Wednesday, October 1, 2008

One Month With BiPolar

So it is officially One month since I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Let me tell you how I got here. After the last drunken episode with Mom, the one that sent me hitchhiking my way to Appleton, the one that led to the tearful call home for her to pick me up when I got stuck in the storm of the year about half way to Eau Claire, I decided to try and make some changes in my life. Not the kind of manic change I make usually, but a well thought out productive one. I sat down alone and wrote down my main issues that hold me down. Next I decided on some steps to take to address each issue. I won't tell you the issues, they are a bit to personal, but I will tell you the steps I am taking to solve them. Here they are:

1. Seek Therapy. I did that and I am still doing that. That's what led to my diagnosis.

2. Quit drinking. Nuff Said.

3. Enroll in tech school. One decision made during one manic phase that I regret the most was dropping out of Stout. I am enrolled in their Computer Specialist program, ad it will be a tuff 2 years, but as long as I stay healthy and with it, I think I can do it.

4. Take at least one full day to make a major decision. Discuss it with friends and family, and then the next day decide. One thing about people with Bipolar is that they make terrible and risky decisions during the manic highs, such as buy expensive items like cars, or in my case jumping a Greyhound and traveling across the country with out any means. This can all take place on a whim in a matter of minutes.

So armed with with these rules, and my daily dose of Abilify, things are looking up. The lows are not as low and, well, I haven't had a high yet. I'll keep you updated on how things progress. And thanks for reading. Joey.

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