Mental Health Holiday Survival Guide, Bipolar Style

WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:10.710 Welcome back to bipolar style, the podcast for bipolar people and those who love 2 00:00:10.869 --> 00:00:23.420 them. Join US online at bi polar stylecom Johnny motion. All Right, 3 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:29.219 thanks and welcome back to bipolar style. I'm johnny emotions. I'll be your 4 00:00:29.260 --> 00:00:35.259 host for the next fifteen or twenty minutes. This particular episode I've called the 5 00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:42.409 Mental Health Holiday Survival Guide bipolar style. So today we're going to talk about 6 00:00:42.409 --> 00:00:47.329 the three main things that helped me through the holidays, and those would be 7 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:55.560 routines, volunteerism and things that are distractions, basically like recreation and entertainment. 8 00:00:56.159 --> 00:01:00.799 Ideas for the bipolar person. And what makes a bipolar person any different than 9 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.950 a regular person? Well, obviously it's the reins of emotions, in the 10 00:01:06.069 --> 00:01:10.109 intensity and the sensitivity of our moods. Okay, cool, good enough, 11 00:01:10.510 --> 00:01:15.870 but that also means we have other things built into our schedule, like medication 12 00:01:15.069 --> 00:01:21.540 and doctor appointments and things like that. Before I get too far into this 13 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:26.019 episode, I just want to say I am out on the road today. 14 00:01:26.099 --> 00:01:30.659 I figured it would be fun to come out record a podcast out in public. 15 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:36.489 So I'm down near the waterfront in a town called Martinez, California. 16 00:01:36.609 --> 00:01:40.769 It's along the San Francisco Bay. So you hear that there's some trains in 17 00:01:40.810 --> 00:01:46.609 the background and lots of shore birds and waterfowl and whatnot, lots of people 18 00:01:46.650 --> 00:01:51.640 roaming around and even some crazy drunk people now and then. If there are 19 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:56.280 any interruptions, and it's because I'm out in public, but sound sounds pretty 20 00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:00.040 good anyhow. So this is what we're going to focus on for today, 21 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:06.269 the Mental Health Holiday Survival Guide bipolar style. And if you haven't been tuning 22 00:02:06.310 --> 00:02:12.669 in, I just want to thank the past three guests we've had for really 23 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:17.539 helping boost the downloads of the show. Their appearances, I think, hopefully 24 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:23.900 help what they're working on. So, within the case of Jason, he's 25 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:30.129 promoting his movie Donovan, and in the case of Diane, she's got her 26 00:02:30.250 --> 00:02:37.250 book the birth of a new brain, on bipolar depression for, I'm sorry, 27 00:02:37.289 --> 00:02:43.969 for Postpartum Bipolar Depression. And last week we had becky from that B 28 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:51.360 word podcast which focuses on borderline and bipolar disorder, among lots of other interesting 29 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:58.870 things. So those three folks all have bipolar disorder. Thanks. Thanks. 30 00:02:59.229 --> 00:03:02.150 That's really great. I have the timer on my computer telling what time things 31 00:03:02.310 --> 00:03:06.990 is, so it's A. It's five o'clock, Great Soun's going down. 32 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:13.659 It's beautiful anyway. Point being, the last three high functioning bipolar people, 33 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:17.699 I guess I should call them, were excellent. I appreciate having them on 34 00:03:17.740 --> 00:03:23.300 the show and I look forward to having other guests with bipolar disorder on in 35 00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:27.610 the future because I think it's really inspiring when you're really down and on the 36 00:03:27.689 --> 00:03:31.409 depressive side of bipolar and you just can't get out of bed and don't know 37 00:03:31.530 --> 00:03:36.370 what you're going to do with yourself forever, like anymore for any other day 38 00:03:36.409 --> 00:03:38.889 in life, it's kind of Nice to hear that that people are doing it 39 00:03:39.370 --> 00:03:43.800 sometimes. I know sometimes it might feel like that's rubbing salt into your wounds, 40 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:46.000 but for most folks, when you're down, it is nice to know 41 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:51.159 that even these are even those of us that are kind of doing stuff right 42 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:54.710 now, we have down moments that are equally as low as yours might being 43 00:03:54.830 --> 00:04:00.389 out. I know it doesn't feel that way, but it happens. Well, 44 00:04:00.389 --> 00:04:05.189 let's get to the kind of three general ideas I have. I guess 45 00:04:05.189 --> 00:04:10.340 it's kind of an outline for how I have learned how to get through the 46 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:15.379 holidays. I'm not saying these will work for everybody. Not share any of 47 00:04:15.460 --> 00:04:19.459 them will work for you, but they do work for me and if they 48 00:04:19.500 --> 00:04:24.970 are new to you, maybe worth trying out. Some of the s are 49 00:04:25.009 --> 00:04:29.410 going to be really obvious. Some of them might just be good reminders. 50 00:04:30.370 --> 00:04:34.810 Okay, so the First Section. One of the more important things to a 51 00:04:34.889 --> 00:04:42.240 person with bipolar disorder are the routines. So it's it's kind of hard bad 52 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:47.079 because when we change the clock backs and then we get hit with Thanksgiving and 53 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:51.910 then all the religious holidays in December, it's kind of overwhelming. Society is 54 00:04:51.990 --> 00:04:59.230 really busy focused on these things that are intended to throw routine off with tradition. 55 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:03.230 It's like tradition in some ways competes with routine, especially for people that 56 00:05:04.149 --> 00:05:12.339 don't necessarily have many traditions. And most importantly on these routines would be your 57 00:05:12.459 --> 00:05:18.180 medication. So right now, go over, get in your bag, pull 58 00:05:18.220 --> 00:05:25.329 out your meds, get out your little Pale divider thing and start doing the 59 00:05:25.410 --> 00:05:31.089 math. Do you have enough meds to get through the upcoming holidays? So 60 00:05:31.209 --> 00:05:35.000 I guess in this case this is mid November. Do you have enough meds 61 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:42.759 to get through Thanksgiving and then through the December holidays, whichever one your family 62 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:47.480 or friends celebrate. The issue here isn't so much you forgetting as maybe it 63 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:56.550 just runs out and either the nurse or the administrator, the assistant or the 64 00:05:56.670 --> 00:06:02.189 doctor are now on vacation, because everybody has their own life and those folks 65 00:06:02.230 --> 00:06:05.579 all need a break as well and they're out doing their own things. So 66 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:11.459 sometimes, if you hadn't thought a head and you didn't get enough meds to 67 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:15.779 get through the holiday, you might get unduly stressed out. So please, 68 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:21.329 if you hear this and you take medication, go double check and make sure 69 00:06:21.850 --> 00:06:26.490 you've got enough meds to get through the holidays or and have a plan to 70 00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:29.490 get through, you know, the rest of the year, because it's just 71 00:06:29.730 --> 00:06:33.160 holiday stacked on top of holiday, and that's one of the routines that I 72 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:40.000 think helps keep you balanced and functional. So if you're taking medication, lock 73 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:46.120 that down. In addition to MED's the next most important thing doctors always hit 74 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.990 you with this too, is sleep. How is your sleep? What's your 75 00:06:50.069 --> 00:06:55.029 sleep schedule like? Are you getting eight hours of sleep? Yes? No, 76 00:06:55.269 --> 00:07:00.310 okay. Well, all these Christmas parties, eating lots of sugar, 77 00:07:00.350 --> 00:07:04.379 drinking alcohol late at night, all these things are out to destroy your sleeping 78 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:10.259 routine and you got to kind of watch for that. So protect your sleep 79 00:07:10.300 --> 00:07:14.459 schedule to the best you can. Use a calendar. If people invite you 80 00:07:14.540 --> 00:07:19.449 to parties and events throughout the holidays that conflict with your ability to get home 81 00:07:20.170 --> 00:07:24.689 and get to sleep on time, just say no. Tell them you've got 82 00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:30.279 a previous engagement. You don't have to tell them it's bed, you just 83 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:32.839 tell them you've got a previous engagement. I'm sorry, thanks for inviting me. 84 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:36.480 That's so lovely. If I can do anything to help, let me 85 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:41.399 know, but I've got something to do. I've got to crawl into my 86 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:46.990 dark room under my weighted blanket and relax. So that's okay. That's your 87 00:07:47.029 --> 00:07:50.589 schedule. You don't have to commit to other people's parties. You'll get pulled 88 00:07:50.629 --> 00:07:55.430 in every direction. I know you want to be nice. You're a kind 89 00:07:55.589 --> 00:07:58.740 person, right. You want to say yes. You want to be the 90 00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:01.620 most social person you can be given the situation. So like, Oh, 91 00:08:01.699 --> 00:08:05.259 yeah, cool, okay, I think I can go to that person's party. 92 00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:07.620 But look, look at the calendar. If it starts at thirty at 93 00:08:07.620 --> 00:08:11.660 night, it's going to be late. You're going to get home, it's 94 00:08:11.660 --> 00:08:13.529 going to be midnight before you're in bed. The next day is going to 95 00:08:13.569 --> 00:08:18.569 be whack. So just consider all these things, okay, and then obviously 96 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:24.610 that leads to your diets. You know, kind of keep that in mind. 97 00:08:24.649 --> 00:08:30.120 I'm not a huge, like regimented diet kind of Guy Myself, but 98 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:35.480 sold on the fact that a healthy diet is good for your brain and that 99 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:39.240 sugar in pretty much every form is bad for us. I love sugar. 100 00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:43.309 I love chocolate, jelly beans, but I mean what, any kind of 101 00:08:43.429 --> 00:08:48.110 sugar? Just give me sugar, I love it. But as I've grown 102 00:08:48.149 --> 00:08:52.429 up, I've learned that most things already have sugar in it, carbohydrates and 103 00:08:52.549 --> 00:08:58.340 whatnot. So I tried to eat as little direct sugar as possible, as 104 00:08:58.379 --> 00:09:01.299 little refine sugar, and when I do I try to appreciate it a lot. 105 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:03.899 I sit and savor it. I don't rush through a whole bag. 106 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:09.940 Usually. Sometimes it happens whatever, but point being, I'm not a teetotaler 107 00:09:09.009 --> 00:09:13.330 on the sweets, because I don't want to be that freak, and neither 108 00:09:13.610 --> 00:09:18.529 do I superindulge all the time, every day, all day. I guess 109 00:09:18.570 --> 00:09:24.440 I'm just saying eat bad food and moderation if you must, but keep in 110 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:26.639 mind that you had a diet before the holiday and you have a schedule, 111 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:31.480 so, you know, try to stick to it. These aren't your holidays. 112 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:35.879 Sure you would like to participate in the tradition, but I would say 113 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:39.909 one of your main goals is to remain balanced throughout these, you know, 114 00:09:39.029 --> 00:09:46.429 quote unquote, turbulent times. So stick into your keeping your meds on schedule, 115 00:09:46.470 --> 00:09:50.830 keeping your sleep on schedule and your diet on schedule are three great ways 116 00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:54.740 to stay ahead of the game. Another thing that you should remember to do 117 00:09:56.259 --> 00:10:01.019 is to exercise, especially if you are already exercising, keep doing it. 118 00:10:01.340 --> 00:10:05.940 I know it's darker now. That really sucks because I ride my bicycle to 119 00:10:05.139 --> 00:10:09.929 and from work pretty often and now it's a lot more dangerous and it's colder 120 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:13.129 and it's kind of miserable. But once I finish the ride, I feel 121 00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:18.049 like I really accomplish something, and in fact I did. I burned off 122 00:10:18.090 --> 00:10:22.360 a bunch of calories and kept my joints from from stiffening and becoming old and 123 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:24.759 all that. You know, just keep the body moving. I'm not gonna, 124 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:28.120 you know, say go start learn how to run a marathon just because 125 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:33.000 you ain't Thanksgiving dinner. That doesn't make any sense to me. What does 126 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:37.110 make sense is if that you already walk a few blocks each evening as part 127 00:10:37.149 --> 00:10:41.990 of your schedule, don't stop that because the family and the friends are visiting 128 00:10:41.110 --> 00:10:46.230 from out of town. And if you're out of town yourself, if you're 129 00:10:46.230 --> 00:10:50.820 the one that's visiting somewhere else, then you know, get a map or 130 00:10:50.860 --> 00:10:54.659 use your google maps or something on your phone and go take an adventurous walk 131 00:10:54.820 --> 00:10:58.659 in a new neighborhood. If you're normal routine is walking, you get the 132 00:10:58.740 --> 00:11:01.940 example, if you normally ride a bike, you know find a way to 133 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:05.490 do that. Keep up the exercise. It's a great part of your routine. 134 00:11:07.129 --> 00:11:11.730 Wholeheartedly encourage that piece. And then the last routine, it's kind of 135 00:11:11.769 --> 00:11:15.929 the big picture routine, would be these annual traditions. If you are so 136 00:11:16.169 --> 00:11:20.960 fortunate to have family or friends that are close by and are able to get 137 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.519 together over extra days off where nobody has to focus on school or work, 138 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:30.120 then you're blessed. You Know, count and counter your blessings. You're fortunate 139 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:35.870 to have that and embrace those traditions. Make sure you fit that routine into 140 00:11:35.950 --> 00:11:39.070 the other parts of your routine, kind of like a big clock with all 141 00:11:39.110 --> 00:11:43.789 the different gears and different sizes of things moved around back there. But so 142 00:11:43.950 --> 00:11:48.340 you've got some kind of Daytoday, routines you need to keep up. But 143 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:52.179 now, if you've got those locked in and you feel comfortable about it, 144 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:58.379 focus on the big scale traditions, because I think those are really what make 145 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:03.570 life matter, being able to get together with your family and friends that you 146 00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:07.129 hadn't seen in a while and reminisce, I mean whatever. The capitalist bit 147 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:09.730 about giving the gifts, I guess, is Nice, especially if you're a 148 00:12:09.730 --> 00:12:13.649 child and you like open presents and things like that. All good, not 149 00:12:13.769 --> 00:12:16.919 going to bag on that too much. But you know, I think the 150 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:22.679 reality is what people really love about the holidays is that one it's one more 151 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:26.120 opportunity to be with your loved ones, to be with your friends. Whether 152 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:30.909 or not you're able to make things work and leave that that occasion with a 153 00:12:30.990 --> 00:12:35.070 perfect memory, who knows, but it is nice to have that opportunity once 154 00:12:35.149 --> 00:12:39.590 a year and it's great to bond with fellow humans, and so one of 155 00:12:39.669 --> 00:12:41.750 those annual traditions that I kind of got into. It's a lot of fun 156 00:12:43.429 --> 00:12:46.539 is volunteering. There have been many times at the holidays where I found myself 157 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:52.500 without anybody close to hang out with during Thanksgiving or Christmas, and the one 158 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:56.740 I like to do was go to St Anthony's dining all in San Francisco and 159 00:12:58.610 --> 00:13:01.690 help serve food to people even less fortunate than I was. So while I 160 00:13:01.850 --> 00:13:07.649 had no people, those folks had no people and no shelter. So just 161 00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:11.649 kind of I don't know how to explain that, but it feels just rewarding. 162 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:16.799 And the reason I said don how to explain it because it sounds weird 163 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:20.399 like, HMM, you volunteer and you help people worse off than you. 164 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:24.080 Does that make you feel better? Because it makes you feel bigger. I 165 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:28.429 never really thought of it, but yeah, I don't know it, but 166 00:13:28.549 --> 00:13:33.230 it does feel good to help people and people are genuinely grateful when you're handing 167 00:13:33.269 --> 00:13:37.830 them food because it's good food and I don't know, it just worked out, 168 00:13:37.950 --> 00:13:39.750 but they're that's one way to do it. Right about now, you're 169 00:13:39.789 --> 00:13:43.820 probably a little late if you live in a big city and you're trying to 170 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:46.340 hook up with one of the main charities, because they have lots of volunteers 171 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:52.139 kind of sign it up starting about August. But if you live in a 172 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:56.129 main city, look up the local charity and see if they need help delivering 173 00:13:56.289 --> 00:14:01.250 food, serving food cleaning up. They always need help cleaning up. Nobody 174 00:14:01.330 --> 00:14:05.450 likes that part because there's no glory in it, right, but they definitely 175 00:14:05.529 --> 00:14:09.690 need help. It's one of the UNSUNG hero jobs of the Christmas holidays. 176 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:13.000 And the NEAT thing is when you volunteer like that you just doing it without 177 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:18.519 any expectation. You just you have to do it with the best intention and 178 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:24.159 with no expectation of giving, I mean of getting anything in return, and 179 00:14:24.309 --> 00:14:26.429 that's what makes it feel so good, because you actually do get a lot 180 00:14:26.509 --> 00:14:31.309 in return and you never know, you there's no way to know what that 181 00:14:31.509 --> 00:14:35.070 will be. It's unexpected and you do get something in return, but you 182 00:14:35.190 --> 00:14:39.019 just cannot go in expecting anything. That's the whole nature of voluntary and right 183 00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:43.019 is just going out and giving that yourself and see what happens. So it's 184 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:46.779 kind of neat in the KARMIC way of the universe. Some of the other 185 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:52.860 things I like to do deliver food for the local food bank. Oh here, 186 00:14:52.090 --> 00:14:56.970 here's something really cool too. I've done this both in school and as 187 00:14:56.009 --> 00:15:01.850 an adult out of school, is reading two old people or my favorite, 188 00:15:03.129 --> 00:15:07.159 reading two kids that are locked up in juvenile hall. So a lot of 189 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:11.399 times you can go to the local juvenile hall and ask if you're able to 190 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:15.120 read to them. I used to read to the kids in the local Juven 191 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.759 a hall through the loudspeaker at nighttime, after lights would go out and they 192 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.710 would be locked in their cages. I would read them stories and I thought 193 00:15:22.710 --> 00:15:26.350 it was great because I remembered it when I was a kid locked up in 194 00:15:26.429 --> 00:15:30.590 the cage once and I'm like yeah, I'll just give back a little bit. 195 00:15:31.110 --> 00:15:33.509 So that's a really neat thing. A lot of people don't realize. 196 00:15:33.549 --> 00:15:35.539 If you like to read, a lot of times you have pretty good leeway 197 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:41.100 on what kind of stories you get to pick to read to these folks and 198 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:45.539 just go for it. So that's another fun thing. Or even something as 199 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:48.179 direct as just, you know, wrapping gifts at the local toy drive. 200 00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:52.129 They always need help with things like that. If you're handy, if you're 201 00:15:52.129 --> 00:15:56.250 crafty, go down and wrap some gifts. So those are just some things 202 00:15:56.330 --> 00:16:00.809 that I've done in the past. There's a tons of things. There's a 203 00:16:00.809 --> 00:16:06.679 volunteer organization called tap root, tap root tap root dot org, I believe, 204 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:12.000 and if you're a creative type like graphic designer, layout artists, web 205 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:18.909 illustrator or whatnot, they will match you with nonprofits that could use your volunteer 206 00:16:18.950 --> 00:16:22.669 skills. So that's another way to go if you're more into that route. 207 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:26.909 So anyway, volunteer. So keep your routines, maybe add some volunteerism. 208 00:16:27.990 --> 00:16:32.830 And then the last bit is kind of obvious, but I'll just give you 209 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:36.460 some of my ideas that have worked for me, and that's just distractions. 210 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:42.259 Honestly, their distractions recreation, entertainment. Now I've tried to cover a range 211 00:16:42.299 --> 00:16:47.769 of things here because I've been poor and I've had money, and I know 212 00:16:48.169 --> 00:16:52.730 people with bipolar disorder run the gamut, you know, we're across the spectrum. 213 00:16:52.809 --> 00:16:56.370 Some of US have zero money in the bank and Oh money to people, 214 00:16:56.490 --> 00:16:59.730 and some of us have a bunch of money. So I've kind of 215 00:17:00.370 --> 00:17:03.000 try to keep these low costs as much as possible, just because who wants 216 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:08.440 to spend money if you don't have to write? Hey, so here's a 217 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:12.720 read through my notes here. Okay, laugh. That's a good one yet 218 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:17.549 watch live comedy. If you live in a any kind of, you know, 219 00:17:17.710 --> 00:17:21.269 medium to large city, there's comedy clubs. They do a fairly good 220 00:17:21.309 --> 00:17:22.789 job, if you're able to get out of the house, that is, 221 00:17:22.869 --> 00:17:26.910 you know if you're locked in the bedroom that you know this isn't going to 222 00:17:26.990 --> 00:17:30.220 work for you. But if you're able to get out, comedy clubs a 223 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:36.980 pretty good risk. The reasonably cheap. Unfortunately, they usually charge mandatory like 224 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:41.859 drink tickets at the door, so you have to buy water for ten dollars 225 00:17:41.940 --> 00:17:45.569 a bottle or something ridiculous, or or alcohol. If you don't drink. 226 00:17:45.809 --> 00:17:51.170 It's I don't it's kind of whack. Anyway, if you like live comedy, 227 00:17:51.289 --> 00:17:55.609 go see a major comic that you've seen on TV come perform in your 228 00:17:55.690 --> 00:17:59.359 local town. That's fun. It's also on neat because a lot of local 229 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:03.640 I'm sorry, it's also neat because a lot of touring comics also have podcast. 230 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:08.519 So since you're listening to this podcast, there's a good chance a local 231 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:14.549 or national or international comic that might come to a local club by you has 232 00:18:14.589 --> 00:18:18.509 a podcast and then you can start easily listening to that person through podcast. 233 00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:25.150 So yeah, live comedies great. I've beene watch Netflix. They're pretty good 234 00:18:25.190 --> 00:18:29.619 about putting up a new comic every Friday. Usually they got a new stand 235 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:33.500 up, one hour stand up. That's great. And of course, my 236 00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:40.500 favorite kind of series on Netflix is called lady dynamite. Of course it's about 237 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:45.569 a lady with bipolar disorder and I think it depicts the mania, the mannic 238 00:18:45.650 --> 00:18:52.690 side of bipolar in awesome, like accurate way, kind of Feliny, kind 239 00:18:52.730 --> 00:18:56.079 of just wag super energetic, way over the top, what did I just 240 00:18:56.200 --> 00:18:59.759 see? Kind of thing, but when you live inside of a bipolar mind, 241 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:03.480 that is kind of how life is. By the end of the episode 242 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:07.000 you're like what it is you see? That's kind of Howiday in a bipolar 243 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:11.750 person's life is, you know, it's what, what was that day all 244 00:19:11.789 --> 00:19:15.349 about? Crazy, all right. So yeah, definitely check out Netflix. 245 00:19:15.390 --> 00:19:18.549 They've got some cool stuff, stranger things. Is Really Fun. If you 246 00:19:18.630 --> 00:19:22.670 haven't seen that. If you don't have Netflix, that's like you can get 247 00:19:22.670 --> 00:19:25.859 a free trial and I think it's maybe less than ten dollars a month. 248 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:30.339 Find Somebody with the credit card, borrow somebody's password, you know, get 249 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:33.819 on there, turn it on, put it on your your IPAD, or 250 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:37.900 your TV wherever, just to check that out. It's a good way to 251 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:41.490 spend a few hours. You might not be the best way, but again, 252 00:19:41.569 --> 00:19:45.730 remember, these are distractions, not this isn't like a learning time or 253 00:19:45.730 --> 00:19:49.009 anything. This is just something to keep your mind off of the severe, 254 00:19:49.529 --> 00:19:53.799 deep dark tsunami that might envelope you if you realize that you're in the holidays 255 00:19:55.160 --> 00:20:00.279 and you're detached from society. So again, these are distractions. Netflix binging 256 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:06.160 not bad distraction. Then there's, of course, live music. Live music 257 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:11.309 can be really expensive, but it can also be free. So around the 258 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:17.670 holidays look for town squares. Your local city center will often have free musical 259 00:20:17.710 --> 00:20:19.710 fairs. Again, if you're able to get out of the house, that's 260 00:20:19.750 --> 00:20:23.180 a free, safe way to get amongst people. You can kind of walk 261 00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:27.259 around and leave when you feel uncomfortable. You know it might only be five 262 00:20:27.299 --> 00:20:30.099 or ten minutes, but hey, at least you got out and you did 263 00:20:30.339 --> 00:20:34.180 something and in a way you can kind of prove to yourself like, oh, 264 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:37.410 yeah, that's why I don't participate in the holidays, or yeah, 265 00:20:37.490 --> 00:20:41.369 this is why I love the holidays. Either way, getting out and checking 266 00:20:41.369 --> 00:20:45.730 out some live music can all. It's always a great thing. We just 267 00:20:45.849 --> 00:20:51.039 went to a fire victims benefit concert. That was great. saw some bands 268 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:53.960 I had never seen before and some bands that I had loved, so that 269 00:20:55.160 --> 00:21:00.880 was excellent. Love that. Another favorite of mine are nature documentaries, because 270 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:03.390 there's no judgment going on there. I don't have to think about anything. 271 00:21:04.430 --> 00:21:08.910 The animals don't judge anybody, they just eat each other or not. That's 272 00:21:08.990 --> 00:21:15.710 us. So lots of nature documentaries, dysfunctional holiday comedy movies. Those make 273 00:21:15.789 --> 00:21:18.940 me laugh. slapstick. I think the dysfunctional part makes me laugh because it's 274 00:21:18.940 --> 00:21:22.740 nice to know that other people's lives are more screwed up than mine, especially 275 00:21:22.740 --> 00:21:27.619 when framed in the comedy context. So I always look for those dysfunctional like, 276 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:33.769 you know, Christmas vacation or whatnot, stuff like that. Sports events, 277 00:21:33.930 --> 00:21:37.730 tons of sports. Is always happening in America over the holidays. Again, 278 00:21:37.930 --> 00:21:41.730 kind of expensive, but that definitely take your mind off of things if 279 00:21:41.730 --> 00:21:45.210 that's your team, man, because it's like three hours of just going Gaga. 280 00:21:45.569 --> 00:21:48.559 So if you're into sports and you have a way to get to a 281 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:52.400 game in person, I've got a friend with tickets or a box seats something. 282 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:56.640 Let them take you if they ask say yes or even put it on 283 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:00.359 social media. Just say, Hey, I've never been to a sports game. 284 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:03.950 Does anybody have tickets you want to take? Me See see if anybody 285 00:22:03.950 --> 00:22:07.390 does. It's pretty fun and I definitely recommended at least once if you haven't 286 00:22:07.509 --> 00:22:11.670 done it at all. A little closer to home, you might try board 287 00:22:11.750 --> 00:22:15.900 games. Those are awesome. I get a lot of card games to player 288 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:18.220 Card Games, so I can always play with if I have one other person, 289 00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:22.220 I can always pull out a game and hey, you want to play? 290 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:26.660 So I'm really into all kinds of different games that come and go. 291 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:32.410 Some are super simple beginner types and some are really complex. That my game 292 00:22:32.529 --> 00:22:38.730 goobru friend turns beyond to twitter chats. We will, with my little bipolar 293 00:22:38.809 --> 00:22:45.480 cabal, put together twitter chat Hashtag. So if you're feeling lost or lonely 294 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.880 through any of the holidays, hopefully one of us will be online, because 295 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:52.279 we're around the world and all time zones. That would be nice to be 296 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:56.880 able to help each other through the holidays through a twitter chat. Stay tuned 297 00:22:56.920 --> 00:23:00.829 for that Hashtag. And I'm not sure if you know about what they call 298 00:23:00.990 --> 00:23:03.349 warm lines. They're not hot lines, like not like. I'm about to 299 00:23:03.390 --> 00:23:07.549 jump off the bridge kind of hot line. These are warm lines. Like 300 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:11.029 I'm confused with my life. I'm not sure if anybody likes me. What 301 00:23:11.150 --> 00:23:15.660 the Hell's going on? There's there's warm lines, so look up warm lines 302 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:19.420 on the Internet in your area and find somebody to talk to. That's that's 303 00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:23.460 a really cool way to spend some time and it's a great distraction. Another 304 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:30.849 time well spent is any DBSA meeting. That stands for depression bipolar support alliance. 305 00:23:32.410 --> 00:23:36.329 You got to check that out. Highly encouraged. You can find them 306 00:23:36.410 --> 00:23:44.519 at DB s Alliance Dot Org. Again, that stands forward depression bipolar support 307 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:49.079 alliance. DB Essay, is what they're called. Depression bipolar support alliance. 308 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:53.119 To get that all out. In DBS ALLIANCE DOT Org they've got meetings, 309 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:57.990 real life meetings, meetups like meetup dot Org, but with actually people, 310 00:23:59.829 --> 00:24:03.710 and they'll meet in your area and it'll make you feel a lot better. 311 00:24:04.430 --> 00:24:11.339 It was one of the things that made me finally embrace the bipolarness of our 312 00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:17.700 condition was finding other people that had the same feelings, same situation, same 313 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:21.539 reactions. Like I really was not alone. It wasn't just the thing I 314 00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:26.650 read about it wasn't just a diagnosis I heard from a doctor or symptoms I 315 00:24:26.769 --> 00:24:30.329 read about on a, you know, medication website and nothing like that. 316 00:24:30.450 --> 00:24:34.250 These were really humans that some were on meds, some were not, but 317 00:24:34.369 --> 00:24:40.079 I could relate to all of them. So I really credit the DBSA meetings 318 00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:44.440 to my survival in many ways. So if you're really stuck and you need 319 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:47.039 a place to go, a lot of them have meetings, you know, 320 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.359 twice a week, even so, check that out. The last few things 321 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:52.750 I could think about were like taking a quick trip. If you live near 322 00:24:52.829 --> 00:24:56.670 a train line, near a bus line, just leave the driving to somebody 323 00:24:56.710 --> 00:25:00.750 else. Just go a few hours outside of your normal area, see the 324 00:25:00.829 --> 00:25:06.829 countryside, see new people, eat food at a different restaurant you never been 325 00:25:06.910 --> 00:25:10.940 to. Just, you know, just disconnect from your area. You get 326 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:14.220 tweet about it or whatever, but I mean the point is just getting away 327 00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:18.059 from your geography, just getting out of your place and seeing the sun from 328 00:25:18.059 --> 00:25:21.180 a different angle, I guess, is the best way to put it. 329 00:25:21.809 --> 00:25:26.490 So highly recommend taking the quick trip anyway. You know, car, bus, 330 00:25:26.650 --> 00:25:29.930 train, bicycle, we are playing whatever you can do. And then 331 00:25:29.970 --> 00:25:33.569 the last few things on the distractions and kind of a little more big picture. 332 00:25:33.690 --> 00:25:37.880 But you know, if you need a distraction really start a blog, 333 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:41.720 make a podcast. These will suck up a lot of your time, keep 334 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:47.759 you focused and keep you from sliding too deep into depression, because it starts 335 00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:51.430 to feel like others rely on you. And with others rely on you, 336 00:25:51.470 --> 00:25:56.150 you kind of step up and like okay, I'll go record a podcast, 337 00:25:56.950 --> 00:26:00.589 I'll do it. HMM, now I don't feel quite so bad. So 338 00:26:00.710 --> 00:26:03.029 having the thing really is important. You can start a social media group if 339 00:26:03.029 --> 00:26:07.180 you don't like the ones out there. Start Your own focus on exactly your 340 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:11.059 thing. You know, if it's not exactly bipolar disorder, maybe it's a 341 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:18.769 bipolar disorder and borderline personality plus Ptsd, plus anxiety, plus this, plus 342 00:26:18.849 --> 00:26:19.410 that. You know, it could be a lot of different things. But 343 00:26:19.890 --> 00:26:23.089 you know, do your own things, start your own thing and have your 344 00:26:23.089 --> 00:26:26.089 own project is I guess what I'm saying. Have a project to work on 345 00:26:26.289 --> 00:26:30.650 is a great distraction. So I think you know. I don't want to 346 00:26:30.690 --> 00:26:33.920 get too carried away in any of these areas and we're kind of pushing up 347 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:38.119 against the time limit. I just just want to say you're not alone through 348 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:42.920 the holidays. There are other ways and other different things that we you could 349 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:49.349 explore without just feeling mired in the in the darkness, alone in your room. 350 00:26:49.990 --> 00:26:53.869 Nobody cares. Nobody invited me anywhere. Da Dada, I get it. 351 00:26:53.990 --> 00:26:59.990 I totally get that. So I just think back, remember your routines, 352 00:27:00.309 --> 00:27:03.940 go get your meds taken care of, think about volunteering somewhere, and 353 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:10.460 also plan for some cool distractions, you know, some recreation and some entertainment. 354 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:14.579 That's the Best I've got, you know, I don't know else how 355 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:18.809 to put it today. I hope that helps you and hope you find me 356 00:27:18.009 --> 00:27:23.369 on twitter at bipolar style. I will share all my best resources with you, 357 00:27:23.690 --> 00:27:29.569 including my favorite followers and, you know, the cool websites and the 358 00:27:29.650 --> 00:27:33.200 things we talked about as well. Thanks for listening and I look forward hearing 359 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:40.599 from you next week. Thanks, take care. Bye. Bye. If 360 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:45.789 you liked what you've heard, subscribe on Apple Podcast by Itunes and join us 361 00:27:45.869 --> 00:27:48.950 at my color stylecom. Thanks Bill. It's