Night Shift

Haha, yeah, wild party girls we are. 🙂 I related to what you said about trying to maintain stability with bipolar. I'm the same as much as I can. People seem to find me fairly consistent these days. Would just like to be able to build a bit more on that after being in a kind of depressed holding pattern for some years.

Me too @Mazarita I can totally relate to your comment about the holding pattern. The last 2 years I haven't had too much hypomania, but much longer periods of depression. With the upswings I find it much easier to apply the managing strategies I've learned than with the down. The lack of motivation can be just so total. But for the last nearly 5 months I've been more stable than possibly ever, just a little down relatively speaking.

Very similar here with the social withdrawal and small social engagement. You sound like you are doing quite a bit more really. Did you mention travelling to Cambodia?

I did mention travelling yes. It's only for 1 week and I'm going with my brother. I plan to stick with him the whole time. Hoping he can put up with that. So many challenges in doing it but the offer of tickets made it too good an opportunity not to try. I should feel really lucky but I'm also nervous. Have you travelled in Asia at all?

No, haven't travelled in Asia except stopovers in Singapore on the way elsewhere. I did find travel stressful but so memorable and always glad I did it. Great that you have the tickets offer and brother to travel with. I went solo on some of my earlier o/s trips.

Both the other times I went o/s I was quite manic when I decided to go and made all the arrangements. I also went alone. The first trip I stayed manic the 2 weeks I was there and engaged in risky behaviour. The 2nd trip was for 2 months and as soon as I arrived I crashed down totally and had one of the worst depressions of my life. I knew no-one and could hardly leave my accommodation. I seriously hope (and plan) that travelling with company will make this a completely different experience. My brother is very familiar with the area we are going to as his son lives there with his partner and their first child. They have a cafe there. I haven't met the little one yet and am very much looking forward to meeting her. She was born the same day as my first grandchild.

I have to stay aware and monitor myself until we go and make sure my moods stay stable. It's just so important. It feels like a test of how far I've come.

Lovely about the child you will be meeting and the connection with your grandchild. I understand that mental preparation for a trip. Even just a trip down south to see Mum and others there once a year takes quite a bit of mental preparation for me. I usually do fine though and come back feeling energised in a good way. I hope it goes really well for you. 🙂

Thankyou. I am looking at trips over the last 2 years to visit my family in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane where I didn't get too hyper (a bit but I managed it ok) as a reassuring indication that I'll cope alright.