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    The Bipolar Challenge
    The Bipolar Challenge
    The Bipolar Challenge
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    The Bipolar Challenge

    By John Frederick Zurn

    ()

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    About this ebook

    John Frederick Zurn describes the sudden onset of Bipolar Disorder and some of the ensuing chaos.  He briefly chronicles his stays in various institutions and homes as he made a path to long term recovery.  John discusses some of the workplace and social challenges such a diagnosis presents and some approaches to handling them. The book includes a significant chapter on techniques he has found effective to arrive at a state of long term recovery and how he has employed them to maintain that state for more than 30 years.  This brief book is a must read for agencies, institutions, and individuals to help them understand this difficult condition.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEverlasting Light, Yorkville, IL
    Release dateJan 23, 2023
    ISBN9798201415204
    The Bipolar Challenge
    Author

    John Frederick Zurn

    John Frederick Zurn is a published author of novels, short stories, plays and poetry. He spent his career as an English teacher at traditional schools and as an instructor at developmental training centers, teaching employment readiness skills to mentally challenged teenagers and adults. Now retired, John continues writing and publishing. As an artist and spiritual seeker, he explores the varied promptings of the human spirit. John lives in Illinois with his wife, Donna.

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      Book preview

      The Bipolar Challenge - John Frederick Zurn

      I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my psychiatrist Dr. Ricaurte. He has been my doctor for over twenty years, and encouraged me to write this book.

      Due to his professional guidance and support, I have learned about and grown beyond the limitations of a bipolar disorder.

      Introduction

      Life can be challenging for everyone, and nobody escapes the struggles of daily life.  But for people with mental illness, life can be a roller coaster of fear, anxiety, and despair.  Being diagnosed as a person with bipolar and anxiety disorders, my life over the last thirty-five years has been sometimes frightening, often difficult, but also fulfilling. 

      In the pages ahead, this book describes a few of my personal encounters and work experiences that seek to highlight my own painful growth and development.  It also explains some impressions, beliefs, and strategies that have helped me successfully cope with my disabilities, allowing me to make sense of my life.

      The personal encounters and work experiences I have chosen are as factual and as truthful as I can recall.  While sometimes embarrassing, I believe that telling the truth without embellishment, and accurately describing these events, they may be useful to others.

      These experiences show how important it has been for me to develop a sense of self-discipline.  This includes developing an authentic sense of self-esteem and discovering realistic attitudes in terms of work, routine, and medication.  Writing also helps clarify my impressions and experiences, enabling me to better integrate them into my life. 

      The various ideas I have come to trust and believe in are things that have worked for me over the years.  These concepts are a kind of internal structure that helps in day to day living. They have also proven valuable in my relationships with others.

      It is very important for individuals with mental disorders to be able to get into their own heads. 

      To enhance and support medications, there are many strategies that can be adopted to cope with unique difficulties that many of us face.  When our mental weather becomes turbulent, it is very helpful to use some or all of these strategies to reestablish a sense of well-being and serenity.

      The last part of this book explains some of my beliefs that have brought me contentment and helped me discover my place in the world. In some ways these beliefs are unorthodox, yet everyone’s beliefs are original and therefore potentially useful.  These beliefs stress my search for certainty in a world of change, and my desire to help others as a way of helping myself find love and fulfillment.

      Personal Encounters 

      My life until twenty was not at all peculiar.  I earned pretty good grades in school and participated in extracurricular activities. I went to a lot of keg parties - back then the drinking age was eighteen in New York. - I was a good guy but not a particularly good person.

      At twenty years old, my appendix became inflamed requiring emergency surgery.  I then realized that I was totally unprepared for the grim realities of adult life.

      Ironically, a few years later, I had my first serious mental breakdown.  Thoughts raced out of control causing unsound reasoning. Extreme fear rushed in, and all sense of reality was tilted.  I was hospitalized for about eight weeks, but because the symptoms were strictly manic,  I was misdiagnosed.

      For a few more years, my situation deteriorated, and I spent time in private and state hospitals. I finally put a knife through my chest and was correctly diagnosed as a person with bipolar disorder.  At that time, I received a series of electro-shock treatments that helped lift my thoughts out of the deep grooves of depression.

      At this juncture, the responsibility for my mental health became my own.  I was prescribed lithium and other medications, and my life improved dramatically.  However, I would not take the medicine faithfully, nor would I make a sincere effort to learn about the medications.  Ignoring the counsel of mental health professionals, I decided I was strong enough to handle my own problems with alcohol and self-effort.  Eventually, I neglected to take all medications.

      However, when I decided to stop taking my pills, I placed my future in the hands of others. When I became ill, mental health professionals, police officers, and relatives were required to intervene and make decisions on my behalf.  Because I didn’t believe that I was sick, life became difficult and sometimes harsh as I resisted the needed help. Normal things like housing, food, and jobs had to be started up again

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