLilly! Thrilled to be a part of ‘Speaking Bipolar’. I hope you all find my tips and articles informative and helpful in ways that can serve you best!”

June 2024 Writing Prompt

• Is self stigma part of your mental health journey? How does it affect you? Have you learned to control it? Prompt inspired by Josh Feinberg’s How Society’s Wrong Views on Bipolar Affect the Afflicted.
• May 2024 writing prompt replies
• Please tag me (@speakingbipolar) in your response and mention this prompt, so I know to add your story to the list. Thanks!

Announcements

• Please only submit draft stories unless I specifically ask you to submit an already published story.
• A few writers have applied recently with profiles full of AI-generated content. Due to Medium’s strong stance against such content, I have decided not to add these writers.
• Deleting a story and reposting it is a violation of Medium’s Terms of Service and the no duplicate content rule.

Scott’s Weekly Update

Thank you. Two simple words, but the meaning can be so much.

We may say it without thinking when a stranger opens a door for us, or speak it through tears when a friend rescues us from a scary night.

This week involved a lot of thank you’s. I finally forced myself to sit down and write cards for all the friends who brought meals, flowers, or simply sat with us during my dad’s final weeks and the days since.

I bought a box of thank you cards two weeks ago, but they sat on my mom’s kitchen table. In my mind, I was avoiding them with my usual procrastination, but when I finally sat down to write, I knew it was much more.

Each card came from my heart, and that’s a tender place right now. Opening up one feeling gives room for another, and before you know it, you’re on a runaway emotion train.

For many of our friends, thank you didn’t feel like enough. There needs to be a bigger phrase to describe those darkest moments when someone else shines a light for you.

My avoidance of the cards was also because of the finality of it all.

Every day, my mom and I are forced to recognize all the ways my dad is gone. The thank-you cards feel like closing a door, putting more of my dad into the past. And it hurts a lot more than I was expecting.

Writing a brief message in each card also helped me reflect on my friendships. The last six months proved I had many more than I thought, and I’m grateful for each one.

I’m also thankful for all of you. Every week, you show up to read my ramblings. Your support helps me keep going, even on those awful days when I want to walk away from it all.

So, thank you. Thank you for being here and thank you for sticking around. This publication was one of my anchors during this painful time, and I only run it because you choose to read and write for it.

If you owe someone a thank you, say it today. Call a friend, buy a card, or send a text message. Say the words while you can because we all have only a limited time.

Until next time, keep fighting.

Scott Ninneman

Last Week’s Content

• Are Autism and Bipolar Linked? by Harlow Adair
• Awake by Tereza Kleovoulou
• Bipolar Disorder and the Stages of Grief: A Helpful Guide by Scott Ninneman
• Chickens: Winged Therapists of the Yard by Stephanie Ann Grant
• Don’t Bleed On Those Who Didn’t Hurt You by Stephanie Ann Grant
• How I Navigate Setbacks on the Path to Mental Health Recovery by Leon Macfayden
• How to Avoid Panic Attacks on the Subway: My experience by Tarek Rakhiess
• I Have Bipolar Disorder; It Doesn’t Have Me by Wendi Lady - It's a Wendiful World
• Losing the Zest by Melanie Jackson
• My Wild Bipolar Ride by Julio Angel Rivera
• Protect Your Fortress by Stephanie Ann Grant
• Psych Ward Poetry by Abby Laporte
• Summer Lovin’, Had Me a Glass by Kimberly
• The Backlash of Mental Health Diagnosis by Julio Angel Rivera
• You’re Gaslighting Yourself by odawni

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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.