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A Red Letter day
Sleeper – Part two. En route I make sure I speak to those who will notice, remember, and bear witness, so I focus not on the late-night revellers, still fuzzy-headed on their way home, but on the workers: four dayglo-clad street sweepers on the corner of Neal Street. I call in at the all-night kebab…
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There are only seven basic plots
Sleeper – Part one. A memoir of my last psychosis, with the love and kindness of Londoners “She’s confused” Hamid Hussein looks up from his notes. His two colleagues agree that I should be detained. Hamid draws the pro forma from his in-tray and, checking his watch, begins writing in the top left hand corner:…
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“Dogged by an unfair foe”
Quoted from her family about Naomi Judd, American country music star, who died earlier this year by suicide and who lived with PTSD and bipolar it is revealed. Yes, bipolar disorder is unfair. Just when you think you have things back on track – it can take me anything from six months to a year…
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Does everyone go through bipolar denial?
My first acute episode of mental illness was psychotic depression. Looking back on it the whole thing was very scary compared to later instances: On discharge my sick note read “Mental illness”, nothing more specific. They hoped this was a one-off. I went back to work, continuing to attend as an outpatient for a year…
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Love/hate lithium
A 2017 but still interesting podcast from the BBC World Service about the health and consumer applications of lithium. Until recently, when, after thirty years I am experiencing some symptoms that may be side effects, I have found lithium trouble free. This podcast explores the history of the health-giving effects of this elemental metal and…
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Give me my rapture: psychotic mania
Even now after three decades of living with bipolar, psychosis creeps up on me. I keep a mood diary, take my meds every night and monitor my sleep conscientiously yet still believe I can double bluff the quick thinking, rapid speech, overconfidence and productivity of hypomania. Self management of hypomania I have tried and tested…