Me & My Bipolar
I'm going to be posting this same blog into a few communities so I apologise if any of you are on the different communities and end up with 5/6 of the same blog post :) I'd like to gather some followers, so first I'll tell you a little about myself.
I'm Katie. I'm 25, married and have 3 wonderful children. I am studying for a degree from home and spend my spare time studying, playing with the kids or writing.
I have bipolar type II and have been formally diagnosed since around January 2012. For a long time, my GP kept telling me I was simply suffering from episodes of depression. I was on and off anti-depressants, self-harming when nothing else was working and have lost countless friends due to the fact that I was so unstable. Eventually after counselling, I was referred to the local Mental Health team and was soon diagnosed.
I am now on Quetiapine and have started to settle right down. My husband is an amazing support, as are my Mother and Nan. My Father and I have always had a rocky relationship, but since I have been on medication we've started to re-build it. He is now also seeking help as he may well have bipolar, as his father did too. It would certainly explain why we clashed so much and so often.
I am currently writing a book. While it is a work of fiction, it will also be based loosely on facts/truths. Basically, I am writing a book about a girl who has bipolar. It talks about her experiences that lead to her finally getting that diagnosis. I'm hoping, that as well as being a good read, it could help people that don't suffer from an invisible illness to understand it a little more. When reading books, I find that if I'm really into it, I start to understand how the characters are feeling. I want my book to do that. I want people to realise that just because someone has a mental health issue, it doesn't mean they're mental. It doesn't mean they're seeking attention.
A Lot of my friends don't seem to realise that I'm still the same person I've always been, I'm just a hell of a lot more likeable now ;) But quite a few of my friends and family immediately started treating me differently when I was diagnosed. They either treated me like I was delicate, wrapped me up in cotton wool and agreed with me on everything for fear of sending me into a down phase, or they got really defensive and made it look like I was constantly being a pest when I was feeling angry or insecure.
It's incredibly hard for people to put themselves in our shoes. To see things the way we do. They don't realise how extreme our thoughts and feeling can be. And it's mostly down to the fact that people aren't comfortable with speaking out. I know I'm not. My name, for one thing, isn't Katie. I don't feel comfortable having my friends and family knowing everything. I get embarrassed. But I'm hoping, if I can get them all to read my book, they'll start to understand a bit more and maybe I'll be able to open up a little more.
Anyway, I'll stop waffling now.
As well as being here to have people to talk to that understand me more, I'm hoping to draw on people's comments to help make my book even better. (I will never use anyone's comments without permission and I will never use real names!)
I will keep people posted on the book, which I believe will be out in about February 2013.
Hope to speak to some of you soon!
Love, Katie oxoxox
My facebook - http://www.facebook.com/katie.mckay.142 (I have no friends on there yet as I've literally just set it up so please do feel free to add me. Again, I am using the name Katie. My book will also be under this name. I still have my own normal facebook.)