How To Break-Up With Depression

Have you ever had a friend who was in a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend that did their best to try to control them or change them or tell them, “You will never be…….I am the best you will ever have”? Have you ever had a friend who was in a relationship with someone [...]

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How to experience mania without it becoming a full on manic episode

This is a dangerous topic if misused that should be explored with caution and should not be attempted without the support and accessibility of psychiatric professionals. By no means do I encourage any person living with bipolar disorder discontinue taking their medication or change their dosage in order to experience self-management (especially if you have [...]

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Uncovering loving ways for doing an intervention

In my years of helping people develop their ability to thrive with bipolar disorder, I have heard horror stories about interventions that were done on them.  As a therapist, I help teach people loving ways for doing interventions. Out of love and desperation, people often do some very hurtful things to get someone to get [...]

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Lessons learned from UNCERTAINTY in the workplace

Have you ever felt like everyone else, but you, was given a guide-book for proper etiquette in various  work and social circumstances? Some people just intuitively pick up on social rules and know how to behave or have an inner critic that keeps them from saying or doing something inappropriate. Well, I don’t have that [...]

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Getting through “emotional rollercoasters” in relationships

It doesn’t matter what you call it “emotional _______”: “…tide”, “…highs and lows”, “…rollercoaster”, “…waves”, “…rubberbanding”, “…disruption”, “…overwhelm”….we all go up and down or in and out in some way (even people without bipolar disorder). So what do you do when you are in a relationship with someone and they are experiencing an “emotional…”? Here [...]

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Getting back on the horse

Wonderful people have expressed concern for me because when I stopped writing, I shared that I was going though difficult circumstances. Those circumstances are not in my life anymore and I’m doing fine…so why am I not back in my routine? I didn’t really have an answer for that. Until now…. Writing this blog is [...]

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5 Coping Strategies for loving someone experiencing depression

Suffering with depression is incredibly difficult and painful.  However, the second most painful and difficult position is experienced by the person trying to love their partner, child, parent or best friend experiencing depression. The rejection is heart-breaking. Feeling like your presence (doing anything in your ability to help) makes your partner worse or doesn’t matter [...]

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People’s responses to how identity can be rebuilt after it crumbles away

So many people living with bipolar disorder have shared with me the pain of experiencing everything they know about themselves crumble away. For some the crumbling happens in the experience of mania and depression.  For others the loss of identity occurs when medication begins to work. Here are some questions that revealed lessons learned from [...]

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5 Actions to help someone who has lost touch with reality

When someone has lost touch with reality the words to describe this experience, “psychosis” and “psychotic” often scares people. One automatic response to those words that many people have is “crazy”. Reality is simply created by people agreeing on shared sensory experiences. Psychosis simply refers to someone experiencing things with their five senses that other [...]

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5 Ways to help someone who is manic or rapid cycling

Before we get started, I want to help everyone understand why in my writing I use the terms “we” and “us”. The key reason for doing this is because stigmatization, judgment and the fear people have of people living with bipolar disorder can be very isolating and create a great deal of self-shame and self-fear. [...]

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Let’s Talk About Suicide & 5 Ways to Take Life Back

When people have suicidal thoughts and desires, we so often dance around those thoughts and feelings. Instead, we go right into fix it mode. We write out a “no suicide contract”, assess, increase or change medication, develop a safety plan and support, assess for risk, intention, and a plan of action to carry suicide out [...]

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“To Thrive” or “To Struggle & Suffer” with Bipolar Disorder requires tremendous effort and energy

It takes just as much energy and effort to struggle and suffer with bipolar disorder as it does to thrive with bipolar disorder. When I share this, often people’s first response is often disbelief.  They say to me, “Robin, how can that be, I don’t have to do anything to suffer and struggle with Bipolar [...]

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Mood Tracking Tool: How to watch the roller coaster without getting on

One way to track how bipolar disorder affects you is by using this tool. There four factors that I use to understand mood etc.: 1. Consistency: ____ (Scale it: 1 – 10…1=Almost Always; 2-3=Often; 4-5=Sometimes; 6-7=Less Frequent; 8-9=Rarely; 10=Never) Are you experiencing the same types of feelings and thinking in a similar way over a [...]

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Ideas for Loving Someone Living With Bipolar Disorder

Loving someone with bipolar disorder isn’t easy, but we sure are loveable. Here are some ideas that may help when the one you love is living with bipolar disorder: 1. A long tight hug will get so much farther than any words. When your partner is agitated or emotional, no words that you say will [...]

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5 Ways to Gain Control During a Manic Episode

In order to take  control of mania you first have to be able to recognize that you are experiencing mania.  Many people have a very difficult time doing this because the early and middle mania are pleasurable and productive. To recognize the early signs of mania please see my blog entitled, “Early Warning Signs of [...]

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