The Marriage and Bipolar Disorder Authority

I grew up with a father who was very competitive and loved sports, in particular basketball and football. Amazingly enough, I also married a man who loves sports. Very few people not in the business of sports analytics or commentating know as many detailed stats on basketball and football games as my husband. There are many times while watching games together that my husband will correct the announcers as they are calling a game and merely seconds after he does that the announcers themselves correct their error. For this reason, many times I will joke with him that our family room is wired. It is an ongoing joke at our house. Well, it is the end of August and now we are gearing up for another football season. This is a favorite time of the year. This football season will Read the rest of this entry →

The rules change when your spouse is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, or any other mental illness for that matter. The basic principles of marriage are still there, though they can be a lot more difficult to carry out when a mental illness is entered into the mix. Read the rest of this entry →

For nearly all patients dealing with mental illness prescription medications are a necessity in treating the illness. Yes, there are some natural options out there and psychological therapy is also a very key component to treatment as well. Though, for the most part, you cannot get away with adequately treating the illness without some use of prescription medications. This post is not intended to get into the politics of large pharmaceutical companies, but more or less give you tips on saving money in paying for your prescriptions on a monthly basis.  Read the rest of this entry →

The month of May was Mental Health Awareness Month. As a result, I undertook the challenge to try to release a blog post everyday for the month of May. I hope that you’ve enjoyed these posts as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them and that you have learned some helpful information when dealing with mental health issues, specifically bipolar disorder. In today’s blog I am going to list the lessons that I have learned from this month’s challenge. Read the rest of this entry →

Today is Monday May 30th and is the day that in the United States we observe Memorial Day. This is a day set aside each year to honor those who have died serving our country. To any service men and women that might be reading this blog I would like to thank you on behalf of my family for doing what you do to help keep my family, and every other family in the nation safe and protected. Thank you for your service Read the rest of this entry →

My husband and I attended middle school orientation with our oldest this week. They broke the large group into smaller rotations in “break out” type sessions to address the transition from elementary to middle school. We learned a lot of valuable things that night, though probably the most valuable thing I was reminded of is the difference between grace and accountability. I think that this is something that often times gets lost in the ruts that marriages can sometimes fall into. I know that it was lost in our marriage right up until the point that my husband had his psychotic break. Up until that point I really blended the boundaries between the two concepts and tried to force the accountability in the form of criticism. Today’s blog will touch on both grace and accountability and why both are needed in your marriage relationship now that your spouse is living with bipolar disorder. Read the rest of this entry →

This is the fourth and final installment in the “Surviving the Hospital” blog series. If you or your spouse is facing psychiatric hospitalization I hope that this has been a helpful resource to you in addressing many of the issues that come with psychiatric hospitalization. This can be a scary time for all involved, though remembering what the priorities are can help make this process a lot less painful. Read the rest of this entry →

Today I am releasing the third blog in the series “Surviving the Hospital.” I have been addressing the different aspects of mental hospitalization that we have encountered very recently, and the things we have learned as a result of those experiences. I realize that this can be a very scary time for both you and your spouse, though I hope that this blog series will help you to put things into perspective while showing your spouse the support they need right now. Read the rest of this entry →

Guest Post written by financial expert and coach Tony Elam from Finding Forward Financial Coaching

In life there are no guarantees.  We search for simple answers and we want problems fixed so we can move on with life.  The funny thing is that problems are part of the overall picture and how you respond to the problem paints your picture.

Having a spouse with bipolar disorder can be a difficult enough problem by itself, but combine that with impulsive spending, unforeseen medical costs, and difficulty finding work, then it might seem like a picture not worth painting at all.

I am here to encourage you that not only choosing to deal with your financial problems can not only be done, but it is totally worth it.  No matter what you are facing there are some principles that everyone has to follow in order to succeed with money.   Read the rest of this entry →

Conversations and communications are a very important part of any relationship, particularly a marriage relationship. There are different unspoken rules for communication in different types of relationships. Having real and authentic conversations is key to building strong relationships, even if the person you are building a relationship with is struggling with bipolar disorder. Read the rest of this entry →

I’ve been making some changes to the appearances of the website over the past couple of days. I hope you enjoy some of the improvements. I’m not sure if I like how it looks yet, so I may be making some more changes over the next couple of days. So, I appreciate your patience and feedback as I learn as I go and try to make this site as visually appealing as possible without taking away from the content.

I was having the time of my life blogging each day for the month of May. I hope you had been enjoying the blogs as much as I had enjoyed writing Read the rest of this entry →

There is an abundance of challenges when your spouse is struggling with bipolar disorder. Much of life becomes this incredible balancing act. One day is never like the next. The balance that works for today will not also work for tomorrow. Don’t be surprised if your family and close friends don’t understand the incredible balance that it takes every day. As much balance as you need to take on every day, try to find opportunities to challenge your Read the rest of this entry →

I have mentioned in previous blog posts that along with Bipolar Disorder, my husband also lives with anxiety with agoraphobia. In my very brief and limited exposure to Bipolar Disorder I have found that many Bipolar Patients also struggle with anxiety on some level. My husband’s anxiety just happens to be a fairly extreme version. I think sometimes I have struggled more with his anxiety than even with Bipolar Disorder itself. So, today and writing about some tips to help you with you spouse’s anxiety. Read the rest of this entry →

When Bipolar Disorder shakes your marriage it can be one crazy roller coaster that you are on. When it feels like life as you know it is quickly unraveling it is very easy to feel overwhelmed. You are dealing with so much: an ill spouse, the finances, as well as trying to be a good parent and tending to the household and other community responsibilities. Soon you start to realize that you are running on survival mode. This can be an extremely Read the rest of this entry →

 There are a lot of emotions that come seemingly out of nowhere when a spouse is diagnosed with mental illnesses. Quite honestly, there can be so many emotions that it can be very difficult to sort them out to realize what they are. I remember feeling all of those emotions that you are feeling almost like it was yesterday. I remember feeling angry, scared, depressed, anxious all while running on survival mode because I wasn’t sure if I could handle anymore. Read the rest of this entry →

Today is May 8^th and I want to take a moment to wish a very Happy Mother’s Day to any moms reading this blog. This Mother’s Day wish not only goes out to mothers, but to any woman who has played a nurturing role in a child’s life.  I am not only a mom, but I am also a step mom and I know that mother’s day can present a unique challenge for women who become moms in the not so traditional way that is becoming more and more traditional every year. Take some time to do something for yourself today!  Read the rest of this entry →

A very important part of finding excellent health care is patient advocacy. This is especially true with mental health care. I’m sure you’ve seen this situation played out in your own battle with psychiatric care. A patient goes to see a psychiatrist; they perform a “hopefully” thorough examination including family history and list of symptoms and recent experiences. The psychiatrist will hand out a diagnosis and give you a prescription for a medication or several medications. Though, to your surprise, the medication doesn’t help. Why is this? Read the rest of this entry →

When I was learning all about Bipolar Disorder there were a few “AH HA” moments. One of those moments had to do with how those with Bipolar Disorder handle social settings. Now, I’m not talking about anxiety in social settings. My husband has issues with anxiety in social settings in addition to Bipolar Disorder. The challenge I’m referring to has to do Read the rest of this entry →

Recently I’ve read about telling your kids about Bipolar Disorder when your spouse has been diagnosed. In this blog post I am going to cover how we have addressed my husband’s diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder with each of our children ages 11, 7, and 3.   

I think Bill Cosby says it best when he said: “In spite of the six thousand manuals on child Read the rest of this entry →

In our experience there are three vital elements to mental health care: supervised medication therapy, developing coping techniques with a professional (like a psychologist), and the environment the patient lives in everyday. The first two elements, supervised medication therapy and coping techniques, can be perfected; though, if they live in an unhealthy environment no amount of medicine or coping techniques will improve their quality of life.  Read the rest of this entry →