A few weeks ago my therapist asked me something like "what's something you have learned as you got older" and I said all the stupid, simple, cliché things are true. People say it's important to go outside and to get enough sleep and it is simply a fact that if I don't it is far more likely for my depression to be unmanageable. Certainly not glamorous, but nessecary habits...the core document is a really interesting one I'll probably take up.
I love everything about this article. I have struggled with mental health myself. I might not take all of your advice, but you provide a wonderfully detailed portrait of your own struggles and how you handle them.
I love this. Sometimes I call my regular long walks "steaming demons" ... some days I need to add a lot of planking exercises to direct the demons off my back. Working as an exercise teacher, I regularly thank participants for choosing to attend at all because they help themselves and their community via that choice. Thank you!
Thanks so much for reading, and I’m so glad you found the article helpful! It sucks that you’re going through a difficult time, and feel free to DM me if you’d like to chat about it.
Can’t express enough gratitude for your courage in sharing this. I’ve spent the last several years on the “I’m neurodivergent” wagon train, which I honor and appreciate. This piece, however, isn’t about how it’s ok to be different. This is about coping with the real suck of it. Your words are frank and grounding and raw. Thank you. 🙏
Wonderful to read! I was so looking forward to this post, and you crushed it. Framing all of this as a form of monasticism is really interesting and, I think, spot-on. It sounds like you were forced into restructuring your life in a way that may have been more restrictive than you initially intended or wanted for yourself, but this monastic lifestyle has also brought with it some new layer of contentment (maybe even joy) in your life beyond its original purpose as a survival program. And I'm sure this post will help others find a similar little sliver of quiet joy. That's a beautiful thing.
Thanks so much for reading, friend. Yeah, this is absolutely a life that I didn’t want. But I think that turning it into a form of monasticism helps me experience deeper meaning and joy in the suffering.
We seem to have independently arrived at essentially the same core plan for managing our Bipolar issues!
I especially like the way you’ve transmitted the wisdom of creating a core document. I’ve been experimenting with forms of that for a long time now. Currently using a massive Google Sheets contraption with metrics on my to-do lists and quotes and books I aim to read and the Big Plan: actions that roll up to habits that roll up to what I like to call my “Aspirational Identities” which combine to inform and enable my longer term SMART goals which add up to a single line Massively Transformative Purpose for being here.
Thinking on our overlap has got me wondering… I don’t do a lot of heavy lifting. Maybe I’d like to try to incorporate more of it… I just find weights sooo boring. Maybe I need to go back to my “creekmason” roots and build something new out of big ole boulders.
Although these are measures you've enforced to really protect yourself, this also suggests a fierce value of your own life and the necessary intensity to protect it from feelings of chaos. I've only experienced one kind of paranoid episode that felt terrifyingly close to a psychotic break and your piece really resonated with what I had to do to make sure that never happened again. What you've articulated is beautiful, and the discipline you've mentioned is exactly the same kind of discipline found in many sacred practices. In a sense, you've made your life sacred — and life is.
My brother Spencer was bipolar, refused medication, and eventually spiraled out and died a tragic death in the mountains of southern Oregon. It is emotionally triggering to read about this stuff, but I support and applaud those who find ways to manage their condition in ways my brother couldn't. I like the reframe as a monastic life. Lots of love to those suffering. <3
A few weeks ago my therapist asked me something like "what's something you have learned as you got older" and I said all the stupid, simple, cliché things are true. People say it's important to go outside and to get enough sleep and it is simply a fact that if I don't it is far more likely for my depression to be unmanageable. Certainly not glamorous, but nessecary habits...the core document is a really interesting one I'll probably take up.
Exactly. It’s all the boring, basic shit that we need the most. It’s almost infuriating.
Also, if you do end up creating a Core Document, let me know how it goes! I’m very curious how other people might pursue that project.
I love everything about this article. I have struggled with mental health myself. I might not take all of your advice, but you provide a wonderfully detailed portrait of your own struggles and how you handle them.
Thank you so much for reading, friend ❤️ so glad you enjoyed the article
I love this. Sometimes I call my regular long walks "steaming demons" ... some days I need to add a lot of planking exercises to direct the demons off my back. Working as an exercise teacher, I regularly thank participants for choosing to attend at all because they help themselves and their community via that choice. Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you very much, I am currently going through a difficult time and will use this to help me out of it.
Thanks so much for reading, and I’m so glad you found the article helpful! It sucks that you’re going through a difficult time, and feel free to DM me if you’d like to chat about it.
Thought you may like this sermon
https://youtu.be/Blph_2RSBno?si=gV0i9Z1M8okIWham
Thanks for sharing! I’ll check it out. What inspired you to share it with me?
Can’t express enough gratitude for your courage in sharing this. I’ve spent the last several years on the “I’m neurodivergent” wagon train, which I honor and appreciate. This piece, however, isn’t about how it’s ok to be different. This is about coping with the real suck of it. Your words are frank and grounding and raw. Thank you. 🙏
Thanks so much, friend. Yeah, there’s the raw reality of how much this sucks, and I’ve found that working with that reality is the best route.
Wonderful to read! I was so looking forward to this post, and you crushed it. Framing all of this as a form of monasticism is really interesting and, I think, spot-on. It sounds like you were forced into restructuring your life in a way that may have been more restrictive than you initially intended or wanted for yourself, but this monastic lifestyle has also brought with it some new layer of contentment (maybe even joy) in your life beyond its original purpose as a survival program. And I'm sure this post will help others find a similar little sliver of quiet joy. That's a beautiful thing.
Thanks so much for reading, friend. Yeah, this is absolutely a life that I didn’t want. But I think that turning it into a form of monasticism helps me experience deeper meaning and joy in the suffering.
Very glad to hear that. It’s a great place to start, and I hope the deepening of meaning and joy continues.
Love this! People need to read this
Thank you for reading!
Really enjoyed reading this, I am grateful you are rasing awareness about mental health.
Thank you!
We seem to have independently arrived at essentially the same core plan for managing our Bipolar issues!
I especially like the way you’ve transmitted the wisdom of creating a core document. I’ve been experimenting with forms of that for a long time now. Currently using a massive Google Sheets contraption with metrics on my to-do lists and quotes and books I aim to read and the Big Plan: actions that roll up to habits that roll up to what I like to call my “Aspirational Identities” which combine to inform and enable my longer term SMART goals which add up to a single line Massively Transformative Purpose for being here.
Thinking on our overlap has got me wondering… I don’t do a lot of heavy lifting. Maybe I’d like to try to incorporate more of it… I just find weights sooo boring. Maybe I need to go back to my “creekmason” roots and build something new out of big ole boulders.
Although these are measures you've enforced to really protect yourself, this also suggests a fierce value of your own life and the necessary intensity to protect it from feelings of chaos. I've only experienced one kind of paranoid episode that felt terrifyingly close to a psychotic break and your piece really resonated with what I had to do to make sure that never happened again. What you've articulated is beautiful, and the discipline you've mentioned is exactly the same kind of discipline found in many sacred practices. In a sense, you've made your life sacred — and life is.
My brother Spencer was bipolar, refused medication, and eventually spiraled out and died a tragic death in the mountains of southern Oregon. It is emotionally triggering to read about this stuff, but I support and applaud those who find ways to manage their condition in ways my brother couldn't. I like the reframe as a monastic life. Lots of love to those suffering. <3
Stephen, I wanted to make sure that you saw my latest article, which is about a radical new theory of the cause, nature, and treatment of mental illness, including bipolar. It might help you understand and cope with from your condition. https://open.substack.com/pub/eclecticinquiries/p/what-if-mental-illnesses-arent-illnesses?r=4952v2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Oh wonderful! I will read it. Thanks so much