Recovery

Like all people who live in Bi-Polar Land (i.e. all of us who have Bipolar Disorder Type 1 or Type 2), sleep is very important to maintaing our stability. Because of this I read with interest anything I come across that 'sleep specialists' write about getting a good night sleep. I wish I didn't....

After a second relapse and a stint of home hospitalisation, I am finally feeling better. It appears the new drugs regime is working. What I mean by 'working' is that it is giving me sufficient biological/physiological stability for me to access the sum total of my resources and experience. To me that's what drugs are for: they give me back ME.

I have just returned from what SHOULD have been a two week holiday in France visiting my elderly parents. It turned out to be a three week stay with ten days of illness in the middle. What happened?

I am now totally off my evening medication and, to my surprise, I feel a little lost as well as immensely relieved. I have lost the evening ritual that has punctuated my life for the past two-and-a-half years.

I did not expect to feel this AT ALL and yet, when I put the leftover boxes of medication away, I felt a little sad - as if I were saying goodbye to a good friend.

I suppose that my evening tablet (Mirtazapine) has been a good friend. It has:

"Do YOU want to know what serious Jet Lag is like without having to fork out for expensive air travel? Easy - I do it every day."

Such was my status update on my Facebook Bi-Polar Girl page and on Twitter too. That's the great thing about all those new fandangled technologies: you can work with them FROM YOUR BED!

I love being able to DO things. The last two days, I have done some cleaning, some recycling, some writing, some cooking and some taking care of animals on behalf of our neighbours who are away on holiday. I am so grateful when I feel the desire and have the energy to potter about here and there.

I don't watch soaps but my friend Lynette alerted me to one of the story lines in East Enders: one of the characters was diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder (BPD). My God! Could it be that BPD was  becoming a 'cool' illness to have?!? My hubby downloaded the relevant episodes from BBCiPlayer and I settled down to watch them with some trepidation.....

Facebook is a wonderful thing: postings go from the ridiculous to the sublime and back again. Who would have thought that this kind of internet social network could contribute to our development as a human being, as well of course as providing us with a few good laughs...