Holidays are Hard for Some People w/BP

Hey, y'all --

I hope you had a good Labor Day. Unfortunately, I know that for some of you it was a difficult day.

For people with bipolar disorder, holidays and family gatherings can even be triggers to bipolar episodes. These types of things can be added stress on the person, which is the trigger to begin with.

Then, having to deal with difficult family relationships, noise levels, being somewhere you may not want to be (and/or for longer than you want to be there), events you may have to participate in, expectations of you that you're afraid you can't meet...

And all the other things involved in family gatherings at the holidays, do not fare well for someone with bipolar disorder.

So this year I decided to stay home. Yep. No family BBQ's or anything. My youngest spent the day with his friends. My middle son moved back up to NY, so he's not here. My oldest son spent the day with his girlfriend's family. So it was just my husband and me and our dog.

We had a wonderful, peaceful, non-stressful day. We rested. We spent time alone together. We watched some TV (later he watched Monday Night Football while I watched CSI in the other room). I did crossword puzzles while he read.

It was a wonderful day!

Now, you might not find it very exciting. But we both have bipolar disorder, and we have to manage it the way it works best for us. So since we don't do well at family gatherings (for the reasons I listed above), we thoroughly enjoyed our Labor Day at home this year.

I hope you had a good day, too.

Wishing you peace and stability.

Remember God loves you and so do I,
Michele