Everyone knows the holiday season is a difficult time for anyone who has bipolar disorder or any other mental illness. Perhaps it is the stress of the holiday rush. Maybe there are painful  memories associated with the holidays. Maybe it is the feeling of being alone in all of this. Whatever the reason, it happens.

I urge anyone who is having a difficult time to reach out to others for support. I am almost always available to answer email, and you can email me at support@allaboutbipolar.com or you can click “Contact Me” on the Contents menu on the right side of this page and use the Contact Form.

Bipolar disorder can make you feel like it’s you against the world if you don’t know anyone else going through the same thing. I know, because that’s exactly why I started this blog in April of 2009. Once I started connecting with others that understood what I was dealing with, my world changed. I stopped feeling alone, and I started crawling out of my pit of despair. It gave me strength. I felt empowered, and I started really working toward getting better. This made it much easier for me to get through each day.

The reason why I felt so disconnected from everything was because many of my symptoms didn’t fit the textbook definition of bipolar disorder. I worried that I had something much worse and that I could not be “fixed”. Connecting with others showed me that symptoms of the disorder are rarely “by the book”, and it is normal to have variations of them or even symptoms that are wildly different. Knowing others with the illness allows you to compare symptoms. The anonymity of the Internet allows you to express feelings more openly without shame. It effectively opens doors and can help you reconnect with yourself.

To all my readers, Happy Holidays! If you need to speak with someone, please email me at support@allaboutbipolar.com or use the contact me link in the sidebar. I am always happy to help when I can.

~Amy

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