Carrie Fisher- Actress (Princess Leia)

Carrie Fisher was born in 1956 and is the daughter of two actors. She started show biz from an early age. It wasn’t until her role in Star Wars was she recognized nationally. Star Wars put the Star in her name. (Alright that might have been a little cheesy)But at the same time she was starting to cross over into the “Dark Side” and it wasn’t long until no force could help her. Who said princesses have an easy life? (Especially when your father is Darth Vader!) She was diagnosed as Bipolar, and after struggling with it for years and self medicating through drugs she was able to find some stability on proper medication. Now she is a speaker and advocate on the mental health circuit. That just goes to show you how easy it is to succumb to the dark side of the force, but how much better it is when you return. She says “Sobriety is the key to dealing with bipolar disorder.” (How much more true could that statement be? None) I especially like what she recommended to people with Bp. She said “Generally, if they are properly bipolar, it’s going to be really chaotic. The best way to do it would be to talk to someone who has the same illness. They’re not going to listen to someone who doesn’t have the disorder because you don’t have the same feelings.” That’s some of the best advice someone with Bp can get. I suggest you take it.

Patty Duke

Patty Duke is a famous actress, and author. Patty Duke was recognized as talented when she was 8, and started her movie career soon after. (I guess instead of reading Dr. Seuss she read movie scripts.) She has performed on Broadway, TV Series, and has appeared in 72 TV Movies. (Insert a cartoon mouth drop here :0) She received an Oscar at the age of 16, which made her the youngest person to receive one back then. Later she won two Golden Globes, three Emmys, six Emmy nominations, and a People Choice Award. (I bet her nickname was Emmy at one time) She wrote two best seller books on her struggle with mental illness. The first one was “Call Me Anna” (Which is her real name) her autobiography in which she publicly revealed her illness for the first time. The book was quickly made into a movie. She played a younger version of herself. (Who else could be that authentic?! I mean it was her life you know.)The second book is “A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness”, (Manic Depressive is what they now call bipolar, but that was a while ago) which is a detailed account of her battle with Manic Depressive (Bp). She has a web site to explain to people, who have Bp that they will not lose their creativity, or change who they are if they take medication. She says she’s more creative now because she can organize a thought. (a lot of people think that taking meds for your problems will change who you are, but as someone who has Bp and knows what it’s like to take meds and not take meds, let me tell you right now; They Will NOT change who you are they will just help you be more stable, and healthy. I feel more like myself when I’m on meds, because I’m more stable then when I’m off them.) If you’re on the right medicine you will feel better, think better, and be better. If the medicine you’re on is what works for you then I guarantee you’ll like the person staring back at you in the mirror more. Your personality, your likes, and your dislikes stay the same the only thing that changes are your moods, which becomes more stable. It’s like the difference between choppy waves and calm waves, a dark sky and the sun shining. The waves and sky are the same as they were before just in a different state.

Famous People With BP

As I’ve mentioned before there are many famous people with BP. Some prefer to keep quiet others prefer to advocate. For the next couple of blogs I’m going to write about several famous people with BP that you might know. By doing this I’m hoping anyone who thinks they’re still alone in what they’re going through will realize they are far from alone, and there are many people going through the exact same things as you are, and some probably at the same time as you are.

How Do You View BP?

Sometimes the biggest difference between two people with BP isn’t their symptoms, or what medicine they do or don’t take, but how they view their BP. Do they view it as a curse or as a blessing in disguise? The disguise part of the blessing would obviously be the symptoms and the ridiculous stigma that comes with the territory. Nobody likes being unstable, it’s hard on not only you, but everyone around you too. It’s also frustrating when people label you as different. Although as I’ve mentioned before, in my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with being different, and truthfully I wouldn’t want to be “normal”. I’ve heard from a very reliable source that “normal” is just another word for extremely boring! With all the negative things that come with BP there are also several positive things. I know most of you are probably thinking, how in the world is BP a blessing?! The blessing would be all the good things that come with the territory. For example, you can relate and have compassion for other people with a mental health issues. Also, most of the time people with BP are gifted in one thing or another. It could be a subject in school, or it could be something you don’t even think about as being a gift. If you get nothing else out of any of my blogs, I’ll be satisfied if you walk away knowing this; There will always be at least one person who thinks you are a uniquely special gift, and is advocating for you and others like you and me. (By the way that was meant as a fact, and not as a mushy statement!)

Managing Your Money

Everyone knows that spending the money you have is easy, but saving the money you have can be hard. The trick is to learn how to manage it. Managing your money can be harder for someone with mood swings. When your manic you tend to buy a lot more than you need or even want, and when your depressed you may not spend anything at all. Spending or saving money can also be a compulsion for some people. Like most teens I like to spend the money I make, but I also know that I should put some into savings. Here’s a few tips I’ve found worked (most of the time anyway) 1. Put a certain amount in savings every time I put one third of my paycheck into savings every time. That way I’ll have a steady stream of income and at the same time a steady stream of savings. The same thing works for allowances. Put aside a certain amount every time, even if it’s just 50 cents, and you’ll be surprised how fast it adds up. 2. Only carry small bills If you don’t want to spend all your money at once leave most of it home, and only carry however much you feel is ok to spend. And no that doesn’t mean leave 15 and carry 50. That means carry 15 and leave 50. If you find something you absolutely have to buy and you don’t have enough money remember you can always come back later. That also allows you enough time to think about if you actually do want/need/can’t live without it, or if you just thought you did at the time. That’s a trick that helped me when I started buying a whole bunch of stuff I thought I needed/wanted at the time but later figured out I didn’t. 3. Bargain Buy When you look for bargains on stuff you want to buy you kill two birds with one stone. You get what you want, and you save money. But bargains are a two edged sword. They’re great for saving you money on something, but they also tend to make you want to buy something just because it’s on sale. When I first started paying more attention to when sale’s were going on I was excited at all the money I thought I could be saving, and I did save money. But what I found is that I actually spent more than I originally intended to because I bought so much stuff just because it was on sale. Even though it’s on sale it still costs something and If you get a lot of stuff on sale it can still be expensive. 4. Find What Works for You All of these things work for me but they may or may not work for you. If they do great, but if they don't than my next suggestion is to sit down (or stand up) and think about how you usually spend your money and what you can do to manage it better. Just doing that is a good thing, and I guarantee it will help you see things a little differently, and remember to actually put into practice what you say you’re going to in your head. There’s no point to figuring out how to manage your money if you don’t put it into practice. That’s my advice take it or leave it, and I really hope you take it. (My feelings would be very hurt if you didn’t at least try!)

Bickering With Your BP Sibling Part 2

See, there are so many things you can do I couldn’t even fit it into one blog. Here’s a few more tips. Tip#3- Switch the Topic If you realize you’re cooking a recipe for disaster, switch recipes. I think blissful peace is better, but that’s just me. Talk about something you know won’t be an issue. Maybe something he/she likes. Tip#4- Give Them Some Space- Just like you need your space so does he/she. Let them wind down and cool off. Go do something else, and let your sibling do what he/she does to cool down. Sometimes the things you do to calm down are similar if not the same as your siblings. For example, my brother and I both find that listening to music calms us down. So I know that when his music is blaring he’s upset. So even though I can’t stand his music I leave him alone, because I know it’ll be better for everyone in the long run. Usually he does the same for me too. So let them do their thing. I also strongly suggest not talking to them while their still upset, because that’ll just get you back to square one, or even negative one depending on the state of stability. So let them be. They'll eventualy simmer down. Tip#5 Stay Calm- I’m not going to lie, that is the hardest thing to do, but it’s also the most productive. If your not calm then their not going to be either. I know I’m guilty of losing when he’s losing it, but it try to work on it. It’s commendable to at least try, even if you don’t always get the results you were looking for. Everything depends on the level of stability you and your sibling are at. Do what you have to do to stay calm. Count to 10, take deep breaths. Or as my mom tells me to do, picture you at the beach, and listen to the soothing waves around. If that’s not your thing then picture yourself speeding down the highway in a fast car with the top down and the wind in your face. Just don’t literally do that, seriously, I’m not joking. I guarantee things will go WAY better if one of you stays calm, and that means you!

Bickering with Your BP Sibling Part1

In some of my previous blogs I’ve mentioned ways you can cope with your own BP, and now I’m going to share some tips on coping with your siblings BP. It may not always seem like it, but there are ways to deal with your siblings BP without messing up your own mood. It can be a challenge, but it can be done. I know that every brother/sister BP or not knows how to push their siblings buttons, but I also know that if you try you can defuse the situation just as well as you can instigate one. Most of the time it’s harder to stop an argument, which can quickly lead to a melt down, than it is to start one. If you’re like me than you could probably start one in you sleep. So, Tip#1- Know when to stop. It’s easy to take things too far. I know it is for me. You mat start out just kidding and messing around, but you may end up in a shouting match or with a door being slammed in your face. Try and gage your sibling’s reaction. If you see the situation going south it’s up to you to put on the brakes, and trust me, you will be glad you did. Tip#2- Walk Away. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to walk away. Put ice on the fire. If you leave the room the situation is out of sight, and will be out of mind quicker. While it may be the best to walk away for some people, it can be the worst for others. For example, my brother gets more aggravated if I walk away, and yells at me to stop ignoring him. That’s also an example of knowing what does and doesn’t help a situation. I know every person, who has a sibling has been in these situations before. What might help you to understand what not to do is to analyze an argument you’ve had before, as long as it won’t upset you more. Try to find out what went wrong so you’ll know what not to do next time. To Be Continued....