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How Did You Love? & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #158
I made a new friend last week. We have connected on a level that I never really thought was a possibility. There is a space in my mind that has seemed completely unrelatable for basically the entirety of my life. I try to describe what happens in that space. I write about it frequently. Many of you have probably read some of it when I share glimpses of what goes on inside my bipolar brain. For a long time, I assumed that anyone with Bipolar Disorder could relate completely, but what I did not account for was that no bipolar brain is exactly the same. There is so much personality…
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Why Getting Dressed Up is Important to Me & Link Up On the Edge #175
There are so many times, like multiple times a day, that I wonder if this blogging thing is really just frivolous and vain, pointless and silly. That old arch-nemesis of mine, Imposter Syndrome, sneaks in when I least suspect her and brings mental turmoil and overwhelming amounts of self-doubt with her and drops them proudly at my feet like a cat with a fresh kill so very excited for the hideous gifts she presents to me. What am I to do with such presents? First and foremost, I stand there in shock that she would bring me these things yet again. Especially since I have made it abundantly clear that…
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Finding Gems in the Rubble & Link Up On the Edge #107
I know I have been sharing a lot recently about my Bipolar journey and I apologize if the topic is becoming redundant. You see, writing about it is the healthiest way I have learned to cope with it. Writing has been my main source of therapy since the very beginning. It allows for a process of purging. All of the destructive thoughts and internal demons get expelled by memorializing them into actual words. It’s a paradox of sorts…giving them life is the only way I can destroy them. I used to only write about it in my private journals, feeling like it was just too dark and fucked up to…
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Shelbee Says… “Trust the process.”: 8 Steps for Managing Bipolar Mood Swings
On Friday, I wrote about the battlefield that is Bipolar Disorder and I discussed how I have developed a great capacity for managing the mood swings when they start. Often when I share my story, I am met with the question of how I manage my Bipolar Disorder so effectively without medication. Every time I am asked this question, I am left without an adequate answer. All I can ever come up with is, “I don’t know. I just do it.” However, I am fully aware that this answer helps absolutely no one. So I decided it was time to sit down and really think about how I navigate my…
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A Bipolar Battlefield & Link Up On the Edge #106
Life inside of a Bipolar brain is tricky to say the least…even after you have reached a point of mostly understanding it all. You see, the last week as been a rough one for me…mentally and emotionally. I can’t really pin point the reason. That is the mystery of Bipolar Disorder. Why and when and how it operates the way it does. I have talked a lot about how I have come through this disorder to the other side and what brilliance and happiness I have found by coming through it. Actually, the good life lies not in coming through it, but in working through it. If you need help…
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Shelbee Says…“Self-care is never selfish.”
My personal mental health journey through Bipolar Disorder was a long and arduous one. Because I navigated it primarily alone and without a road map, the lessons I have learned have become sacred to me. And while my lessons may not be the magical solution for everyone, they are certainly worth sharing in the event that they could possibly help someone. And one fundamental principle that I have learned to live by is that self-care is of the utmost importance. This is true for everyone, but it carries crucial significance for people with mental illness. Through decades of self-evaluation and introspection, years of therapy, and thousands of pages of reading…
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Beautiful Train Wrecks & Link Up On the Edge #97
As the fashion world is grieving the recent loss of the beautiful Kate Spade, I wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to her and send my condolences to all of her friends and family. I also wanted to take this opportunity to once again open the discussion on the topic of mental illness, specifically Bipolar Disorder and Depression. It is a serious issue and one that is very close to my heart. It shows no mercy and it does not discriminate based on race, religion, gender, or status. And it takes lives. Every day. Wonderful, amazing, exquisite, rich lives. Lives that for some reason feel dark and tortured…
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Shelbee Says…Recognizing the Dangers of Spring Mania
Recognizing the Dangers of Spring Mania *Originally printed in the Spring Issue of Resilientista Magazine. Did you know that approximately 51 million people worldwide suffer from Bipolar Disorder? With a population that large, surely almost everyone knows someone with a Bipolar diagnosis. If you do not suffer personally, it could be a co-worker, a relative, a friend, or even your spouse. Living with Bipolar Disorder, whether you suffer from it yourself or someone close to you does, presents a unique set of challenges with the changing of the seasons. Many people, even those not afflicted with an official diagnosis of mental illness, are familiar with seasonal affective disorder, a change…
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Knowledge is Power: The Benefits of Bibliotherapy
Knowledge is power. Being informed of the things around us gives a certain amount of control. Education is the basis of progress. Observation makes us more aware. Awareness gives us an edge. Insight can make incredible things happen. And wisdom brings healing. None of us can do it alone. People need people. And sometimes people need a therapist. *This is a sponsored post. However, all thoughts, opinions, and experiences are entirely my own. I want to share part of my mental health story here…the beginning of it actually. When I was 26 years old, I left a marriage that was not working for me. This event quite literally turned me…
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Feeling Grateful with Rosegal
This Thanksgiving, I am realizing now more than ever how truly grateful I am for all of the blessings in my life. *This is a sponsored post. This jacket was provided to me. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own. *Jacket: High Low Hooded Plus Size Lace-up Coat in Army Green ($25.94) c/o Rosegal. This jacket is available in 6 other colors. Be sure to check all the fabulous deals going on this weekend at the Rosegal Black Friday Sale! Once upon a time, I traveled a dark and lonely road filled with sharp and scary turns where the fear of the unknown nearly paralyzed me. As I stared…