How My Bipolar Depression Showed Up in High School
I have suffered from depressions since I was 15 when I had my first collapse at a prep school (Phillips Exeter Academy) in New Hampshire. I didn’t know what was happening to me.
I Get High: The Flip Side of Depression
My non-depression (or normal) me is a bit more energetic and creative than most people. I get high, yes, but its natural energy (maybe some coffee) and it's what I consider the real me. The undepressed me. Still, you might think I was high if you met me.
What’s Underneath the Pain? My Anger Resistance Is Illuminating
I'm as happy as I've ever been. I'm still digging into and talking about my anger resistance. But everything seems to be moving in the right direction in my life. I'm putting in the work on myself. I'm striving for success rather than just survival.
Avoidance Never Works: I Learned About Depression as a Child
I do recover. I am conscious of when I'm avoiding. I still do it, but I'm doing it less. And I'm learning to take the uncomfortable feelings or worry by the horns and looking the damn bull in the eye and saying, "To hell with you, fear, I'm going in!"
My Side of the Mountain – Understanding Depression
I was showing myself that I was emerging from one of the longest depressions I've been in as an adult. For me, creativity and brain health go hand in hand. So I'm happy to be back, still working, but on the upswing.
Single Dad Is Getting Too Close to the Sun: Managing My Moods
My most recent bouts of depression were triggered by my divorce, but it's a lifelong journey for me. I can drink. I can stop drinking. But I'm not sure how good I am at getting sad and not turning on the sadness fire hose at the first sign of things going off.
Minimizing The Collateral Damage of Depression and Divorce
If I can leverage that into some measure of hopefulness, then I am well along my path of recovery. I don't have to aim for joy when I am activated and functioning properly.
Thinking About Doing It: Depression and Creativity
I'm coming out of my illness and beginning to feel my hopefulness again. But I'm not able to climb a quarter-mile hill right out of the gate, my first five minutes on a bike. It takes some time to build up to that. My friend who sold me his used bike said, "Start out in the flats, build up to it."