Archive for ‘Mental Health’

  • Facing Our Darkest Hour – Part One
    At one time or another, in most any relationship, we hit such a large bump in the road that we wonder if we may ever be able to recover from the jolt.  Those that have been involved in the bipolar community and especially those within a bipolar relationship, can appreciate some of the most common challenges that may arise can cause detrimental damage. Those with strong...
    by Rich Wallace at February 20th, 2010 at 11:02 am
  • Bipolar Disorder: Illness or Attribute?
    When you hear the terms, “Manic Depression” or “Bipolar Disorder”…think about the first thing that comes to mind. Go ahead…I’ll wait… Do you think of these terms as a suitable label to place on a fellow human being?  If you have never been introduced to the terms in such a way where you live with the disorder either directly...
    by Rich Wallace at January 18th, 2010 at 08:01 am
  • Holiday Stress and Bipolar Disorder
    The holiday season is a time for family and friends to spend some real quality time together, celebrate the end of the year and resolve to better ourselves over the next year.  We like to imagine, here in the States anyway, lightly falling snow, festive music and traditions that have been passed along our family lines for generations. Offering gifts to our friends and...
    by Rich Wallace at December 24th, 2009 at 10:12 am
  • Shifting the Paradigm
    As saddening is it is to witness some of the anger and bitterness from those unwilling to open their mind’s a little more, I must admit that less than a year ago of this writing, I was just as angry and bitter and I felt very similar in the way the some have about dealing with bipolar disorder in my own life. To clarify my own transformation, I must share the...
    by Rich Wallace at November 11th, 2009 at 02:11 pm
  • Bipolar Disorder: An Illness, Not an Identity
    When people read or hear about mental health issues in the media, the most common reaction from those uneducated by the topic are assumptions that those affected cannot be trusted, cannot live a “normal” life or worse yet, not worth developing any kind of relationship with.  Rather than viewing an individual with bipolar disorder as a person, many people...
    by Rich Wallace at November 10th, 2009 at 06:11 am
  • Bipolar Disorder and Hypomanic Insomnia
    Bipolar disorder brings on a potential laundry list of symptoms that can wreak havoc on both the sufferer and the supporters as well.  Keeping in mind that the symptoms seen by one that does not have bipolar may be seen as ‘regular issues we all have’, this simply is not the case and it must be understood that the challenges brought on by the disorder can...
    by Rich Wallace at November 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
  • How To Identify Triggers
    Managing a bipolar relationship without having a deep understanding of our loved ones triggers can put a serious strain on the relationship for both sufferers and supporters alike.  For those that are newly involved in a bipolar relationship, or just looking for related information, we’ll touch on what a “trigger” is and how it relates to the bipolar...
    by Rich Wallace at October 28th, 2009 at 06:10 am
  • Bipolar Support: Respecting Personal History
    One of the key factors to keep in mind when supporting a loved one that suffers from bipolar disorder is to truly monitor their actions and reactions that may be related to their own personal history.  Obviously, we may never know another individual’s true history, therefore, when a trigger fires, it may introduce some newly surfaced challenges that have not...
    by Rich Wallace at October 20th, 2009 at 10:10 am
  • Reader Question: Why Do Bipolar People Turn on Their Spouses?
    I awoke to some new emails today and one in particular caught my eye… My wife was diagnosed as bipolar earlier this year and I don’t know what to do when she seems to turn on me and wants nothing to do with me.  Why does she do that? Well, the first observation that comes to mind is that since this is a fairly new diagnosis, the reader either hasn’t...
    by Rich Wallace at October 17th, 2009 at 08:10 am
  • Bipolar With a Side of Abandonment Anxiety
    Along with the challenges that bipolar disorder brings to our marriage, my wife was recently diagnosed with abandonment anxiety as well.  Reflecting over the years of our relationship, it makes sense now as the signs and numerous red flags were right in front of our faces, but we never really paid much attention until recently. Without going into great detail of my wife’s...
    by Rich Wallace at October 16th, 2009 at 11:10 am
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