Category Archives: Mania

Scream if you want to go higher

Posted on August 25, 2019 by purplepersuasion

It is often said that people with severe mental health problems exhibit poor compliance with drug regimens. I loathe that word, compliance. The only time I ever felt really annoyed at my CMHT consultant in London was when he said … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Drugs, Hypomania, Mania, Medication, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Scream if you want to go higher

A life in the day of bipolar mixed mood

Posted on December 12, 2016 by purplepersuasion

It would be so nice if being hypomanic and depressed at the same time meant that they cancelled each other out, if the high would make peace with the low so you could find a place in the middle. Instead they antagonise each other, taking it in … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Bipolar, Christmas, Depression, Family issues, Hypomania, Mania, Mental health, Mixed mood, Mood disorder, Psychosis, Rapid cycling, Self-management, Social media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A life in the day of bipolar mixed mood

Not all hypos are equal: when things get nasty

Posted on August 19, 2016 by purplepersuasion

When I was discharged from hospital a couple of weeks ago I thought it would take me a long time to recover from the experience. I was actually quite shocked by the depth of my own pain; I’ve been experiencing … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Hypomania, Mania, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychiatry, Rapid cycling, Social media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Not all hypos are equal: when things get nasty

Blessed or distressed? Bipolar and creativity

Posted on March 31, 2016 by purplepersuasion

Bipolar people can get fed up with the whole creativity thing. There’s such an expectation that we’re all going to be “tortured geniuses” that if you don’t feel creativity is a part of your make up, you can almost feel … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, Hospital, Hypomania, Inpatient care, Mania, Memoir, Mental health, Mental health services, Mindfulness, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychiatry, Self-management, Social media, Suicidal thought, Suicide, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Don’t fence me in: 10 signs of hypomania you won’t find in a textbook

Posted on June 19, 2015 by purplepersuasion

Whenever I tell a new doctor that I’m hypomanic they ask me to describe what I mean when I use that word. I hate the question, because it’s glaringly obvious that they’re assessing my answers against criteria they have in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Hypomania, Mania, Self-management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments