Together at the Poles

Monthly Archives: July 2012

Jeni Booker Senter: Poetry

Jeni Booker Senter is a poet, essayist, and journalist devoted to the advancement of women. She currently teaches English to at-risk teens. Her writing has earned awards in the Duque Wilson Essay Contest and the LaRoche Memorial Poetry Contest, and she is a contributor to NW Florida Business Climate, Blackwater Review Literary Journal, Journal of South Texas Studies, Socialist Women Magazine: International Women’s Day Edition, A&U, and Troubadour. Continue reading

Managing Bipolar Disorder Versus Muscling Through It: Lessons From a Recent Episode

As those of you from the Facebook page probably know, I’ve recently taken a medical leave for a mixed hypomanic episode that started at the beginning of July. It was in many ways a frustrating experience, and in no ways a pleasant one (though I did have some ideas at the end that I’ll be using in some future writing). I decided this time to really keep a watch on what was going on in the episode, and see what I could learn from it. I did pick up a few things, so I thought I would share them today. Continue reading

Sarah: Paintings

My name is Sarah. I live in Kent, UK. I have two sons at home. I’ve struggled with depression for many years and had a lot of therapy. I only found out I had bipolar disorder by co-incidence some 8 years ago but never really knew or understood what that meant to me. I have used my art to help me express the various stages of my journey, the extreme changes mood can have from one day to the next, and how differently I have felt about myself, my beliefs and the world around me. Continue reading

Community and Identity: Three Questions About the Mad Pride Movement

Last week, I had the opportunity to host a table at the “Mad Market” at Toronto’s “Mad Pride” festival. It was a great experience, as it gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of other people with mental illnesses and to see some of the excellent artwork that people had produced. Among other things, I really came to appreciate just how creative people with mental illnesses can be. Continue reading

Louise Ryan: Paintings

I am Louise Ryan and I am a 42 year old passionate artist. As an artist I have a love hate relationship with my bipolar. My illness can bring me such creative energy and vivid ideas. It can also drain my life-force and cloak me with melancholy. But the beauty and tragedy of the human condition is always at the core of my art. I rejoice in my elation and acknowledge the aesthetic of torment. “The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.” Anaïs Nin. Continue reading

Michael Ligtenberg: The Bipolar Boomerang

After the very positive feedback I have received here at Bipolar Today, I have decided to continue to share my experiences dealing with my recent diagnosis late in life. This is obviously a personal experience, and how I am coping with Bipolar Disorder as an individual. Today I am writing about a bad moment I have recently been through and am still going through as I write.

Have you ever thrown a rock into the water, or a stick in a park just for the sheer pleasure of throwing something and watching it as it sails through the air and then as it comes back down to earth, as the properties of gravity must dictate? Continue reading

Gloria Mikyska: Paintings

Gloria Mikyska is a regular contributor to our Facebook Page and has written a page about her experiences with bipolar disorder in her article, “How Bipolar Disorder Blessed Me”. She is also an artist, and has shared with us some of her paintings. Gloria has a lifetime of experience with bipolar disorder, having dealt with the condition for fifty years, and brings that experience to her artwork. Continue reading

A Thousand Natural Shocks: Functioning as a Bipolar Person

When I first heard the term “functioning”, I was actually rather annoyed by it. As it was explained to me, “functioning” meant something like “able to hold down a job.” The reason I was annoyed by it was that it seemed to me that it only represented society’s, specifically the economy’s, interest in my health. It reminded me of the time that the provincial government backed down and funded the flu shot, but only on the grounds that the flu stopped people from working, not just because having the flu, well, sucks. Continue reading

Nick James: Kites

Nick James is a kitemaker living with bipolar disorder in the UK. From 1985 he has been designing and making kites and for the last nineteen years running workshops in schools. He started by making seagulls, falcons and pterodactyls. He then moved on to designing more abstract and complex kites such as his Angels and Devils.

In 1998 he won a prize in the ‘Concours de Creation’ at Dieppe International Kite Festival (the Olympics of the kite world!). Continue reading

Kim Jones: Mixed Media

Kim Jones joins us from California. Having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 16, she has now been managing the illness for over twenty years. Her work includes both painting and work in mixed media, incorporating some rather surprising material into her work. She has her own Facebook page dedicated to her artwork, which can be found here. Continue reading

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Counselling from Daniel
Daniel Bader, Ph.D., RSW, CCC
Daniel Bader, Ph.D., RSW, CCC is a Registered Social Worker and Canadian Certified Counsellor with a private practice operating out of Kitchener, Ontario. He provides in-person counselling in Kitchener and email, video or telephone counselling within Canada.

To find out more, please visit the website for his private practice, Bader Mediation & Counselling Services.