Psychosis happens amongst people with the mental illnesses schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, post partum psychosis, and sometimes those with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and severe depression. Psychosis is experienced in two different ways; hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations are when a person hears, sees, smells, tastes or feels something that isn’t really there. It’s a sensory […]
Yes, I Do Miss Being Manic
I find myself pining for the person I become when I’m manic. I’ve written before about how mania isn’t always fun. I do miss it at times, no matter how many times I tell myself the negative aspects of it. Mania can be a mind blowing, euphoria filled trip. It’s honestly better than any drug […]
Mental Illness Is Complicated and Some People Just Don’t Get It
I’ve been really struggling this year… I’ve been out to gigs with friends. I’ve had nights out dancing and joking. I’ve caught up with friends over coffee. I can still have a social life and *shock* have a good time even when I’m having a bad time with mental illness. I’ve written about having a […]
101 Things No-one Tells You About Mania
It is more than just being happy Mania makes me feel euphoric Mania makes me feel constantly ‘on’ and ready Mania makes me feel a constant sense of anticipation Sufferers all have slightly different periods of hypomania and mania. An episode could last days An episode could last weeks A hypomanic or manic episode could […]
When You’re High Functioning With Mental Illness…
Being publicly high functioning despite a severe mental illness means people getting annoyed with you when you don’t deliver on promises or can’t give them emotional support. They don’t realise all your effort is already exhausted maintaining that high functioning persona. Commitments pile up on you and you can slowly start to unravel if you’re […]
Falling Through The Gap
I’ve lived with mental illness for more than half my life. Even so, it’s only been in the past few years where I’ve felt able to talk openly about bipolar, psychosis and bulimia. It’s everyones responsibility to help people like me find their voice. We shouldn’t have to feel brave for speaking up, we must […]
A Life Lived Vividly Series: ‘I Thought The Voices Were Normal’ Realising I Had Psychosis
I suffer from bipolar disorder, well known for it’s symptoms of mania and depression. What many people don’t realise is that some sufferers also experience psychosis. These could include delusions, auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations. For me, I hear voices. This happens during periods of extreme moods, so when I’m manic or severely depressed. I […]
What Does ‘Recovery’ Mean?
The word recovery means very different things to different people. The word is problematic and can ultimately be damaging. When people talk about recovery it marginalises those that can’t. Some people use the word to describe the process and not an actual milestone. Some see it as having a positive outlook, that they see as […]
What Nobody Tells You About Mania
As I’ve said before there is more to mania than just feeling good. It’s a complicated symptom of bipolar. When someone asks me “What’s it like to be manic?” I have to really think about it. There’s so much to it, I can’t sum it up in a couple of sentences. It goes through many stages, […]
“Why Are You Walking On Eggshells?” How I Began To Recognise Manic Anger
I saw my parents today. They came over to my flat and I made them coffee. We had a catch up and giggled at my Mum attempting to play video games. We moved on to how well I’ve been coping recently. They told me they were so happy to see me stable and well. […]