Bipolar Blog

By Guest Blogger, Cecie Kraynak

In the course of my most recent hospitalizations, my husband, Joe, and I have tossed around the idea of creating our own mental healthcare resort or at least implementing a 5-star-rating system for existing facilities. The first place I stayed would have earned a 1-star rating, and that was pretty much a mercy star. The second place, Valle Vista in Greenwood, Indiana, was a solid 4 (out of 5) Star resort compared to the other places I’ve stayed. (more…)

Recently, Susan posted the following question on our Post a Question page:

Question: I believe that my sister is bipolar. She has all the symptoms. She is 36 and has two kids. I have tried talking with her about seeing a doctor but she seems to think she doesn’t need any help. I just worry about her, and I would love some advice on how to handle the situation without losing a sister. (more…)

Family and friends of people with bipolar disorder often wonder what they can do to help when their loved one is hospitalized due to a major mood episode. The short answer is to do what you would normally do when a loved one is in the hospital for any illness:

• Call
• Visit
• Send a card (include your phone number in case the person wants to call you – they may not have access to their cell phone or address book, but they can usually call out… if they have your number)
• Send flowers (request that they be sent in a plastic vase)
• Find out whether the person needs anything

(more…)

Recently, we heard from readers Larry and Linda Drain who have recently formed a local chapter of DBSA (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance) in Blount County, Tennessee. The group’s mission is to provide information and support for people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones and facilitate connections among people in the bipolar community. As Larry has said, “The weight is less heavy when it’s shared.”

We encourage you to read the Drain’s bipolar story, which they have shared with visitors to the Bipolar Blog and to visit their Hopeworks Community website, where you will find information, advice, support, and perhaps best of all hope.

From Joe

I saw my wife at the “hospital” yesterday, Tuesday. The doctor was supposed to have started her on lithium. I learned that he was unable to do so, because he needed to run a pregnancy test first. I’ve had a vasectomy, and I am 99.99999% sure that my wife has not had an affair, so why did the doctor think that my wife could be pregnant? Because of a dream she had. (more…)

By Joe 

Over the past two weeks, I have been dealing with a bipolar disorder crisis in my family. Even though I have learned a great deal about bipolar disorder over the years – from working on the book and our blog, from past experiences, and from extensive research – during these two weeks, I have felt like a real Bipolar Dummy. (more…)

From Joe

I took my wife to the hospital on Sunday. It broke my heart and hers. I think there is nothing more difficult in life than checking a loved one into one of these places, but I felt that we had no other option. Cecie was cycling into a manic episode with a good dose of psychosis mixed in. She spent Saturday night on our dock by the lake feeding the carp Cheerios. She said she saw a carp jump out of the water and turn into our cat. She was scheduled to leave on a vacation for Spain on Tuesday with our daughter. She needed treatment to bring her down and help her sleep, but the only way she could get the treatment she needed was to voluntarily be admitted to the psychiatric ward at the hospital. (more…)