Information and opinions on health from monica22 at HealthCentral.com. 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/profiles/c/9260/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/9260/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/9260/index http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/132325/feeling-good-good Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:33:12 -0500 monica22 I thought I'd drop by to say hello. I usually just read a couple of my favorite posters and sign out but I want to share the fact things are fine for me. That has not always  been the case. I had a very unfortunate incident swing me into a manic state a few years back. I took care of myself by checking into the hospital but not before posting something really off base. I cringe when I read it now. Now I'm stable and I wanted to give hope to... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/132325/feeling-good-good http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/82736/success-diagnosis Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:39:47 -0400 monica22 I celebrated my anniversary this summer. I became a twenty year survivor of the "mentally ill" label. As the bipolar world has changed since the manic depressive/lithium days of old, I have to say so have I. I'll admit straight up all of my hospitalizations have been for mania, but those were no picnic. My mind has completely left the building at times but somehow it always comes back. What I consider to be my most beneficial trait in recovery... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/82736/success-diagnosis http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/59423/intuitive-psychotic Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:14:48 -0500 monica22 I have been diagnosed bipolar for 20 years. I have experienced just about every conceivable set of calisthenics the brain can perform. I am also very interested in my experiences while hypomanic, because my brain seems to go into overdrive on intuition. The worst is when I think I'm perceiving what others are feeling, for example feelings of infatuation. While most people would rather their thoughts not be peered into, when hypomanic I have felt... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/59423/intuitive-psychotic http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/35652/milestone-holding Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:24:51 -0400 monica22 I haven't posted in quite awhile but luckily for me no news is good news. This summer marks my 19 year anniversary of onset and diagnosis. Back in those horrific days I would count the weeks between manic episodes. Today, I'm happy to report those times as years in the past. I am attributing my stability to daily medication, regular sleep, exercise and an excellent relationship with my psychiatrist. The only remnants of my manic past are... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/35652/milestone-holding http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/26037/spring-favorite Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:28:54 -0400 monica22 I remember my first mania, that led to my diagnosis, was in the spring. New life, the return of warm weather and the flowers blooming all culminated in an experience so rich and overwhelming for me I think I just snapped. When this happened again the next year despite the meds and therapy, I knew I had to come to grips with nature on my own terms because I couldn't fear the end of winter every year. I even stopped planting flowers for a few... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/26037/spring-favorite http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/20816/approach Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:23:00 -0500 monica22 When I was diagnosed with what was then labeled manic depression almost nineteen years ago, I did what every good patient does. I read books, rented videos from the library, collected pamphlets from my physicians and joined support groups. I needed to surround myself with the world of mood swings and their effects in order to get a grip on what was happening to my mind. Not once, like I naively thought, but over and over I was felled by... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/20816/approach http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/16656/feeling Tue, 20 Nov 2007 01:40:00 -0500 monica22 I am getting ready for my daughter's return from college for the Thanksgiving holiday. As I settle into bed with a book that caught my eye this week (nothing to do with bipolar), I think back on all of my manicky holidays. Christmases ruined by overspending and procrastination. I certainly have learned a lot about myself and this illness to know me and malls are a bad combo. I am highly suggestible to advertising during hypomania. Now I make... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/16656/feeling http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/16437/adult-kids Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:06:00 -0500 monica22 My daughter is now in her twenties and recently wanted to revisit "the awful day" when she was ten years old and I was admitted to the hospital. I went as voluntarily as I could but being in a severe manic meltdown I started to get paranoid and agitated. If I had only seen the signs like I do now I could have avoided what was a scarring experience for her and my three other children. To this day I can't say we as a family have... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/16437/adult-kids http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/16322/unique Tue, 13 Nov 2007 03:10:00 -0500 monica22 In commenting on a SharePost by Michael (11/10/07) the subject of being unique was debated. I want to continue this in my own post and invite any and all interested to join. My contention is that my particular case of bipolar is unique in that it happened to me, a member of my family complete with the whole genetic package and socio-economic influences. Anyone else living with bipolar is so much more than a description of similar symptoms. ... http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/16322/unique http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/15530/heard-bipolar Sun, 28 Oct 2007 22:17:00 -0400 monica22 I recently disclosed to a new friend that I take medication for bipolar. As I braced for any number of reactions she might have, her response floored me. She had never heard of the illness! Where I was somewhat pleased she had no preconceived image of what a person with mental illness would be like or how they would act, I was speechless. Is it common for those of us disclosing for the first time to find this type of lack of awareness? http://www.healthcentral.com/bipolar/c/9260/15530/heard-bipolar