STEPHEN FRY

Welcome LeglessCats, good to hear from you. You are probably aware that there are people here with bipolar (me) PTSD (me) and others with ADD and all are welcome here. I only have the use of one hand currently and for the past year but never had reason to mention it much before, and I have arthritis in the other hand so snap.

why leglesscats??

KSx

Welcome Cats! ADHD and depression for me. Bipolar and ADHD for my son.
I also have arthritis but in my knees and lumbar vert. Had back surgery last March for herniated discs. I understand how terrible it is to have an affliction take away something you enjoy. I love to play tennis but I cannot play as aggressive as I would like. When spasms hit me I cannot play at all. I like to read, so thanks to the ADHD I usually have a few I bounce back and forth between.

Your talk of cats makes me miss my Sandy. We called her Black Bart because she would get such a mad/mean look on her face when she did not want to be bothered. If while cleaning herself I pet her where she just cleaned she would get soooooo mad!!

My husband is allergic so we don't have any pets now. The only thing I don't miss is getting my feet attacked in the middle of the night if my cats slept at the foot of my bed.

Again, welcome!!!

LeglessCats said:
I like everyone here enough to be comfortable saying hello finally.
I'm 25. I have bipolar disorder, PTSD, and ADD. (and a nasty arthritis that is already trying to take my hands away the most.) I got fired from one job too many and failed too many college classes to have a job title or degree, but I do have a cool husband and two hilarious cats who generally keep me off the ceiling.

If my sentences do not make sense next to one another, my apology. I'm not very good at keeping up.

You have certainly had a hard time. I have chronic pain, in addition to bipolar type 2 although you seem to have had it worse than me. Take care.

Compassionist said:
Hi Marzgirl,

Thank you for your warm welcome. Sorry it took so long to reply. I have been really busy. Is your son on any medication or does he manage by using various strategies?

I am glad that the mood chart might be of help.

All the best,
Compassionist

All of the above Compassionist. I use a token system for him. He can earn tokens to turn in for video game time, movie time.....The token values range from 5 min to 30 min. Once the tokens are earned they cannot be taken back, but he might not be allowed to redeem any for a day or two if his behavior has not been good.

He just started playing basketball tonight. I try to keep him active to burn off all that energy. He has not made any real connections with peers at school so I hope he will make friends through this youth program.

My son made the honor roll at school for last semester grades. On the same day as the award ceremony he also earned in school suspension for threatening to hit the teacher with his backpack. He swung it at her, but stopped. He would not calm down after that and I had to pick him up.

One day at a time.

dawnyt67 said:
hello! im dawn. diagnosed bipolar in december 09 after the worst year of mine and my familys life. still trying to come to terms with it and get my meds sorted but hey ho theres worse off than me xx

Welcome to our little family, you are most welcome and i hope you will find some solace from reading and sharing - I know I do. You are new to this illness if you've just been diagnosed - are you up to reading? There are some good books out there others and i could recommend. And yes, I will plug my 1st book 1st because it's so relevant, I have a new one coming out soon filled with short stories of bipolar and depression which would help too.

Dark Clouds Gather (2008) by Katy Sara Culling. A brutally honest tale of bipolar disorder taking over a brilliant young mind leading to a total breakdown, anorexia, self-harm, 443 suicide attempts but eventual recovery of sorts.

An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison (1995). An autobiographical tale of her struggle with bipolar disorder by the woman who is one of the world’s authorities on bipolar disorder.

Madness – A bipolar life (2008) by Marya Hornbacher. A brilliantly written autobiography of bipolar disorder and alcoholism.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963) – A supposedly fictional story of a girl suffering depression and being incarcerated and receiving ECT, believed by many to be autobiographical.

Electro Boy by Andy Behrman (2002) – A rollercoaster ride like no other into the life of mania.

KSx

WELCOME to one KC from another KC, though since my middle name is Sara i go by KSC, shortened to KS... you'll see me around as an admin and user of the site since I too am bipolar.

See my website too if you are interested: http://www.katysaraculling.com/

KSx