Living Better With Bipolar

My first day as an inpatient in a mental hospital in the 1990's           “How long have you been here?” the gaunt, unshaven man asked the Glaswegian lady sitting next to me, his fingers tapping the table too fast for my liking. He had a feral, haunted look in his eyes, and the smell of rotting eggs hung around him like an unwanted guest. The three of us sat on hard plastic chairs around a hard plastic table in the bleak hospital canteen. A canteen that was far from welcoming; white walls, white floors, metal sinks and kitchen staff who looked like they would have chewed off their arms to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.   On nearby tables, other patients picked at their flavourless food, muttering quietly, or pushing it around their plates with no intention of letting it anywhere near their mouths. It was my first breakfast as an inpatient in the Royal Edinburgh Psychiatric Hospital, and it was not a meal I ever want to repeat. I was seventeen and fe...

Five unexpected positives that came from bipolar disorder?           It took me a long time to reach a place where I could genuinely see what positives might have come from having bipolar disorder. I'm not here to put a fake positive slant on what is, let's be honest, a very horrible condition. But, in a media drowned out by bad news, I want to take a bit of time to share some of the silver linings that I have found in bipolar disorder. I am not someone who forces themselves to be positive, but I think this is an area that deserves more attention.           Growing up, I remember my Dad saying to me, "Ollie, no one ever said it was going to be easy."            He was refering to life, and his words used to frustrate me. But it turned out that he had a point. My life, and I am guessing yours, hasn't been as easy as we would have hoped or expected.           ...

My Keto Journey with Bipolar Disorder           Have you ever wondered how a diet can improve chronic mental health problems? Today I want to share my own journey with the ketogenic diet, which has improved my bipolar symptoms and allowed me to live a better, more vibrant life.           My name is Oliver Seligman. I'm the author of Befriending Bipolar: A Patient's Perspective, and I'm currently studying a Masters at Edinburgh University in the psychology of mental health. I've lived with bipolar disorder for 30 years, tried many treatments and medications, and so far the ketogenic diet has had the most profound effect on my symptoms.           How It Started:         About a year and a half ago, I realised that although I had written a book on my experiences with bipolar, I had never been to a live peer support group for people with this mental illness. So, I decided to ta...

What is it like to experience a agitated manic episode?           It is very difficult to imagine an inner state we have not experienced for ourselves. Whether this is a state of depression, psychosis, mania or hypomania. We can read the most beautiful love stories, but until our heart misses a beat when hearing the footfalls of a lover, we don’t know what it is like to be in love. In this blog I will try to give an insight into how I experience the mania of bipolar disorder type one.        My manias have always manifested in two ways: either as heaven-sent, supremely pleasurable euphorias (see my previous blog titled "What is it like to experience an agitated mania?". Or as terrifying inner battles where an assault of negative thoughts rips my sanity to pieces. In this blog I shall describe the characteristics of the euphoric manias I have experienced, and in the next blog I shall do the same for the agitated manias.   ...

 What is it like to experience a euphoric mania?           It is nearly impossible to imagine a state of consciousness we have not experienced for ourselves. We can read the most beautiful love stories, but until our heart misses a beat when hearing the footfalls of a lover, we don’t know what it is like to be in love. In this blog I will try to give an insight into how I experience the mania of bipolar disorder type one.           My manias have always manifested in two ways: either as heaven-sent, supremely pleasurable euphorias, or as terrifying inner battles where an assault of negative thoughts rips my sanity to pieces. In this blog I shall describe the characteristics of the euphoric manias I have experienced, and in the next blog I shall do the same for the agitated manias.           Euphoric mania: Experiencing a euphoric mania is an astonishing feeling. As the name suggests, a euphori...

Are there any silver linings within bipolar?           If I could wave a magic wand and be healed of bipolar disorder, I would wave it without a second’s thought. Some people say they would miss the highs, some say they couldn't live without the creativity and drive that the illness sometimes brings.            I am not one of those people.            I would rid myself of this illness in a heartbeat if I had a magic wand. Alas, I don’t have such a wand. However, rather than be beaten down by one of life's challenges, I have come to the conclusion that challenges are a part of being human. We don't seem to be able to escape them. They seem to be built into the fabric of life. So, for me, it has been about doing my best to face up to the challenges which life throws at me. We may not desire them, but very few of us escape them. In this blog I would like to share a list of traits that have ...

 A Short Ramble about Bipolar Disorder           Bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depression) is an illness that more and more people are talking about. It has inspired films like Silver Linings Playbook, Mr Jones and Touched with Fire. The extremes of some bipolar episodes can intrigue, scare and repel. However bipolar can also bless us with creativity, intelligence, charm, sensitivity and a way of seeing the world which is unique. So unique that many of the most influential men and women in history have been diagnosed with, or suspected of having, bipolar. Throughout history, many talented individuals may have lived with bipolar disorder. Such geniuses as Vincent Van Gogh, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frank Sinatra, Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill and Isaac Newton were all either  The world would be a much poorer place without them.            I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (...