Natasha Tracy's Bipolar Burble Newsletter
April 2022 Edition
Welcome to my Bipolar Burble Newsletter. It's where I have a chance to talk to you, my readers, and offer information that can help those with mental illness and their loved ones. Thanks for reading.
In this edition, you'll find:
- A surprise is on its way!
- Articles and videos you may have missed
- An Instagram image and quote about self-stigma
- A new way to enjoy my book
- Learn what people really think of World Bipolar Day with survey results
- 3 Questions about mental illness at work
- An spring quote
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A Surprise Is Coming!
I have a big project coming to fruition very soon. All I can say right now is that starting May 19th, you'll want to be available at 2:00 p.m. on Thursdays!
Stay tuned for details next week.
What You May Have Missed
Here are some things you might have missed from Bipolar Burble and Breaking Bipolar:
The Archives
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Insta-Instagram
April 21, 2022
"People underestimate how much societal stigma permeates our consciousness, even if we have a mental illness. Stigma surrounds all of us and it just makes sense that some of it would wiggle its way into our psyche, just like everyone else's.
This means that if you have a mental illness, you may feel bad about yourself, you may feel lesser-than others, because you have a mental illness.
This is normal. But it's something we have to fight. Because the fact is you are NOT lesser-than. You are a person with an illness. There's nothing wrong with that. You may be a person with a disability. There is nothing wrong with that. The thing that is wrong is society.
Be proud of who you are and know that while mental illness is a part of you, it is not all that you are."
'Lost Marbles — Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar'
Recently, someone talked to me about buying my book for himself and his daughter so they could start conversations together. I think this is a great idea. Read this book with a loved one and start deep and important conversations that can help the person with bipolar and their loved one.
"Natasha's moving account of life with mental health Issues is so well written I could hug her. It’s very ‘to the point’ and covers so many of the feelings I have, I finally feel validated. Her explanations surrounding medication were so easy to understand. Thank you Natasha!"
If you've had a chance to read Lost Marbles, a
review on Amazon or Goodreads would be truly appreciated.
World Bipolar Day Survey Results + 3 Questions
In my last newsletter, I asked people what their feelings were about World Bipolar Day. I got some interesting results.
When asked for their impression of World Bipolar Day, I got responses like:
- Can be useful to raise awareness
- I don't think enough people know about it / It's not advertised enough
- I'm not sure what makes one day more special than another
- I've never heard of it
- Helpful for feeling like there's a reason to post about bipolar
When it comes to the question, "Is World Bipolar Day Useful to the Bipolar Community," the responses were:
- "Very useful" — 34 %
- "A little useful" — 51.1 %
- "Not useful at all" — 14.9 %
When asked why they felt that way, the responses were things like:
- "Seems kinda made up, and often there’s not a lot of connection so I still feel alone with my bipolar"
- "The World needs to be educated and pro active in helping people living with bipolar."
- "Because it gets the word out that bipolar is real; acceptance is powerful"
- "It would be more useful if people without Bipolar were educated. Most people just scroll past without interacting."
- "In my bipolar group (fb) there's always some extra love for one another and it's a time of the year where many of us burst in to hypomania/mania or come down with depressive episodes due to the season's changing in Scandinavia, so we really need this day for locating ourselves, gathering together around love and support for those who need it and pepping those who want to "come out" today."
- "No one has ever heard of it. Needs more publicity. Then I would say very useful."
In all, I would say the response was positive or neutral but many people felt the bipolar community has work to do in getting any message about bipolar disorder out into the public sphere. Start planning for 2023's World Bipolar Day now!
3 Questions for You About Mental Illness at Work
I'm currently interested in your experiences with mental illness in the workplace. Here are your three questions for this month:
- Do you know of anyone with mental illness in your workplace?
- If you have a mental illness, do you feel you have ever been discriminated against at work?
- Have you ever seen prejudice against mental illness at work?
(I'll be compiling the responses and presenting them in the next newsletter.)
April's Final Words
That's it for now, folks; I'll catch up with you again in May. Until then, please keep safe and get vaccinated/boosted as soon as you can. Remember, people are still dying of COVID every day — don't be one of them. And maybe, spare a thought for the people in Ukraine and Russia right now. Their lives
continue to be destroyed by a madman. Also, yes, if you can, donations are a good thing.
Finally, here's an spring quote you might enjoy:
“The sun was warm but the wind was chill
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still
You’re one month on in the middle of May.”
— Robert Frost
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