The Blind Spot of the Highs: Hypomanic and Manic Behaviors (a.k.a. symptoms)

So what's the big deal? Well, the big deal is that when anyone is in or having what is called a hypo-manic (think of them as hyperactive adults) or manic episode (time plus a state of being), we are unaware of it. Usually, we are feeling wonderful, joyful, excited if not euphoric. Our mind is racing with one creative idea or thought after another. If we could but capture them all, they would be treasures beyond belief. We are super productive, social, sensual and generous. What's not to like about this mood or these behaviors? Why is everyone being so stand-offish?


During this phase, we do not seek or continue with medical treatment because we are frequently relieved of feeling depressed. However, it's prime time for an intervention. It won't be easy but it's proof of love and devotion in action.



The saddest part of this equation is hypo-mania and mania are easily, instantly treatable.

The elites took "the waters" of mineral springs or went on extended vacations. Physicians developed various methods of bringing an individual down from an elevated mood. We are a bit more civilized today as the researchers and chemists have been developing better drugs to treat epilepsy and psychiatric drugs to treat various mental illnesses. If you're unable to bring yourself down, they have "chemical straight jackets" that are most effective without the Big Crash.



We, the consumers of these products and services, come prepared having learned to developed coping skills and strategies over time. But during a real manic episode, there is limited personal restraint. It's when life-long health, religious, social and financial values prove ineffective. You've heard people say, "I couldn't help myself." I understand this statement as a fact and without judgment. I've been there. They're telling the truth whether you believe it or not.



So the next blog will be s a laundry list of behaviors associated with an elevated mood. Yes, I understand this is just your personality and that everyone has days like this. But YOU and I can go on like this for days, weeks and months. Yes, Doctors, there are individuals who can be "up" for months at a time though you tell me that's impossible. In retrospect, my fondest memories of fun, my greatest achievements, my most intimate and spiritual experiences took place at these times. Why would any one want to come down?



Mania is messy. What goes up, must come down. It's a law of physics applied to the playground of our mind.


CAN YOU? WILL YOU FACE THE TRUTH?

Emancipation

He was a mensch of a man despite of, maybe because of, the mental illness that consumed him and his beloved family. There will be no service, no notice in the newspaper of his death, no gathering of friends and family, no one to throw the first mound of earth on a casket, no flowers, no one to cry for their loss or to celebrate his life. Rest peacefully. You deserve it. We shall meet again, Brother. Of this, I am certain.

The autopsy is complete. His body is to be cremated for $1,300 dollars and another $500 for the rabbi. Thankfully, he has a mother-in-law with the means who loved him, too. Thank YOU, Father Almighty God. There are spirits and souls we meet on this journey who are simply kin. Love, it's there in a flash, and it can not be undone. There is no judgment. It doesn't matter about choices, appearances, lifestyle or station. So it is between him and her and me.

His wife, a long time girlfriend, is now desperately, hideously, and ridiculously beyond the reach of reason. It is she who calls with the news. She is in an almost "forever" manic episode or state.  Her story about the end of his life, his death, her inappropriate response and attitude startle.There is the ever present over-talk in conversation and the need for street drugs is reflected in her voice's volume, tone and intonation. The friends, if she has any left, just overlook the affairs and promiscuity. She breaks hearts and provides fodder for the gossip mongers.

These are the hallmarks of a manic episode and behavior. Everyone has an opinion but few understand what is really going on.

For Whom Does the Bell Toll?

This came along from a Christmas distribution list with a note stating the anonymous author - designer had a lot of time on their hands. That is clearly true but this is beautifully crafted from references from the "New Testament".

Peace

THE BELL

I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ.  (Acts 1:8)
   I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3 :20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God  (2 Cor 1:21-22 )
I am assured all things work together for good  (Rom. 8:28 )
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph.. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13 )
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16).   I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven ( Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
To Whom Do
You Belong?

'The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
The LORD turn His face toward you
And give you peace...
Numbers 6:24-26

Inside Immigration

I feel it's quite ironic to find myself today employed professionally as a person with a psychiatric disability. I now am counted among people who are employed part-time. Before this economic depression, I was one of the "uncounted", that class of people disabled, permanently unemployed or "Those who have given up". Interesting choice of words and perspective. As if there was a choice involved.

I am an ESOL (ESL) teacher of adult immigrants within the poorest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Regrettably, it is also one of the poorest cities in the United States. In Lawrence, Massachusetts, where I teach English, the unemployment rate is a dismal 25%. It's most likely more. The 'poor' here reflect a wave of immigration from the Dominican Republic. Being in Lawrence, one feels after crossing the mighty Merrimack River, as if they are indeed in a different world. Here Spanish and poverty dominates. It's a convenient mask because it under-estimates the faith, the courage and the perseverance of the human spirit against the worse possible odds.

In this self-proclaimed "Immigrant City", the citizens have elected the first Hispanic mayor in Massachusetts history. He has inherited a financial, an educational, a social services and infrastructure mess. It is also the site of a new Federal Immigration and Naturalization complex. No one gives a damn about Lawrence because it's surrounded by affluent and middle-class towns. Those residents seek their entertainment elsewhere. Even the educated and prosperous immigrants flee the city as soon as possible making the economic and citizenship base even shakier.

Saratoga Springs

Back in the days when there was no treatment for depression, the wealthy "took to the waters". In fact, the healing properties of the minerals springs of Saratoga had been well established by the Native Americans. Today Saratoga is a resort and college town renowned for its summer horse racing and cultural arts season that attracts people from around the world. A certain gentility resonates there even when the population dwindles in the off-season.

The springs of Saratoga still exist, pouring out their healing waters at a consistent 59 degrees Fahrenheit. (Is any one else but me annoyed by the peculiarity that the USA as the only country in the world not using the Metric and Celsius systems?) Now 59 degrees may be refreshing on a hot summer day but it's a bit chilly for the first weekend in December. The solution is hot water. The town and the turn-of-the-century mansions of the elite lining Broadway are all decked out in their Christmas finery. It is a wonder to behold. Eye candy.

It's not until entering the Saratoga Springs Park does the magnitude of the draw of the springs become apparent. My eyes are drawn to an empty, in the process of being refurbished building as the car enters the park. The faded beauty of the building on my right, is sensational, majestic, and inspiring. It's known as the Lincoln Spa. We know that both the President and Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln both suffered with Depression and migraine headaches.

A curving paved roadway takes us over what once must have been a carriage road, through woods of pine. In the heart of the park is the exclusive Gideon Putnam Inn. Just beyond is our destination, the Roosevelt Spa. You just have to love being a Yankee, to understand it's our culture that binds us together. It has nothing to do with state boundaries. All these Yankee names amuse me.

Saratoga Springs Spa is festooned with flags celebrating 100 years of the infrastructure that was developed around healing/bathing spas. Healing for all kinds illnesses were prescribed and improvements were attributed to the waters. Here the prosperous had established a therapeutic retreat for the mind, the body and the spirit.