Bipolar Questions Version 5

Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies. It just doesn't get any better. I like to think that I base my sense of humor partially on Bugs'. Some of those cartoons are beyond brilliant. But of course I have had different favorite adult shows over the years. Right now I most enjoy comedy shows, like Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Q: What is a movie that brought you to tears?

Quite a few. But one that just really gutted me, I'd love to say, but I can't remember the title. It was about the nazi's stealing and hiding of art in ww2, and people working to get it back to its rightful owners. It wasn't Monuments Men (which I've seen twice), and the other titles I turned up seem too recent to my memory of seeing it, which I think was pre-2010(?) Anyhow, it was powerful and a half.

Do you have a favorite song, and if so what is it and why is it your favorite?

My favorites vary depending on my mood. I like folksy stuff and a lot of Christian music. I love the few songs a kid named Zach Sobiech recorded before dying at 18 from a nasty bone cancer. Maybe one of his songs is my favorite.

Do you have a hard time saying no to others?

Much, much easier than when I was younger and felt I always had to accomodate everyone's needs somehow in whatever solution.

Have you ever toured a submarine?

Yes, but an old inactive WW 2 one called USS Torsk. It's in Baltimore, MD docked at the Inner Harbor. Though not me, my parents were on an active submarine. They even rode on it from Oahu to Maui or Kauai (I forget which) in Hawaii. It was a special opportunity for family members of the navy men on that submarine. My brother was career navy who spent many of those years in submarines as a nuclear reactor operator or chief overseeing the reactor operations. My parents enjoyed that trip!

Q: Do you like camping? If so, why? If not, why?

I love camping. It's fun to get out in the woods with friends/family and just get away from all these distractions of modern life.

Q: Have you ever been backpacking?

No, I've never been backpacking.

What is your favorite job you ever had?

My favorite became my least favorite, with my mental illness partly to blame. I was a manager in a large company's marketing department. I developed and wrote content for their marketing and sales pieces.

Q: Do you like being an adult? Why?

I saw a movie that fits your discription, it was called The Woman in Gold. That one strikes deep. Maybe that title rings a bell?

I guess I like being an adult, but I don't live like most adults do. I am still not very independent, but I got away from high school/forced school and problems there.

Which decade is your favorite for music (e.g. 60s, 70s, 80s)?

That is so difficult for me, because I was born in '64 and grew up with a whole lot of amazing 70s music. I am a guitar player, was in a number of bands, entered several guitar competitions, etc. That said, I do belive the 60s were the best decade of that century overall for popular and then the emerging rock music.

Do you enjoy HipHop?

Yes, I really do. I don't listen to it regularly, but when I do, I often dance. I once almost took a HipHop dance class, but it was cancelled. Even my husband wanted to take it. LOL! He really can't dance. I'd have to avoid looking at him if we did. I know that's mean

Q: What type of exercise do you enjoy most?

Swimming. Too bad it is too expensive to do regularly here.

Q: Beach or mountains?

Beach but I live in the mountains so that makes sense.

Would you rather sleep significantly too much or not enough?

Too much. I do very poorly with too little sleep.

Q. Does your appetite for food change with your states (mania, depression, etc)?

A: Yes, big-time. I do not eat at all for days when depressed or manic, for different reasons.

Q: Over all the years of your illness, which mood state have you spent the most time in?

Even though I have bipolar type 1, and have had many doozy full blown manic episodes (some with psychosis), if I calculated the time, my answer would be hypomanias. Prior to my worst episodes, I would be in hypomanic states for months on end before reaching full mania. Or sometimes, I even returned to stable or depression without necessarily reaching full mania. Those sustained hypomanias were still problematic. My psychiatrist has even said in the past that mild hypomania is my baseline. I'm not sure that is true, but I can certainly appear as such for long periods. That's where I most like to be, mood-wise.

Q: Name something (project/accomplished) that seemed mostly possible as a result of a past hypomania/mania of yours.

A: Writing a novel in three and a-half weeks.

Q: Best rock band of all time?

Ugh, I'm not good with this so I'll go safe and say the Beatles.

Q: Have you ever broken a bone?

Luckily, I haven't.

Q: Have you ever had the chicken pox?

Yep. As a child. Got it at school

Q: Have you ever had scarlet fever?

No, and I don't even think I know anyone that has. How common is it?

Q: How often do you laugh? Do you make yourself laugh a lot (or sometimes)?

It's not very common, but cases have increased by about three-fold in the last five years or so. There are three serotypes, so one person could theoretically get it three times.

A: I do not laugh nearly enough. Sometimes not at all in a given day. Things just don't seem very funny to me anymore. I do think the lithium plays some kind of role with that. Or so it seems.

Q: How are you coping with all the election madness?

I try to limit my exposure because I get overly stressed.

Do you or have you ever gone to support groups through NAMI, DBSA or the like?

I have been to SMART Recovery and Recovery International, but never any of those others.

Favorite movie of all time?