Update on Rebecca Riley

Rebecca Riley’s doctor now the target of a grand jury

liz | 10:19 AM | bipolar disorder, criminal justice system, violence

A “Manic High”?

Sometimes I really get a kick out of the comments on my YouTube channel. The latest is from a person who thinks my most recent video is evidence of my having a “manic high.”

How nice it must be to be able to diagnose someone without knowing them! I haven’t had a true manic high since the ’90s, fortunately. Other comments that are much more cruel are less bothersome, like the people who tell me they wish I’d overdose. That’s just good comedy. But the “manic high” assessment upsets me. Perhaps because it touches that nerve — the fear I have of returning to my unwell self. It gave me pause. Am I sliding back? Do I seem like a freak?

You know what’s the worst thing about that video? That I’m boring. That’s the disease.

liz | 12:15 PM | bipolar disorder, media

I No Longer Remember How to Make a Video

But I tried. I keep getting flack from my subscribers for being missing in action. So here’s the latest.

liz | 11:56 AM | anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, philadelphia, random

Depression Confession: Matthew Good

The Canadian bandleader describes dysphoric mania like this:

“Imagine being put in a coffin with the things you fear the most, being buried underground and feeling it start to shrink, and multiply that feeling by 1,000. You think, ‘If I die now, that’d be cool.’”

Isn’t that a superb evocation? Good is speaking at a mental health conference about his experience with bipolar disorder, having become a real advocate on the subject. I like this song by him.

Vancouver’s Matthew Good speaks from the heart about his bipolar disorder [Vancouver Sun]

liz | 10:38 AM | bipolar disorder, celebrities