Ardent, mmmental, BettyBee, Sirkay, Hawkfrye, jendreamer,

Just wondering if any of this old gang is still connected with this forum. I have only recently come back online. I think I stopped posting after I was fired and then had about 5 years of living hell at a new job and with my mental state.

I miss being able to converse with people who understand what it's like to be bipolar. Facebook has many BP pages but they are very impersonal compared to MoodTracker.

Oh well, hope to hear from ANYONE on this forum as it is a great tool for expressing how we feel, how we cope, what others do to cope and just to know that we are not alone on the bipolar-coaster of life

Peace and stability be with you always.

Hey Spott, sorry to hear you've had some rough times over the last 5 years. I'm glad that you've come back to the site.

As I'm sure you've noticed the forum has become a bit underused. I've been maintaining the site now for close to 15 years. I'm a strong believer in the power of community and feeling accepted. The purpose of this website has been to help bring a sense of peace to the lives that have been impacted by the challenges and frustrations of mental illness.

The forum has been a friendly community hub for discussion. I'm grateful for so many people who have posted here. I've noticed their kindness, and their good hearts to reach out and help others. Hopefully those people you mentioned in your title are still around and having good health. If they are able to chat, great! But, if not, I'm happy to listen and talk.

Thank you for responding phospark! I recognize your name from days of old as I joined this form back in September 2009. You are 100 percent correct that this forum is now underused. I am thankful so many people were on this site when my life was in such a downward spiral and I did not think I would ever recover

As I read old posts, I remembered the bonds that were formed between many of us because when we were out in our day-to-day lives our bipolar was often very isolating. But here we are all the same ~ just trying to fit into a world that often misunderstands us and shuts us out.

While I only mentioned a few people in the title (due to limited title space) there were MANY others who were supporting, humorous, welcoming, distraught, and even desperate for someone to just listen to them in the middle of the night.

As I read old posts, I could see changes in me (some good, bad, and some scary) and how others rallied round to help me as I also attempted to support others. As I stated, FaceBook has many BP pages but they are not as friendly AND they all seem so impersonal, somewhat detached. I don't know, maybe it's just the sign of the times ~ get in, have your say, post an emoji, complain about that post, get political, offend this one, swear at that one, and BAM, slam some fellow BP sufferers, block them and leave, It's like: WTF! {{{{{ HELLO! }}}}}

But I'm rambling, something I have been known to do on occasion ~ I appreciate your response and look forward to talking in the future. Perhaps we can rally some of the old-timers and gain a few newbies in the process as well {{{{{ smiles }}}}}. I would love to see this forum active and purposeful again.

I hope life is being kind to you and that you are stable and at peace in your world.

Hi Spott

I don't know if you count me as part of the old crowd, but I'm here. I only come here occasionally. I don't also feel like the posts are up to date. I guess I'll have to check back in more often! :)

For me, I'm dealing with a butt load of smoke from the fire going on North of me, up in Geyserville, California. I personally live in Santa Rosa, California. I'm getting tired of smelling smoke! We had major fires called the Tubbs Fires. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed/frazzled from all of the media overload.

Hi Spott. I'm a newbie. I've been a member for a while, but I had quit using this for several months and only came back recently. I'm making being here a habit now and looking in on this underused forum. I'm glad to see posters. I hope it will inspire me to post rather than lurk. To introduce myself: I have BP type 1 and was diagnosed about 25 years ago. I've had a difficult time trying to pull my life together due to internalized stigma but things are getting better. I have a cat and a husband. Thank you for coming back and starting a conversation!

I am new to this forum. I have battled with bipolar disorder since 2000. It has been a journey of ups and downs. Getting meds right has been a dance. Sometimes the meds work, then after a while I have snapped and gone to the hospital. A true hard refresh of life and meds. Right now, my meds are good. I am doing well. I am grateful for what is going on now. I would like to engage with your discussions.

Hi blukitty! YES, I absolutely consider you part of the old crowd. You and I joined and were active beginning in 2009. It's great that you are still here and, yes, please check in more often. I only recently began posting again and am trying to get more people involved again and also to motivate newbies to utilize this site more.

I am so sorry you are dealing with the smoke and fires in Cali. My granddaughter lives in San Pedro so I worry about her as well. We used to live in Floria which also can have mojor fires and smoke so I understand how the smoke can affect your health and mood. As far as the media, I rarely watch or read the news because it causes me too much anxiety, depression, and anger. A psychiatrist once said to avoid it and not to worry about missing urgent news because others will talk about the important stuff and you will hear about it.

I do hope you will continue to post as needed and just to chat, it would be awesome to have a big community again

Hello newbie RoseSaylavie! In case no one else has said it, WELCOME to this awesome group. YES, please come back often and also use the mood and medication tracking as it really is an invaluable tool for tracking your moods and looking back at any patterns regarding sleep. Good stuff to give to your pdoc.

I am diagnosed BP2 some 12+ years ago but knew I had depression issues for much longer. My mom was diagnosed manic depressive back in the '60s but the stigma and false info even made me think she could be better if she only thought happy thoughts and tried to be better {{{{ heavy signs }}}}

I'm so sorry you had such a hard time previously. Yes, mental illness stigma is a tough thing to overcome and defeat. I have to say things are finally moving in the right direction ~ people even admit now that they go to therapy {{{ YAY }}}

I'm glad you are in two good relationships and hope your hubby is supportive of your mental illness, I'm sure your kitty is {{{ ha ha }}}. I am also married and know it can be a struggle for spouses. My hubby has depression issues and has also gone to therapy, which was extremely helpful.

THANK YOU blukitty and RoseSaylavie for responding to my post and I hope to see and respond to your own posts again soon. Remember, we are here to support one another through thick and thin, good times and rough times, manic and depressed, and many blessings.

May peace and stability find you and keep you safe.

Thank you Spott; I wish peace and stability for you, too.

JanelleHale4, welcome to this thread! Please stay around. It will be nice to be part of a group, I think, and I hope you think so, too. Spott is right about the bipolar groups on Facebook when they say that those groups are impersonal. I've found them to be that way, too. I think part of the problem is that those groups are too big, but that's not all. Have you tried those groups?

Hi Rose, I have not looked at Facebook pages. I am glad to be in this forum.

Hi Janellehale4. I just responded to your post on my other thread. When I made my last post here I had not seen your post yet (I was typing and proofing my post in a rush to a doctor appointment and we crossed paths).

I'll join RoseSaylavie in welcoming you to this forum ~ I'm sure you will see that the people here are the greatest ~ good listeners, supportive, kind. The great thing is you definitely come to know that you are not alone with this mental illness.

Yes, BP is definitely a battle and, as I call it, a real bipolar-coaster ride. I have been fortunate that I have never been hospitalized, though there was a time when that would have been the best place for me. I'm sorry you had to experience hospitalization.

Yes, unfortunately, meds are the biggest challenge for anyone with bipolar and stability sometimes just seems to be beyond our reach.

It's wonderful that you are in a good place right now and I hope you can maintain that stability for a long time.

To be sure, create posts when you just want to talk about ANYTHING!! Or, like this thread, chime in on every post that you feel you'd like to participate. This has ALWAYS been wonderful for me and I am really walking on clouds knowing others are beginning to light up the forum. Keep the conversations coming {{{ smiles }}}. Don't forget to use the tracker for your moods and meds ~ it will sometimes surprise you to see how stable or on the edge of instability you might be.

I wish you as much joy and happiness as you can tolerate ~ peace {{{ happy face }}}


Hey RoseSaylavie, I'm glad I'm not the only one that isn't thrilled with the Facebook groups. One group I'm in has 32,000 members so I rarely see the same person comment more than three times. It's too impersonal ~ MoodTracker is real people supporting each other and there has ALWAYS been a kindness when others respond.

YAY ~ I'm so happy that I got back to this community {{{ jumping up and down happy }}}