Hey Friends,
I had to blog today about Pleasure Days with Bipolar.
If you have been keeping up with me all week, you know that I was a Guest Speaker on the Ariafya LLC Blogtalkradio Show (www.Ariafya.com) on Friday night. I had a great time and if you missed it, don't worry because...I just gotta tell you about this:)
We struggle with the symptoms of Bipolar in ways that sometimes leave us emotionally drained just thinking about 'tomorrow" (sometimes) a little moreso than others.
We often take ourselves very seriously, too, because we are very sensitive to how people view us and treat us when they know we got our own set of 'issues.'
We gotta take care of ourselves according to our own wellness plan as Dr. Gina L. Moore-Sanders explained last night on the Show. My plan will not look like your plan because each of us is different.
Ok, so, I mentioned that I have 'Pleasure Days' and was asked to explain what I meant.
Pleasure days for me are just what they sound like. I never, ever skip my meds unless working through something specific with my doctor, but, just like we diet -- and we all know what dieting is like,
you eat certain 'health' foods and kill yourself exercising day in and day out and suddenly you can't stand another salad or cup of broccoli!;0
So, we TREAT ourselves to some chocolate ice cream with whipped cream (I hate cherries), nuts -- the whole nine yards and then some and we ENJOY IT!!!!!!!!! No arguments, no guilt, no anything but pure PLEASURE in pleasing ourselves!:) Even the experts say you have to take a break from dieting, but then get back on track...hmmm.
WELL, THAT IS WHAT I MEANT BY PLEASURE DAYS WITH BIPOLAR -- I break from my routine and just ENJOY myself without worrying about any mental health issues (I DO take my meds...got that - don't want Dr. G- yelling at me)!
Anyhu - here is what I did the last time I took a Pleasure Day (hookie), I slept late! (SShh). I was not depressed, worried, stressed, or anything. I just plum decided I ain't getting up until it hurts. I read a book. Talked to my girlfriends over the phone (no drama -- don't want to hear about layoffs, no food, work, bills, economy, ain't writing no articles, etc. - just girl talk...I am getting more and more excited because my Sweedee will be in town soon;)-
Then it happened! Yep, it started to hurt just being in bed so you know what I did? I got up and pulled out some oldies and kept on running my mouth on the phone. I stopped long enough to pay the pizza guy and stick my not-so-hot buffalo wings in the microwave. Two hours later, I fixed me TWO pancakes -- hey, I gotta thing about pancakes and King Syrup:)-
Then I was stuffed and exhausted just in time to take my Vanilla/Chamomile bath and hop back in ... BED! YIPPIE:)
Thinking about developing your own mental wellness plan or helping a family member develop one? Having a good mental health wellness plan will also bring a lot of peace and happiness to your life. Visit Dr. Gina Moore-Sanders at Ariafya.com for completely confidential assistance and be ready for the first step!
So, what is a typical Pleasure Day for you? Was it a PLEASURABLE mental break for you? How much did it cost? Come on and share...;)-
Agnes B. Levine (Coolingwellwater@aol.com)
Founder/President, Levine-Oliver Publisher
www.levineoliverpublisher.com, Facebook me!
Author of: "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An
African-American Bipolar Woman" ISBN 13 978-0-9754612-0-4
Available NOW at
www.levineoliverpublisher.com or Amazon.com
Posted By: agnes levine
Saturday, April 18th 2009 at 3:43PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
