At a meeting last night I ran into an old acquaintance who is trying to sober up for the umpteenth time. He reminds me a lot of me. I went to my first Twelve Step meeting when I was twenty-eight. I finally sobered up when I was forty-two. I can’t even begin to count the…
DetailsDoes your wife approve of your last blog post? That question has come up more than once. In writing about the situation wife my wife’s deteriorating health at the beginning of my last bout of mania I touched on the sensitive subject of her own bout of the crazies while on mass doses of the…
DetailsMy wife was dying. It was November l5th–our first wedding anniversary. It was at the ICU at Mercy Gilbert Hospital. Earlier that day she had tried to have me barred from the room. During the past six months her COPD (emphysema) had worsened. That past June she had been forced to give up the career…
DetailsThere are those–and I have been one of them–who analyze themselves to the extreme. Buried in self- help books, racking up extensive therapy bills, losing themselves in guided hypnosis, they dig deep to know exactly why they are the way they are: a deprived childhood, an abusive spouse, a childhood of extreme indulgence, a smothering…
DetailsWith a mood disorder like Bipolar One, my moods tend to be, well, disordered. Though I am fortunate not to be a rapid cycler–even without medications my manic episodes were years apart–each year when fall takes center stage and the days shorten, I sense melancholy in the cooling, darkening air and sorrow in the falling…
DetailsSince starting this blog back in July I have primarily written blogs for those struggling with dual- diagnosis, those in recovery, and spiritual seekers in general (plus the occasional “just for fun” post.) I’ve had over 7,000 visitors, plenty of retweets and favorites on Twitter, but today I write for an audience of–one-me–but you are…
DetailsAs a child I was introduced to the angry, judgmental God of the Old Testament. He sent floods, rained down fire and brimstone and sent armies to destroy people whose only fault, it seemed, was living in a land predestined for “chosen” people. In trying to get sober I was a little concerned when advised…
DetailsNothing is more disheartening than making resolutions that are broken by January 3rd. For this reason I didn’t even begin my list of resolutions until Fall. This way, I can look at my behaviors and say, “I haven’t done X yet, maybe this is the year I won’t do X at all.” In making my…
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