Distractions Can Affect Bipolar Distorder

Hey, y'all --

Well, I'm back from my vacation, and I wanted to share some insights about what happened.

The first week was great. We stayed in a condo right on the beach on Sanibel Island, FL. It was everything I could have asked for. Weather was beautiful...beach...pool...privacy...company of a wonderful man (hubby)...peace and quiet...away from work...relaxation...

The second week was just the opposite. It rained for days in a row... construction going on... hammering all day right next door to us... loud noises all the time (and I mean LOUD noises!)... until the last straw...

We woke up one morning and had our usual coffee on the screened-in balcony...

And all of a sudden there was a HUGE noise...

It was a crane!!!

And it held some painters moved up to OUR screened in balcony by a boon -- OUR balcony window! Right in front of us -- on the second floor balcony!!!

Now, this was like 7:30 in the morning, you need to know.

It was like watching a big screen TV, these two painters painting the balcony right in front of us while we sat there drinking our morning coffee in our pajamas! If it weren't so aggravating, it would probably be funny (you're probably smiling as you read this).

And every time they needed to move over to paint another small area of the balcony, the big noise of the crane and the boon would start up again. This went on for over an hour and a half!

Besides the noise... besides the interruption of our morning quiet time together... besides the fact that here are two strange men watching us while they painted right in front of us...

Was the fact that the paint fumes gave me a migraine and aggravated hubby's occipital neuralgia (pain in his head).

So that was the last straw! And we packed up and left, cutting our vacation short.

Oh, I forgot to tell you -- when we complained to management about the construction and all the noise and the painters and all, all they said was, "Oh, it's just a little maintenance." Just a little maintenance??? And they wouldn't do anything about it (like move them to another part of the resort where no one was staying at the time, maybe???)

Anyway, the point of all this is that distractions can aggravate your bipolar disorder. They can be triggers. Of course, this was a huge distraction for me, and my anxiety level shot sky high. If we hadn't left when we did, my disorder would've shown its ugly head much more than it did.

As it was, I had to take my anti-anxiety medication to calm down. And head home early.

As far as hubby's BP, it triggered his irritability, and he had to take his medication for that. I think he packed faster than I did!

Lesson to be learned: When you have bipolar disorder and you're going somewhere away from home, away from where you feel safe and comfortable (and stable)...

Always leave yourself a way out.

Fortunately, we were able to leave early, as we were in a resort and we had driven there. If it had been a cruise and something had happened and our bipolar disorders had been upset because of distractions, we would not have had a way out.

Also, always, and I repeat ALWAYS, make sure you take enough medication for your trip. That was one thing we did -- we made sure ahead of time that we not only had enough for the 2 weeks, but enough for a few days after as well, which was good because we arrived home on a Sunday.

Anyway, I know this has been longer than I usually post, but I wanted to tell you the whole story.

Moral of the story? Before you go anywhere, consider all the scenarios of what might happen and plan for all eventualities.

We could have found out ahead of time that September is this resort's usual "maintenance month" every year if we had asked ahead of time if there was anything "special" we needed to know ahead of time that would affect our stay. If we had known to ask if there was anything out of the ordinary going on at the time that we would be there.

I know it seems like a strange question to ask, but consider this: What if you are planning to stay in a quiet hotel... and then find out a convention is being held at that same time? You wouldn't know that unless you asked ahead of time.

Or what if you are planning a week's vacation at a cozy getaway, and find out it's Spring Break, and a bunch of teenagers are staying there at the same time?

Well, like I said, it's great to be home! (Like Dorothy says in the Wizard of Oz, There's no place like home...There's no place like home...There's no place like home!).

Wishing you peace and stability... (and I hope y'all did ok while I was gone, tell me about everything!)

Remember God loves you and so do I,
Michele