Let’s Welcome Jess to the My Bipolar Mind Blog Family!
I would like to take a moment to welcome Jessenia Collado (@jesscollado3) to the My Bipolar Mind blog family! Jess is our newest writer on this site.
It’s Been A While… But I Am Still Here
I feel like it’s been a lifetime since I last posted anything. It’s definitely been a few months. Since September I believe. I’ve just felt like I couldn’t write anything anymore for the past few months
Jess’s Story: My Ups & Downs
I have been in the longest depressive state since being diagnosed. It started around September 2021.
Time Flies When You’re Dealing With Insomnia
It’s 5:50 am and my alarm is scheduled to go off in an hour and ten minutes – at 7 am. I should be trying to cling to my last hour of sleep like a baby holding onto their favorite new toy before I have to wake up and get ready for the day like I usually do. But I woke up to a painful leg muscle cramp, also known as a Charlie Horse back in the day, and haven’t been able to go back to sleep since and that happened around 2 am.
I Should Be Asleep… But Insomnia Sucks
It’s almost 1 am and usually by this time I have already been asleep for a few hours. Ever since I started my new job on August 2nd, on nights where I have to get up at 7:30 am for work, I take my night time meds around 9 pm and I am usually out within an hour. I am always so tired during the day since I am still trying to adjust to work life again so I haven’t had much trouble falling asleep at night.
I Still Haven’t Slept (Coming Down From a Manic Episode)
I was finally able to force myself to try to lay down and rest around 6 am, shortly after my I published my last personal post, but no matter how hard I tried I could not get my eyes to stay closed or my mind to shut down enough to get any rest. I laid on my moms pull out sofa from 6 to 9 am just playing on my phone and once my mom and the dogs got up I gave up trying to rest and just folded the sofa back up for the day.
Late Night Thoughts: July 21, 2021
I know I already published one very long personal post earlier, but it is after midnight I still pretty awake so I figured I’d blog a bit more about whatever comes to mind. Although, I did just finally take my night time meds around 11:45 pm which is way later than I am used to taking them since moving back to my moms so hopefully they kick in before 1 am so I can still get an okay amount of sleep before my mom and her dogs get up in the morning.
My Life Has Been Uprooted Once Again
It’s been awhile since I last posted anything personal on here. Last month, shortly after my wonderful Sea Isle City vacation with my boyfriend, my life was once again flipped upside down and uprooted. I’ve faced and struggled with a few major life changes this past month.
Gratitude For June 23, 2021
I know I have been posting blog post after blog post over the last several hours (thanks to mania and insomnia), but I thought I would try something a little different for me and write about 10 things I am grateful for this morning.
My Insomniac Thoughts of The Night (Or Early Morning Depending On Who You Ask)
It is almost 5:30 in the morning and in just about 3 hours, my mom will be calling me to let me know if she is definitely picking me up this morning to take me to do some running around while my boyfriend is at work. I didn’t plan on not getting any sleep tonight, but I was (and maybe still am) a bit manic and when I get manic my night meds don’t always seem to put me to sleep like they usually do every other night.
Let’s Talk About Living With Anxiety
Living with anxiety can feel different for each and every person because symptoms of anxiety can be experienced differently. After all, we are all unique in our own ways. Many people who live with anxiety on a daily basis can relate to one another while still adding their own spin on what anxiety feels like to them.
How Do You Keep Yourself Busy During The Day?
Upon restarting therapy today, my therapist and I were discussing ways for me to try to keep myself busy during the day since I am not working at the moment so that I don’t have too much downtime to get lost in my head and start overthinking every detail of my life. For me, being stuck in my head with too much time to think often effects my mental health in negative ways.
I Restarted Therapy Today & I’m Glad I did
I have only had three different therapists since I started therapy maybe 8-10 years ago. My first therapist got laid off about 2-3 years after I started with her. That therapist didn’t believe working on past traumas and felt just trying to move past everything was the best method of treatment even though it was a lot of my past traumas that caused me to feel and act the way I did.
Roller Coaster of a Life
So, I’ve been a bit of a mess lately, Murphy’s law has been kicking my butt lately.
How to Prepare For a Psych Appointment
Seeing a psych for the first time can be stressful, but going in prepared can help tremendously. Almost everyone is so nervous the days leading up to the appointment.
Self-Harm Myths and Facts
Cutting, Scratching, Burning. There are a number of ways an individual may self-harm. And it’s more common than you may think. In fact, Nearly 17% of all people will self-harm sometime during their lives. March is self-harm awareness month, to help bring attention to self-injuring behaviors and get rid of some of the confusions about what self-harm is, identify the signs to watch for, and offer ways to help someone who you suspect might be engaging in self-harming activities
Had an Amazing Day With My Bestie
I had an amazing day today and got to hang out with my bestie, Jazmine, and my god kids for a few hours today. I don’t get to see Jazmine and her kids that often anymore because she works full time and has 5 kids to look after. She’s like a busy ass super mom. I cherish the time we do get to spend together. We have been friends for like 22 years now. We met in middle school in science class in 6th grade. We started talking after she told me that she liked how I did my hair and we have been best friends ever since.
Stages of Grief: The 7 stages of Grief Explained
Pop culture often references the stages of grief, but how much does the general public actually know about them? One thing generally missed is people should interpret the seven stages of grief loosely. No one experiences loss the same way. In fact, people go through the different stages in their order and can even loop back to one they already “experienced.”
Life is Okay Right Now
It’s strange to say that since I quit my job I am less stressed and overwhelmed even with having to deal with financial hardships and having to look for a new job. You would think that I would feel even more stressed since I have to worry about where money is going to come from and where I can apply for a job that would fit my limitations.
Different Types of Anxiety Disorders & How You Can Cope
There are several different types of anxiety disorders, which includes Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Specific Phobias, Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety, as well as Separation Anxiety Disorder.
My Bipolar Mind 