Bipolar Blog Podcast Episode 1
Here’s Episode 1 wherein I burble on about stuff that occurred to me. You can download the show notes here.
- August 4th
Hi, I'm Kev. I'm a thirty-seven year old web developer, married with three kids and living in the Midlands, UK. I'm also manic depressive (Bipolar). This blog discusses the issues surrounding my life as a manic depressive.
Kev? Is that you? You sound just like Alistair Cook. :
)One thing bugged me about Kay Redfield Jamison’s book, An Unquiet Mind, was really a sort of jealousy or something… she had so much support. She was able to accomplish so much but only because people were willing to go along behind her and help her clean up the messes she created while in a mania.
I don’t mean that she’s a bad person, but that she was extremely fortunate. I don’t think many people would be able to do what she did. If her mother wasn’t so understanding and her boyfriends (I think there were two, maybe they were husbands) weren’t so accomodating and generous, she would have ended up homeless or something.
I was also kind of jealous that she could be so seriously impaired, and yet accomplish so much partly because she seemed to be very organized. Whereas I am stable all the time, no big ups and downs, but I serously doubt I could have done what she did, get a PhD. I mean, having social eptitude just gets people all kinds of points, and being able to remember to do things at certain times, apparently is huge enough to counteract most or all of the problems she was having with her illness (which were major problems). I guess there’s just some kind of flexibility in society that can accomodate bipolar where it won’t accomodate autism…. or I’m pouting…. :)
Not that I’d want to trade places with her. She had some really awful experiences. I appreciate what she did in writing about her experiences. That’s huge and a gift to all her readers and to society beyond.
Alistair Cook? I’m honoured ;o)
I always try and speak more softly and enunciate correctly when doing things like this otherwise my Stokie accent means I sound like Robbie Williams after a hard night ;o)
Yeah, I know what you mean about Unquiet Mind. I am enjoying this one much more (its written in a dissertation style – very academic, Kristina would love it ;o) ) but Unquiet Mind was verging on the me-me a little bit. I know my manic episodes were often followed by broken friendships and stony silences.
I think there is more familiarity with manic depression than autism, sure – although the parallels are interesting too. I’m bemused to note of late how bipolar seems to have become the next rock star accessory. Papped falling out your dress after a party? Bipolar! Slanging match with best model/friend/band member? Bipolar! Thats not to say that these people aren’t (or are) manic depressive but its weird to me how something I spent a very, very long time denying/dreading/accepting is now the talk of the town. What autism needs is a few celebs ;o)
Do you know the British actor/comedian Stephen Fry (he and Hugh Laurie of ‘House’ fame used to be a comedy double act)? I’ve just fginished reading ‘Moab is my washpot’ which is the first part of his autobiography in which he writes about his childhood and adolescence. The weird thing is that he wrote and published it before he got his diagnosis. He screams manic depression from every pore throughout the book and – like me – never had a clean up crew like Jamison did. I recommend it. Very, very good.
Ooh. I’ll have to see if I can get his book. I used to be a huge fan of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. Jeeves and Wooster, .... I guess I’m still a big fan, but I haven’t watched any episodes in like 10 years, I think. It’s hard for me to watch House and not see Bertie Wooster.
When I was little my mom talked about her sister’s husband who was manic depressive. So I’ve know a little about what it looks like since then. My uncle who was just a salesman or something, in a mania decided he was going to run for mayor of Boise, Idaho (which was a pretty good sized city even back then). I think that might have lasted for a week. He also assaulted a police officer (totally shocking in the 1950’s). I suppose the officer had asked him to leave some public place or something. Anyway, I understood that it was embarrassing, but the family didn’t seem to be deeply ashamed of him… not that I could see. His wife, my aunt was NOT a pleasant person in my experience, and was totally into status and appearances , might have been totally humiliated by him… but they hid it pretty well.
They were Catholics and had 6 kids. None of them were as florid as my uncle. I don’t think any of them were bipolar, but most were pretty snobby and materialistic like their mom. My uncle was Basque, so my mom put some of his behavior down to him being a Basco, which was her prejudice showing….
My aunt died a few years ago of cancer, I don’t know about my uncle since my aunt got a papally approved anulment or some ridiculous thing after they’d been married for 20+ years. The whole Catholic thing was weirder than my uncle’s MD… apologies to any sensitive Catholic’s reading your blog. My aunt fell in love with a priest after her divorce… the priest sort of returned the affection, according to my mom… he left the priesthood, moved to San Francisco, got a job… I think maybe my mom helped him get the job… and eventually killed himself. OK, so I’m blathering. I look forward to your interviews with your intended guests, they sound fab!
rats, what’s with the crossed out stuff….
Fixed it – Worpdress missed a line break :o)
Kev, I can get it to play in a popup window but I can’t get it to download to iTunes.
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