Connecting with doctors for my illness

I have successfully connected with my psychiatrist's office for my post hospitalization follow-up care. I have all of the paperwork necessary to follow up with them and continue my medication. The last 2 days have been really good for me. Not much to report on my symptoms except for the medication is doing its job. This is going to be a short post tonight as I am tired. Have a good night. See y'all next time.

Getting with a program and staying with it.....

Hey guys....I apologize for being 2 days late on my blog post. To recap the last 4 days will be fairly easy.....Saturday, I got my eyebrow pierced and hung out for a good bit of the day which was a good thing for me. Sunday, it was raining so i didn't get to do very much in the form of getting out and about. Monday, it's my usual "go to the church and work in the food bank packing boxes" which i thoroughly enjoy doing. It helps me feel like I am giving back to the community by doing so. Today, I went to the church to help with the food bank as usual in the morning time and was home by noon-ish. Helped prepare food to be grilled which was a fairly easy task and was very tasty food. I enjoyed the fellowship working at the church brings to me. If you have a fairly solid schedule like i do on Mondays and Tuesdays it takes your mind off of things pertaining to being bipolar. I love what I do and I don't have time to think about my mental illness. I am happy to report that I have all of my phone calls made to ensure I am prepared for my upcoming psychiatrist appointment on the 12th. Yes, I am nervous given my past history with psychiatrists(retired 3 in the timeframe of 6 months before) but I am just going to lay it all on the line and whatever course it takes will be just fine with me. I have learned that I can't control what they do or say because that isn't in my realm of things to change. I am only me and I am working to become a better person and to keep my bipolar in check and not have a relapse into that dark abyss that lands me in the psych ward at one of the local hospitals. After about 12 hospitalizations, you kind of get tired of the same song and dance and you realize that they don't change but it's YOU that lands yourself into those places. As for myself, I am most definitely going to try to avoid psych wards as much as possible. Yes, I do meet some really cool people I become friends with in such settings but I just don't like the circumstances that lands me in those surroundings. That's where getting a program for yourself comes into play. Choose something that you enjoy doing whether it be taking a walk every day or going to the park or playing on the computer or volunteering somewhere.......it busys your mind so you won't have the time to concentrate on your symptoms like I was so inclined to do before I had things to occupy me. Once you have a plan of how to occupy your mind with positive things, you won't have time to focus on the negative things. I'm pretty sure that at some point during your diagnoses that you have "dwelled" on the fact that this is a life changing mental illness. In all honesty...............it doesn't have to be. As I have said in a prior post, medication management is key to helping you get your life back on track. As for myself, I take 9 medications in the morning, 3 at noon, and 7 before I lay down at night. Sure, it gets difficult to remember if I took the noon doses of my medications but I always double check my bottles to make sure. It always helps to have a family member or significant other remind you as well. One thing i would suggest to folks is if you have problems making a concrete plan as far as a routine, write it out on paper and stick it somewhere that you will be sure to see it first thing in the morning. Also, I am happy to report I am a sponsor to a young lady that is trying to turn her life around from some things that I cannot discuss because of privacy reasons. Enough for tonight as i am tired and ready to fall asleep at any moment. Thanks for taking the time to read my long blog and see y'all next time.