Introduction

With my first post, I just wanted to give an introduction to my story and identify the purpose of this blog. This blog is meant for other friends and family of those suffering from bipolar disorder. I will share my stories, as well as some resources, and I hope that anyone reading this will comment with some thoughts or experiences of your own!

Tomorrow marks 18 months with my girlfriend, Christen. Christen was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 13. She has endured 14 hospitalizations, multiple unsuccessful medication regimens and hundreds of hours of counseling. If you are familiar with bipolar, you know there is no cure - only treatment which must be individualized to each person. No one treatment works for everyone. It is a constant struggle until you find the magic combination - something we have been working through but have yet to do.

I met Christen through a mutual friend. By the third time we spent time together, I knew that I loved her. Our first 5 months together were symptom free - I later found out that this was the tail end of a year long period where Christen had no episodes - we still don't know why. At the end of the 5 month mark her depression became prominent, as well as short (hours to days) episodes of mania which were manifested by irritability and anger. This was nothing but confusing to me because it was new - I was unfamiliar with bipolar and I thought I was doing something wrong. Somehow we worked through those early episodes and as I became more comfortable with separating "The Bipolar" from "Christen" things became easier and more predictable.

We have now been living together for 8 months. Every day brings something new and though at times it is trying, I can't help but feel that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for us. For her. For this:

I look forward to sharing more with you. :)