tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14282064501912426592008-07-09T00:01:00.920-07:00Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comBlogger370125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-71106174102972273252008-07-09T00:01:00.000-07:002008-07-09T00:01:00.931-07:00

Do you ever find a book that is so right for you that you feel it must have reached you by divine intervention? When I was at the library a few months ago, I found this book by Roger Jahnke, Director of Oriental Medicine, called The Healer Within: Using Traditional Chinese Techniques to Release Your Body's Own Medicine, and every page seems to resonate with me. So I bought it, and I feel like Dr

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-86058710591153905352008-07-08T00:01:00.000-07:002008-07-08T08:51:09.803-07:00

About five years ago, I was at my wit's end, and didn't know where to turn. I had never felt sicker. I'd read a study that confirmed that most of the medication I'd taken had barely been studied for its clinical application. I felt like a disappointed "bipolar guinea pig." I called everyone I knew and asked, "Who is the best doctor you know?" I didn't care whether the person they recommended was

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-7204604582939789762008-07-07T06:14:00.000-07:002008-07-07T15:45:05.815-07:00

I've changed the name of my blog to Wellness Writer. You don't need to make changes in your blogroll because I still have the same URL. I'm not going to change that until I'm ready to make a number of changes with my blog. But, I decided that I no longer think about myself as bipolar--despite the fact that psychiatry considers this a lifelong illness. I'm still doing all my wellness activities,

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-21849553277042921172008-07-04T08:39:00.001-07:002008-07-04T08:42:35.928-07:00

Happy Fourth of July! I will be taking a three-day weekend!

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-8100938446725745032008-07-03T00:01:00.000-07:002008-07-03T00:01:16.599-07:00

I seem to have picked up a summer cold and I'm feeling lousy (Why is it that even when I feel terrible due to physical illness, it's like cake compared to depression?), but I did want to write in response to Annie's comment on yesterday's post, Positive Emotions. "Susan, I gave this post a lot of thought. I know what your mean about searching for the positive, even in times of sadness. In my

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-87806908429718591312008-07-02T00:01:00.000-07:002008-07-02T19:19:09.572-07:00

In Writing to Heal: A Guided Journal for Recovering from Trauma and Emotional Upheaval by Dr. James W. Pennebaker, he writes about the importance of positive emotions. "Even the most horrendous life experiences can provide positive feelings and insights. In some circles, this is almost a heretical idea. This is not to say that traumas are good events—rather, their value lies in having the

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-15461870097277032602008-07-01T07:21:00.001-07:002008-07-01T07:42:28.724-07:00

There were a lot of comments yesterday about my post Wanting Wellness, and I appreciate everyone's participation. Toward the end of the day, Marja left a comment, which I would like to address today, and I'm hoping you will weigh in with your opinions as well. She wrote: "I believe wholeheartedly in what you said here Susan. They are things I try to help others see as well. But how do you tell

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-82860336334743305152008-06-30T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-30T00:01:01.862-07:00

As far as I am concerned, the most critical component of achieving wellness is wanting it. But wanting something to me means that I will do anything possible to achieve it. And what that means is that I have been willing to change my lifestyle and certain behavioral patterns. When I talk with people who remain sick and are making no progress, I always feel like asking, "What are you doing

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-77497908542378813842008-06-27T01:11:00.000-07:002008-06-27T02:12:03.631-07:00

This is the final post in a series about mood charts. For six years I kept detailed records of my mood in my Day-Timers organizer. The following are my four final thoughts about their value. 7. In my Day-Timer, there is also a monthly calendar. I religiously recorded all my activities each day. When I review the six-years of mood charts, and skim my activity level, it's very clear to me when I

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-41339834352093559342008-06-26T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-26T00:01:01.939-07:00

This is a continuation of yesterday's post in which I discuss the value of keeping mood charts, and discuss how I used them, and what I learned from keeping a detailed record for six years. 6. At one point, I was so sick I thought I was going to die from psychic pain. My current psychiatrist had prescribed a bunch of new medications that were far more toxic than what I'd been taking. The

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-65761804237349273032008-06-25T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-25T00:15:04.353-07:00

As I said in response to someone's comment, the moods charts I kept for six years were so detailed that I truly learned about my illness with the hope that this information would help me and my doctors "cure" me. Unfortunately, they never treated my hard work with the respect it deserved. But, after six years, this is what I learned: 1. I knew what medications I had taken in what amounts and

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-58286457756224965622008-06-24T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-24T02:52:20.902-07:00

Since the Day-Timer time management system upon which I based my mood charts was the two-page-per-day model, I had a second page to use as a journal. Sometimes, I reflected upon how I felt or wrote philosophical pieces about the problems with the way this illness is treated. Other times I wrote with anger, distress, or confusion about what was happening to me. On this day, May 23, 2001, I wrote a

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-49078673541674672872008-06-23T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-23T09:48:52.674-07:00

Hi! I'm back from three days off. I didn't do anything I'd intended to, but I had a lovely mini-vacation nonetheless. And I strongly believe that taking time off when you need it--if you're able to--is an important wellness activity. Today's post is about mood charts. While a number of you have written to say that you've never been able to keep the mood charts that your doctors have recommended

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-7079958892003188292008-06-20T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-20T00:01:01.495-07:00

I'm taking a three-day weekend. I plan on playing my Autoharp, singing, taking photographs for my new digital photography class, and gardening. Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-75460885474884993882008-06-19T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-19T04:00:00.199-07:00

Sorry again about the mood charts post. I'm feeling fine, but I'm a bit tired and need to regroup before writing this post. I'll do it next week. Not only did I stop taking medication, but I started a digital photography class on Monday, and today I'm taking a "voice training" class. I love singing, and do it with my Autoharp, but I figured I could be better at it. I also decided that since

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-70554019105040472652008-06-18T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-18T06:09:55.775-07:00

I know I promised to post today about my mood charts, but please bear with me for a few days. As many of you know, I still take Adderall for depression and Ativan to sleep at night. But for the last week or so I've been hypomanic. Usually when that happens, I immediately go off the Adderall because my body no longer can tolerate it, and taking it heightens the hypomania. For some reason, I am

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-65401264026180261082008-06-17T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-17T00:01:02.116-07:00

6. Keep a mood chart. While this is a topic I plan on devoting an entire post to, I highly recommend keeping a mood chart. I did this every day for six years and it was an extraordinarily helpful tool for me. The chart I recommend--my own design--is quite different from anything I've read about. It's kind of a combination journal/mood chart. The purpose is to chart every day and I used my

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-12131702761161416422008-06-16T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-17T04:42:40.560-07:00

I've been visiting some bipolar blogs and notice that a bunch of people are either depressed or manic right now, which is my prompt for this week's posts. The first is a Depression Recovery "To Do" List. I read Nancie's blog and started commenting about what I used to do when I was depressed to try to help it lift. My routine was too long for a comment, so I decided to post about it instead. For

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-24523044900234451962008-06-15T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-15T06:22:37.124-07:00

At first I was going to write all about my lesson. I drove down the Pacific Coast Highway on a beautiful day, and the ocean was a blue-green. Then I drove up into the mountains--so high up that it seemed like I was going to touch the sky. I had my lesson, and truly learned how to mouth the harmonica and draw (breathe in) the second hole, which is the very hardest. And the other pupil, a guy named

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-79554529795342030332008-06-14T06:48:00.000-07:002008-06-14T23:59:57.682-07:00

I think my very first post 16 months ago was about Harmonica Healing. I was going to a doctor of integrative medicine, and she recommended breathing exercises. The first night I tried to do them I was bored stiff. What she was talking about was a progression of relaxation exercises in which I was supposed to segment different parts of my body, relax them, and breathe. She recommended a book I

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-71353634796908316022008-06-13T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-13T13:22:24.870-07:00

The following chapter is from my unpublished manuscript, Honk If You're on Lithium. It is copyrighted material, and may not be excerpted without my permission. * * * When I’m hypomanic, the idea of suicide is unfathomable and death is terrifying unless…heaven and hell are quite different than we’ve been led to believe. Say, for example that heaven has too many trees and lakes, too much sun, and

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-26613481199852784922008-06-12T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-12T07:07:23.326-07:00

The last few days have been quite busy, and I'm pooped. Also, I was saddened to hear that Jena from Every Moment Matters is entering the hospital today. I'm not sure if she'll have access to a computer, but I hope everyone will wish her well! When I feel depleted, I post quotes that I feel are uplifting or make me smile. Today's quotes make me smile. And since I realized that I've mostly been

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-24714955277892565932008-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-11T00:01:02.855-07:00

Marja posted on this topic a few days ago. Her post is called "A Bit High." It caused me to think about my own behavior. * * * As much as I've taught myself about hypomania, I still sometimes surprise myself when I feel I have behaved badly. And it's a humbling experience. Two days ago, when I was at the event for my friend's child, in retrospect I talked too much. Without my husband to monitor

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-27469935733173618252008-06-10T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-10T00:01:03.210-07:00

Every now and then, I realize the enormity of what it's like to have felt so sick for so long--and now to feel well so much of the time. It's really quite extraordinary. From reading other blogs, I realize that a number of you aren't feeling very well, and you have my sincere empathy. And maybe it will make you feel better to know that even someone like me--who has suffered so many depressive

Wellness Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05881627992105939490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1428206450191242659.post-50700944527095791972008-06-09T00:01:00.000-07:002008-06-09T00:01:02.688-07:00

I've just started reading Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making by John Fox, and I'm loving it. While there's so much to say, perhaps I'll just quote the first paragraph from the first chapter. "Poetry is a natural medicine; it is like a homeopathic tincture derived from the stuff of life itself--your experience. Poems distill experience into the essentials. Our personal experiences

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