The Problem Having bipolar disorder means life is a balancing act. Trying not to go too far on the manic side and not fall too far on the depressive side. It’s fitting that I’m a Libra. The symbol for Libras is balance. The scales. Life, for me, is constant turmoil trying to stay in that […]
Category: alcoholism
Journaling for Mental Health
I’m excited to introduce one of my favorite bloggers, WIL, of Write Into The Light, who accepted my request to be a guest blogger today. I ran into the bedroom and slammed the door behind me; falling to the bed, I screamed into my pillow. He’s being unreasonable! He doesn’t understand. I can’t take this […]
My Life Story
I recently joined a Write Your Life Story group that a friend of mine suggested. The way the group works is we write on our own time, and then each week we share out loud what we have written to the group, which is approximately 25 – 30 people. So far I have shared a […]
Bipolar, Depression, Drinking, Drugging
When I first stumbled upon this recent study, I had to laugh. I mean, another study that links mental illness with substance abuse? Really? Was there a need to spend more time and money to discover what has been discovered again and again and again? Well, to my surprise, there was. I’ve heard “10 years” […]
Fifty
Tomorrow (Saturday Sept 28) is my fiftieth birthday. Yep, the big Five-O. I didn’t think it was going to bother me, but I’m shocked that I was wrong. All week I’ve been irritable. It didn’t bother me when I turned thirty. It didn’t bother me when I turned 40. Interestingly, it did bother me […]
Old Friends
Over the years I’ve been guilty of one serious flaw regarding friends – I throw them away. In my life I’ve lived in over a dozen cities in seven states and in each and every one of them I made wonderful friends who I thought would be with me for the rest of my life. I’m sad […]
Bucket List
Before getting sober, over nine years ago, I struggled for survival. I slept on a lot of peoples couches, but after being sober for six months I was homeless. No one was willing to take me In anymore. I was losing hope. All my old friends were gone. I eventually understood that there weren’t friends […]
Anchors Away
“My name is Brad and I’m an alcoholic.” I have said that many times since I got clean and sober over 9 years ago. Drugs and alcohol abuse is very high for those who have a mood disorder. Some studies say as high as 60%. I, for one, took anything I could get my hands […]
Another Interview
When I first started this blog, about a year ago, I interviewed myself as an introduction to my blog. Now that I’m restarting it, I figure I should do the same. So, here we go: What is your favorite color: green or blue, it depends on the lighting. When was the last time you had […]
Born To Be Alive
4 years ago when I got sober I rarely went to bars and clubs. Finally one night Maurice and I went dancing (I love to dance). During our dancing the 1979 hit came on called “Born to be Alive” by Patrick Hernandez. We danced and swayed and then I started listening to the words “born […]