Hospital Anniversary

Since 2018 I've been celebrating my anniversary of my last hospitalization. This February marks the fourth year of staying out of the hospital. It feels good to know my bipolar has been managed well enough that I haven't had to be hospitalized.

I'm glad that I've employed the tools I've learned to keep from falling into too much of a depression and ascending into a full-blown manic episode.

The class I took after one of my hospitalizations on DBT has helped quite a bit. I'm better able to recognize when I'm slipping into depression or when I'm starting to become manic. When those things happen, I can apply skills like mindfulness, showing gratitude, and using lovingkindness among others.

And while I've learned skills and used skills to manage bipolar, I've also been surrounded by an amazing support system. Friends, family, a therapist, and doctor have been vital to my success at staying out of the hospital.

I have had some bouts of depression, mixed states, and hypomania, but nothing close to landing me in the hospital and all very short lived.

One thing I want to emphasize is that while staying out of the hospital is a big positive, it's not always the best thing. Sometimes the hospital is necessary. Mania that is out of control or depression that is debilitating often necessitate a stay in the hospital. That's not a failure — it can just be a time of recovery.

Once, when I was talking to my therapist, I shared with her my fear of going back to the hospital. Instead of telling me that I could manage my bipolar well enough to avoid the hospital, she reminded me that I'd been in the hospital before and would have the support I'd need if I had to be in the hospital again.

So, while I'm happy to have avoided the hospital for the past four years, I know if I do have to go to the hospital, things will work out.

Stay well.

Home Update

 It's been too long since I've posted what's new at home. It's now been over ten months that I've been staying home with the two little ones, and it's amazing how much has changed in those ten months. The littlest one has gone from being immobile to rolling, then crawling, and now starting to walk. She's also started to climb onto the couches.

For the last month, we've been getting outside most days for an hour-and-a-half or more. It's a nice way to get some fresh air and break up the monotony of the day. I also like pulling the kids around in their sleds, sledding tandem with the older little one, and playing sled police and snow villains/heroes. We've also gone a few times to the local regional park where there's a sledding hill and several trails.

The littlest one loves riding in her sled. She finds it very relaxing sometimes.

We celebrated two birthdays in January. The littlest one had a Zoom quar-ONE-tine party. She didn't smash her entire face into the cake like her older brother did when he turned one. It seemed like she didn't like to feel of the frosting.

The older little one got to have a party with just family at the movie theater. Mom and Dad took turns following the baby as she climbed up and down the stairs while the others watched "Inside Out" and ate popcorn.

Running has been going well. I'm enjoying watching shows on the iPad during some runs, and on other runs I've been doing an iFit program that runs through New Zealand. 

Maybe on my next post I'll give an update of how my running's going.

Monthly Health Goals

I've already made out a list of goals for 2021, and while I'm happy with my goals, I thought that this year I'd do something different and set a goal for each of the first six months of the year. I hope I can stack the goals on top of each other so that I'm adding and maintaining more healthy habits each month. I've already completed my January goal.

January: Three servings or more of vegetables every day

February: One snack per day

March: Two sweets or less per week

April: Maintain race weight

May: Twenty minutes walking or running every day

June: Average 30 miles per week of running

I'm hoping to make this year the healthiest yet, and meeting or at least trying to meet these goals will help.

Stay well.