As I mentioned last month, Health Union asked me to speak at their annual Social Health Connexion conference. I spoke about my background, how I became a professional health advocate, and the skills you need to make health advocacy your career — it's way more than you think! 

A recording of this session is now available.

Session three, listed here, is a recording of my session. Watch now. Also, you can talk about the session here.

I'd like to thank Health Union for inviting me. Please note, I'm also writing for Health Union. You can find my work here.

If you follow me on social media, you might know that there was a fire in my building, and I was displaced for more than three months. While my apartment is fine, and I'm finally home, this disruption threw a wrench into my book plans.

Because of that, I'm pushing back the launch date to September.

Don't worry, it's still coming. You can still subscribe here to stay in the loop about the launch and enter to win a free copy.

I promise it will be worth the wait.

Find new articles you might have missed from the Bipolar Burble and Breaking Bipolar blogs, along with what I have published on Health Union:

• Why I Hate Self-Compassion (But Might Embrace It Anyway) — Self-compassion is a tricky concept for me. I absolutely believe that people deserve compassion and I show it to others. I still have problems showing it to myself. I'm trying to embrace self-compassion anyway.
• How to Help a Loved One Obsessed with Suicide: Essential Steps and Treatments — I've been asked a couple of times recently how to help someone who is suicidal. I wrote this piece a few years ago, which talks about helping them one-on-one, but this new article focuses on getting professional help for a person who is suicidal — which is critical.
• Does Bipolar Make You Feel Left Out of Life? — When everything in your life feels controlled by an illness, you can easily feel left out of the same life that everyone else has. We can work to feel more included, however.
• Self-Compassion and Bipolar: Benefits and How to Practice — As I mentioned above, I have issues with self-compassion. However, there are real, scientific reasons why self-compassion might help a person with a mental illness. Learn what they are and how to practice self-compassion yourself.
• Key Considerations for Changing Your Bipolar Medication — It's common to think about changing your medications in bipolar disorder. If you're looking at making this decision, consider these possible positives and negatives before you make your choice.
• Do I Need Help? What I Wish My Supports Would Say (And What I Wish They Wouldn't) — If you're supporting someone with a mental illness, it can be hard to know what to — and not to — say. Here is some guidance from one who has heard it all.
• Dating and Talking About My Mental Health — If you have a mental illness and you date, knowing when and how to talk about your mental health struggles can be tricky. Here are some suggestions on how to handle it.
• Motivating Myself After a Mental Health Setback — Relapse happens in mental illness. We need to keep going when this occurs. Here's how you can motivate yourself to do so.

• More from Bipolar Burble
• More from Breaking Bipolar
• My articles for Health Union
• My videos for bpHope