Bipolar Questions Version 5

Sensitivity to stress. But I chose that only because you used the word "annoying". I have experienced far more severe symptoms, but wouldn't describe them as annoying.

Q: What thing(s) do you do to calm yourself during otherwise stressful periods?

Breathing and prayer, usually. If I have some time, exercise is good.

Who is your favorite singer of all time?

Robert Smith

What is the longest you've gone without an episode (blips not included)?

I'm not 100% sure. Months, but not years. I think this past year, I had about three episodes that likely met the DSM-5 criteria for an episode, but they were extinguished fairly quickly. I did experience a lot of stress, but that doesn't count. I did have a number of "blips". I didn't have any depressive episodes this year. They were hypomanic/manic to mixed, then back to baseline.

Since being medicated for bipolar disorder, I believe I had one or two years when I was mostly stable, but again, still had plenty of "blips". Those two really good years were mid 2015 through mid 2016. I had a doozy of a mania with psychosis in May 2016, when we traveled to Portugal. That was my worst within the last seven or eight years.

Before medications? I'm not sure. I used to have very long mildly elevated episodes that sometimes turned full manic or mixed, and sometimes not. My pure depressive episodes were relatively short. Since the likely start of my bipolar disorder, I probably had stable periods lasting at least as long as a couple years or few years, but with "blips" in between.

Q: How has the course of your bipolar disorder changed over the years?

It has gotten better over time with treatment. Having said that, I haven’t been stable for more then a couple to several months at a time. I’ve been on so many medications trying to treat this! I mainly have issues with deep treatment resistant depression but at least I’m not catatonic like I was in the old days.

Which is your favorite holiday and why?

Oh, that's really hard to say because I don't really have anyone anymore. I guess maybe 4th of July. That's pretty cheerful for me.

What place have you visited with lots of wild animals?

none.

though safari would be nice (and is on my bucket list)

question: if you could pass 1 law that becomes official, what would be your law?

I would say universal student loan forgiveness for those working in health and service careers like nursing, counseling, firefighting, etc (however there are currently laws that does this but are really limited)

Q. What is your favorite side dish during Thanksgiving?

It is a toss up between squash casserole and my mom's dressing.

What is your least favorite Thanksgiving side dish?

A: Stuffing and sweet potatoes. Ugh, I dry heave just thinking about them. Everyone always tells me, “oh, if you tasted MY stuffing, you’d love the stuff.” No. I won’t.

Q: Are You going to go Black Friday shopping?

Ha! I feel the same way about stuffing. If it was cooked in a turkey cavity I'm not eating it. Southern cornbread dressing is another affair altogether for me though.

no I'm not.

how close/ far are you from being ready for christmas

No, shopping in stores is too stressful for me. I prefer online shopping. Plus, I buy very few presents nowadays. Gift giving/receiving pretty much stops in my family when you become a late teen, except for spouses, children, and parents, so I buy only for my dad and husband. I don't have kids. I used to exchange with a few friends, but I kind of ended that with them. My husband does exchange with more family members, friends, and workmates, but I let him do his own shopping.

Sometimes I buy small gifts for my siblings' birthdays. They were born in December. I don't give presents to my nephew since he's an adult, but occasionally I treat him to something "just because".

Q: What is a gift on your gift wish list?

A new coffee grinder, since mine just exploded into pieces.

Coffee or tea?

Hmmmm once upon a time my best drink was coffee it was different bound i even ate coffee grounds but i dont drink coffee for 2 months i dont know why.i think i can say tea.i drink tea everyday. Do you love true crime genre?

it is okay.

probably not my first choice but it is okay

did you have any favorite stories or songs you listened to as a child?

Sure. If you mean "child" as younger than a teen, I'd say my favorite stories were Dr. Seuss stories. As for music, I always liked adult music even as a child. One song that sticks out in my mind is "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. I thought that was the most beautiful song ever. I still think it is beautiful.

Q: What was your most significant accomplishment as a child, to the young you (e.g. learning to ride a bike, walking to school by yourself, etc )?

Taking care of my little sisters,working all day on farm,skiing down to mountain,herding cows,reading lots of books,biking ,playing with friends without fighting ,daydreaming,being a happy child was most significant accomplishment... If you have a chance to be a child again .would you like to be child again ?

Even though I had childhood-onset bipolar disorder, I would do it in a minute.

What is your favorite tropical fruit?

pineapple

do you want to see frozen 2?

Yes. We're waiting for the crowds to die down.

What is your favorite Disney movie?

If you include movies made by others, like Pixar, but released by Disney, that would be Finding Nemo. If you mean actual Disney movies, that would be Alladin.

the lion king. (though I refuse to see the new versionn). you don't meess with a classic like lion king.

I mean: it might be good, but I don't want to feel that I've been let down and spoil my love for the film, so I'm not.

are you well-read? (classics etc.)

I'm not as well-read as I'd like. I do have a lot of knowledge about many things, though. I do very well playing Trivial Pursuit, but at a slight disadvantage in the literature category, compared to well-read folks. Most of my major lit reading was in high school and university. Since then, I've not been a major lit book worm. More informational stuff.

Q: What is your favorite book of all time?

I want to say " the railway chhildren", though I also like the secret garden. I'm not sure which of the 2 I prefer... probably railway children as i've read it more.

how do you cope with long journeys? (car, train what ever.)