Facing Major Life Changes with Bipolar Disorder

Major life changes. They say for those of us with mental illness that major life changes can be more difficult. Things like making a move to a new home, a new job or having a baby. They change your life so drastically that they make everything else in your life come to a stop. Recently, even though I have bipolar 1 disorder, I decided to not just tackle one major life change but two of them simultaneously. I stopped driving in 2014 after I received a DUI for my medication for my bipolar disorder. I decided not to start driving again because my medication isn’t an option for me, sometimes I do not realize that I am still too groggy to drive, and I believe it is the responsible thing to do to keep myself and other drivers safe. However, I live 25 minutes from the closest town in the middle of cornfields in central Illinois, in a small village of a town that doesn’t have a stop light, a gas station, or even a pop machine. We do however have a Post Office that is open till 10 AM. Seriously though, it has 640 people and that is it. For me, not driving hasn’t been the easiest thing in the world. It means that my support systems must travel almost an hour to take me anywhere. Half hour here and a half hour back, and then to take me back home it’s another hour for them. It has been a long four years. We made the decision, when the offer was made to us this year, to purchase my in-laws home in the major city close by. We instantly started renovations on our home. It was...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Antidepressants Benzodiazepines Bipolar Medications Mood Stabilizers Personal Stories Stigma Stress Work Issues Source Type: news