First and foremost: HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM SWEDEN![emoji322][emoji3060]

This year was a different New Year from me and my family. My brother couldn’t join me since he was at home with injured leg (“cyborg-leg” as he calls it now). And his girlfriend worked. The kids where at my home and we had a lot of fun today. Not that they played video games, we played a card-game. I, my parents and them. The game was called “In the lake”, which means everyone have seven cards and the rest of the cards are the “lake” (upside down and mixed). Then you ask by clockwise: “Do you have any kings?” And if you have, then you need to give them. If not, just say “In the lake”. The thing is that you need to collect as many pairs as possible. Doing so when all cards in the lake are running out (and in the hand), then you have won. This game is typical Swedish game that both children and adults can play.

I woke though late this time, 11 am. But, still I did a lots of things. Helped my mom to prepare the New Year-dinner, tidy everything and so on. Now it’s 47 minutes after the midnight, I’m drinking some alcohol free champagne (some Italian, probably best I ever drank at all). Before that some red alcohol free wine. I bought all this not in some liquor-store (in Sweden it’s forbidden to sell all that) but at Systembolaget. Systembolaget is a government owned company who have only purpose and that to sell less and less alcohol to their customers. Unfortunately, many swedes like to drink, even if people who works for Systembolaget are strict about this (you need to be 21 year old even to enter there). I saw some men and women in line with paying the cashier yesterday. And I also noticed the strong, heavy smell from alcohol and cigarettes. I was 1,5m (approximately 5 feet) in the line to pay. Yes, some people need to have a ban for buying alcohol since they can’t have control of themselves - unfortunately!

I promised myself I won’t go back to that. I was alcohol consumer myself not so long ago. And in combination with bipolar, no matter what anyone says, it’s like playing Russian roulette with your brain. Because when you lose, you will lose hard. Just like having a complete meltdown in the head. That is why it is dangerous to be drunk having bipolar disorder. I had just luck those times that I fully recovered. Sometimes it took me “only” weeks, sometimes it took me one or two months.

How I feel now? Happy. Happy that I have a good year to look forward to. I mean basically ANY upcoming year will be better than 2020 and especially 2021. So embrace this new year, go out and have fun with your near and dear. And have faith. We need to stay strong just a little bit more. Oh, one last important thing especially for You who have bipolar or any other disorder:

VACCINE yourself ASAP! Take ALL vaccines, for your own personal safety but also for your family and close ones. It is helping you to protect your body NOT to ending up in intensive care (IF there are any places left that means) and it is preventing the new upcoming viruses to NOT spread themselves and kill thousands and thousands people every day. You with bipolar and any other diagnoses are in the risk group. So dear reader, stay safe and take ALL vaccines that they give to you! I wish you all the best in 2022, a lot of happiness and joy. And a lots of hugs! We all need that after this Covid-19. Stay safe!

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