The songs that never fail to touch my heart. — Lying on my back on the brown berber carpet, I stare at the wall of candles burning in front of me. A rounded-top, cast-iron room divider with leafy vines supporting 18 clear-glass votive holders stands over me, just a few inches from my feet. …

I’m a proud mutant. — I often see posts on social media where people talk about how bipolar disorder makes them feel like a freak or a mutant. I get it. When you know your mind works differently than people without a mental illness, it’s easy to believe the worst about yourself. Yet, one thing…

Love is essential for good mental health. — I love some musicals. I say “some” because there are some great ones and others that are truly terrible. Sometimes there are great scripts, but with horrible productions. For example, the stage version of Les Misérables is amazing. The movie adaptation starring Hugh Jackman, while having great cinematography, destroyed the…

The day my whole world changed and how I got through it. — “We’re shutting down the project,” Scotty, the director of collector operations, told me. I almost dropped my white cordless phone as I pictured him in his dark, wood-paneled office, the top of his head sweating through his greased-down comb-over. “I’m sorry, what?” I asked. “If you believe it will work…

Where I’ve been the last few weeks. — Hello, my dear friends. If it appears that I’ve dropped off the face of the Earth, it’s because in a way I have. Let me tell you a little about what’s been going on. At the end of December, I took a little time off from work to do a…

A life lesson learned while flying through the air, and how to apply it in your life. — After the two young men strapped us into our yellow harnesses, a thick steel cable slowly hoisted my friend Peter and me up to another platform 150 feet above where we started. My heart raced like Kyle Larson at an All-Star Race. Peter and I hung face down, watching the…

How to apply it in your life. — “No one will ever read it.” That was the only response I got after telling a friend I was going to write a book about life with bipolar disorder. …

3 life lessons to help you do better. — I was already late. As I held my electric razor in my right hand, I wondered if there was any way I could brush my teeth with my left. I had to make up time somehow. …

Tips to help you find the ones that work for you. — What’s your favorite routine? It might be your ritual of getting ready in the morning, the steps you take to bathe and pick out the day’s outfit. Maybe your ideal routine is the way you unwind at the end of the day, watching an episode of your favorite sitcom while…