Information and opinions on Bipolar from cgoehring78 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/930 http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930 http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/25350/fighting-depression Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:27:00 -0000 cgoehring78 So I thought it was gone. The depression. I thought I had finally kicked it. But it's like sin. You can never let yourself get so cocky that you think you have conquered it. Sin is pervasive and so is depression. One simple pill too few and the tears come roaring down again. This is hard. I'm exhausted and the pdoc's assistant believes this exhaustion and weepiness may come from the grief I am experiencing due to losing a friend from... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/25350/fighting-depression http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/25238/thud Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:02:00 -0000 cgoehring78 It's been about a week and a half since I hit the butt-end of my recent mania. I miss it. I had nearly cleaned up my office and parts of my house and now I look at them with confusion. I couldn't begin to know where to start. I have bags of items to donate and I'm worrying about what might be in those bags and whether or not I should dig through them in case I might miss something that's in there...like one of my dog's... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/25238/thud http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/23825/summer-sad Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:23:00 -0000 cgoehring78  Spring is here, the grass has 'riz', I wonder where the flowers is? When I was young, this rhyme made me squeeze my eyes shut tight in delightful anticipation of spring. And if spring was coming then summer was coming. Summer meant school vacation, time with my family going camping to favorite places, especially Monument Valley. It also meant I could ride my Stingray bike, run with my dog Midnight, have slumber parties in... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/23825/summer-sad http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/21388/bipolar-state-mind Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:47:00 -0000 cgoehring78 I'm cheating here and using one of my recent message responses as a SharePost.  There will always be a struggle for the person who lives with a mental illness; it's not likely to be a struggle to win over the disease. Bipolar disease is treatable, but not curable. The same is true for Schizophrenia. Every day, each minute of each day that I am not otherwise occupied, I wonder to myself, "Will tomorrow be the day that my... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/21388/bipolar-state-mind http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/21220/brett-favre Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:05:00 -0000 cgoehring78 Brett Favre retired today. His contribution to the game of football has been tremendous. I enjoy watching football from time to time but I'm not a huge fan. I think Brett Favre is a classy guy and a great quarterback. But I watched his retirement press conference today in awe. This man is honest. He is straightforward, down-to-earth, no-holds-barred, Jenny-Get-The-Bucket honest. He simply does not want to play anymore. No excuses. He... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/21220/brett-favre http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/20532/spears-mental Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:58:00 -0000 cgoehring78 The moment that I heard Britney Spears had shaved off her hair I knew she had a mental illness of some sort. My guess was bipolar disorder, but that's only because I suffer from it and am most familiar with the ravages of its symptoms. Reporter Asra Q. Nomani wrote a special article to the Los Angeles Times on February 12 that recently ran in our local paper, The Boulder Daily Camera.&nbsp... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/20532/spears-mental http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/20054/ride-ups-high-low Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:36:00 -0000 cgoehring78 If you're afflicted with bipolar disorder, your life, your daily existence, is constantly being defined as either up or down, manic or depressed. It's such a stale and defining description. You're either up, down, or sometimes stable! (Unfortunately, I use this up and down metaphor too often when I don't have time to explain my disease. Maybe that's why my identity crisis is so strong...I identify too easily with... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/20054/ride-ups-high-low http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/19799/crises-exposed Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:06:00 -0000 cgoehring78 Many people with Bipolar disease suffer from what is called an identity crisis. Individuals with Schizophrenia suffer a break from reality, unable to discern reality from psychotic images they see and hear. The Bipolar sufferer, on the other hand, including myself, substitutes another identity or identities as a result of a loss or transposition of their own identity during a specific time in their past.  In my case, in face-to-face... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/19799/crises-exposed http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/15905/love-friends-family Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:32:00 -0000 cgoehring78 The recent sharepost I sent was intended to be prefaced with this one, explaining that I keep a "journal" about my Bipolar Disease. I have chosen a few friends and family who I thought might, from time to time, be interested in checking out what I am writing. Please don't be offended if you are not interested, or if you have no time! I understand. This is a tough topic, especially when it concerns someone you know or... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/15905/love-friends-family http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/15729/caregiver-therapy Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:24:00 -0000 cgoehring78 It seems obvious that someone with a mental illness may engage in mental therapy of some sort, right? Then why is it so difficult for the caregivers, or loved ones of those with a mental illness to find their way into therapy?  One of the most important facets of my ability to function is my time with my therapist. I spend no more than one hour every one to two months with her, and we cover so much about my husband's illness (yes, my... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/930/15729/caregiver-therapy