Category Archives: Mood disorder

The colour of madness

Posted on July 2, 2021 by purplepersuasion

It’s been a very long time since I’ve blogged and this will probably be short as I’m typing it out on my phone at the bus stop. An hour ago I finished my first session of therapy in five years, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychological therapies, Recovery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The colour of madness

Crisis? What crisis?

Posted on November 14, 2019 by purplepersuasion

I’ve thought about blogging so often in recent weeks, with several abortive attempts. I considered writing about the therapeutic benefits of having a companion animal – if you don’t follow me on social media, I now have a cat! She’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, Depression, Hypomania, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Psychiatry, Self-management, Suicidal thought, Suicide, Treatment planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Crisis? What crisis?

Running up that hill

Posted on April 14, 2019 by purplepersuasion

Trigger warning: this post contains descriptions of suicidal thoughts, including methods. Please don’t read on if you are feeling at all vulnerable. I want to run. I am desperate to run. When I wrote my last post my idea was … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, GP, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, Suicidal thought, Suicide, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Running up that hill

Hospital at home

Posted on April 6, 2019 by purplepersuasion

Trigger warning: suicidal thoughts and planning A depressing side effect of being a seasoned blogger with a fluctuating condition is that the archive makes it very clear that I go around and around, having better times, then having groundhog day … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, GP, Hospital, Inpatient care, Mental health, Mental health services, Mixed mood, Mood disorder, NHS services, Rapid cycling, Suicidal thought, Suicide, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hospital at home

On having a “carer”

Posted on April 4, 2019 by purplepersuasion

By now I am a veteran at completing application/review forms for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). ESA is for people who are too sick to work, while PIP is to cover extra expenses associated with … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Bipolar, Crisis care, Depression, Employment and benefits, GP, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, Mood disorder, NHS services, Rapid cycling, Suicidal thought, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on On having a “carer”

Christmas approaches

Posted on December 3, 2018 by purplepersuasion

It’s been a long time since I posted. I just don’t feel the urge as much these days; I’ve become habituated to things like hospitalisation and crisis care, therapy and medication changes, so although these things continue to play a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Christmas, Crisis care, Depression, Employment and benefits, exercise, Hospital, Hypomania, Inpatient care, Medication, Mental health, Mental health services, Mixed mood, Mood disorder, NHS services, psychology, Self-management, Therapy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Christmas approaches

The pam fam: the demonisation of benzodiazepines

Posted on September 13, 2018 by purplepersuasion

“Diazepam.” A single word tweet. Regular readers or Twitter followers will know what that meant: I had hit an intolerable level of anxiety which I was managing with a prescribed benzodiazepine. One which I am not only authorised but encouraged … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, CBT, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Depression, Hypomania, Mental health, Mental health services, Mixed mood, Mood disorder, NHS services, Pillshaming, Primary care, Psychiatry, Rapid cycling, Self-management, Social media, Stigma and discrimination, Suicide, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The pam fam: the demonisation of benzodiazepines

Roll with it

Posted on August 19, 2018 by purplepersuasion

This morning I managed to shave my legs. It’s the closest to achieving anything that I have reached in days. Because here am I, depressed again. I’m kind of waiting for my CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) to say “I told … Continue reading →

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So long, lithium

Posted on July 29, 2018 by purplepersuasion

I can tell you pretty accurately when I started taking lithium, because I blogged about it (wow, I have been blogging for a long time). In fact, that post tells me that it’s very nearly seven years to the day. … Continue reading →

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Zero hours

Posted on July 20, 2018 by purplepersuasion

So next week I have to go to the GP to ask for an extension to my sick note. After initially signing me off for six weeks they gave me another certificate for four weeks, but this time I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Bipolar, Crisis care, Employment and benefits, Mood disorder, NHS services, Primary care, Self-management, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Zero hours