Information and opinions on Bipolar from Cynthia at BipolarConnect.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002 http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002 http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/41227/keeping-faith Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:42:32 -0000 Cynthia I decided to buy my husband a box of chocolates today. It is his birthday. While making my selections, I got to talking with the chocolatier. Somehow our subject became weighty and as we shared our stories, the focus fell upon our enduring trust, our belief system and in the end, our faith. We decided that, at some point in our lives, we have trusted and have been disappointed. Some of us have lost money, some have experienced a broken heart... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/41227/keeping-faith http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/37843/diagnosis Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:35:00 -0000 Cynthia When they met, she was volatile (type A?)But he found her interesting.When they married, she was moody (clinically depressed?)But he found her mysterious.When she was volitale,  (bipolar disorder II?)He found her changeable.   When she had thoughts of suicide (clinically depressed, hypomanic, bipolar?) He found her dramatic.   When she was manic, (bipolar disorder I?) He found her to be exciting.   And when she was... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/37843/diagnosis http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/37836/time-side-effects Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:33:42 -0000 Cynthia It has happened again ... the dreaded side effects.  I have no time for side effects!  Within the past 6 years I have been on 40 medications, some have been repeats of the same old ones, but mostly they have been new.  I am wondering if anyone else has concurrent side effects that prevents them from really being well? Lets prognosticate for a moment.  A tooth ache is underway, it subsides but reoccurs.  I can take... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/37836/time-side-effects http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/36824/resistance-scenes Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:56:43 -0000 Cynthia When they started talking about him, I felt defensive.  I wanted them to know that all was not because of any defect in him. It was merely an illness, a mental illness, a mind thing, a manic-depression, a bipolar unwellness, and it was obviously something they knew little about.  I worried about how they would stigmatize him and how they perceived him while they shuttered at his behavior.  Once I learned more about his behavior... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/36824/resistance-scenes http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/36823/valley-girl Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:50:42 -0000 Cynthia I have Andre Bocelli crooning in my ear.  My ear buds are connected to my ipod;  they are secured tightly and I am filled with the sound. I am heating up the laptop.  Today as always, the music fills where no thought can go for I have battled another spell.  This spell offered to me no magical charm, or desired arousal. It was not a walk in the park, it was void of any enchanted forest, it promised I will struggle to... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/36823/valley-girl http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/36280/visit Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:12:31 -0000 Cynthia I made a "visit" today.  I could hear myself; my words leaving my mind via my mouth and then re-entering via my ears and into my brain.  I am sure she has heard these words ten-million times before.  How many eager beavers have sat on her couch spilling their guts.    I am rapid cycling and I have mixed states and the depression just feels worse. I insist on changing my medication, she is patient but knowing and to my... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/36280/visit http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/34107/forgotten Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:30:39 -0000 Cynthia With medication rejection, mixed states, rapid cycling, suicidal ideation, pharmaceutical failures, and more, I am 7 years the illness and thousands of moments persuing health and wellbeing, battling the notion of suicide ... even though that would be the answer to erase what I cannot.  As the psychiatric wheel goes round and round, I have chased after M.D.s, and P.H.d's, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and psychoanalysists, looking for... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/34107/forgotten http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/22609/lens-minds-eye Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:11:00 -0000 Cynthia I remember that day.  It was not worth remembering except for the fact that I was enroute to an appointment that was prearranged by my physician.  I was on a street that I have been on many times before and I was far from home.  As luck would have it, traffic was brutal almost all the way and eventhough I left right on time, I feared I was going to be late.  It is not the "arrival" but... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/22609/lens-minds-eye http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/22035/times Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:15:00 -0000 Cynthia "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way."  "A Tale of... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/22035/times http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/21532/feng-shui Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:54:00 -0000 Cynthia       Given the complexities of the mind, it is important for each of us to remember that the slightest rearrangement of our conscious thought is enough to contribute to the dynamic of our behavior. Feng Shui is a Chinese practice believed to utilize the Laws of both Heaven, (astronomy), and Earth, (geography), to help one improve life by receiving positive Qi. Qi is believed to be part of every living thing that exists... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/34002/21532/feng-shui