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I am a tap dance student, and last night was our yearly recital. As I stood in the wings, literally, reading a review copy for an upcoming book about anorexia, I was surrounded by dancers of all ages and shapes. As a job hazard, I watch the kids for signs of eating disorders. Since no one is eating on the stage - or face the wrath of Miss Linda - you may wonder what I'm looking for.
This was one of the first books that I read shortly after being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. I wanted to be sure that I was diagnosed correctly. Coincidentally enough, I have not been correctly diagnosed by my current psychiatric nurse. She says that I'm a Bipolar II and I think I'm Bipolar I, according to the DSM-IV-TR. She told me once that it didn't matter as long as the treatment took care of my episodes. But it's the new edition, the DSM-V, that has really grabbed my attention.
I saw an article on CNN today about how Walmart's sales at U.S. stores fell 1.4% from the same period last year. When customers are living paycheck to paycheck more than ever before, the sales aren't there because "customers can't afford the gas to get to the stores and that they're increasingly using food stamps when they get there." It's no secret we are living in difficult times. It's a no brainer that anxiety levels in the country must be rising. It made me wonder how much.
Sometimes the ADHD mind strikes when you least expect it leaving you holding a big bag of embarrassment. Do you have good friends to not hold it against you?
The anniversary of my father’s passing is nearly here. It’s given me pause to reflect on what my life’s been like this last year. I went into a deep depression that lasted from September to February. I had a short lived hypomanic episode, too. I would say that I wish my year had been better, but it could’ve been worse.
We've all heard of patients and parents of patients "Googling" an illness or treatment and arriving to appointments with print-outs and pointed questions. The problem is new, but not unexpected. New technologies and access often make people nervous. There was a time when women weren't allowed to read novels and locomotive trains were believed to cause internal damage because they traveled so fast. To be fair, the public is known to over-reach on new ideas as well: the Atkins Diet and pet rocks come to mind.
I have a cat. Got her as a cute kitten but now she is a cat. This is the first one that I have ever owned. I am a big animal lover, but this cat has been testing my patience. She has issues with a quiet house. Anytime someone is sleeping, she can't stand it and starts meowing. She meows right outside my daughter's door when she is napping. The worse thing is she meows every night, when the family tries to sleep and again, in the wee hours of the morning. Constantly meowing. Loudly! She has food and water, access to the outside, access to any room she wants, lots of cat toys, two dogs to play with, but nothing keeps her quiet. On top of all that, she's mean and bites or scratches you if you try to touch her. I am at my wits end, willing to try anything so I don't have to give her away.
Many of us lose colossal amounts of time while trolling the net for new information. Do we have to unplug the internet and go back to reading by candlelight, or can we have our digital cake and eat it too?
My faith has waned. I don’t have faith that I’ll be able to complete a successful school semester due to my recent bipolar episode. If it happens again, I need to be prepared and I just don’t know how to do that. I’m worried that I won’t be able to do the work that I need to do. In my head I hear myself scream, “Failure!”
Have you noticed that it is just assumed in our society that everyone wants to be thin? Thin is never defined, and seems to mean "smaller than anyone else in the room." Everyone seems to agree that being thinner is a constant quest, and that the only difference between people with an eating disorder and everyone else is how strong that "drive for thinness" is. I don't buy it, and I'll tell you why.

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Comments

Ozlem
beautiful comment gave me tears with love thank you
Dawn Gressard
I'm sorry to hear you're going through this. It sounds incredibly tough, especially being far from home without your usual support network. Here are a few suggestions that might help: 1) Keep detailed records of your work, interactions with your boss, and performance reviews. This can help protect you if you feel you're being unfairly targeted. 2) Familiarize yourself with the labor laws in that country, especially those related to workplace discrimination and mental health. Depression is covered under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). However, I don't know how that works outside the US. 3) Consider a backup plan in case you get fired. This might include looking for new job opportunities in your current location and back home or contacting any contacts you have for support or advice. Hopefully, you can ready yourself and begin considering your next steps. This way, you hopefully won't become even more depressed, as unemployment can often lead to. I wish you all the luck and sending good vibes your way!
Beth
Oof, yeah this article is all kinds of ableist ignorance and while there is some truth laced into certain points, (if you take those pieces out of the overall article and separate them), the majority of this article actually only applies to people with an exact situation like yours.

Also, abuse is wrong, and in order for it to be abuse means there is automatically someone on the receiving end who doesn’t deserve it, which is what is called a victim. In actuality, you can be both a victim AND a survivor AT THE SAME TIME.

I am interested in a lot of the topics available on this site, but this article honestly makes me question how ignorant and untruthful/misrepresenting other articles on this site might be. This article betrays credibility for the site as a whole. Might want to consider that. Especially with both disability AND domestic violence being on the rise…this article is only going to get more and more negative feedback over time.
Lisa Palmer
This is so true, very on point information .I have had MPD/DID for 42 years, and have been taking Quetapal freely when needed ( it dose work straight away for us) for the last 4 years, it has made us stable and more in control than without it, we now have turns at driving the bus so to say, rather than being all over the place and was losing so much time and waking up days weeks later, I absolutely recommend Quetapals for anyone with DID.
Julie
You’re not alone! I have two adult sons, 23 and 28. My husband and I did our very best with them gave them all the love and attention we had, gave our lives while they were growing up. Now, as adults, they have little use for me, or my husband. It is such an awful feeling, and it’s too upsetting to talk to them about it. I was in an awful car accident 8 years ago, I have a TBI which keeps me from being able to work or drive. I’m not the same person I once was, and it absolutely breaks my heart that my children can’t be bothered with now. My husband feels exactly the same way. I question everything I did and didn’t do. I have so much guilt over not making more home cooked meals, not taking more vacations, working when my children were young, my list is endless. If u try talking with either of them about this, I cry, which makes me feel ashamed.