Bipolar Village

At the Crossroads

Michael Ligtenberg — Sun, 10 Sep 2017 21:34:33 +0000

I have been living with Bipolar Disorder for about the last 7 years. Well that’s not really true…I have been living with Bipolar Disorder all my life but I only learned of my condition 7 years ago. Since then I have been surrounded by a number of professionals: psychiatrists, a family doctor, psychiatric nurses, a […]

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The Importance of Peer Expertise in Counselling

Daniel Bader, Ph.D. — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 00:25:12 +0000

I’ve been away from the blog for a while, and though I haven’t necessary made the best use of my spare time (*cough* Skyrim *cough*), mostly it’s been because I’ve been doing two degrees, one in spiritual care and psychotherpay, and the other in social work. Last week, I finally became a registered social worker, […]

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Diagnosis and Stigma: How the DSM Is Not our Enemy

Daniel Bader, Ph.D. — Tue, 05 May 2015 01:09:37 +0000

I just finished up a degree in psychotherapy, and I heard a lot of different opinions about the DSM, or “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”, the standard guide for diagnoses in psychiatry today. However, there was one, general, kind of vague criticism that I found someone concerning and even upsetting as someone living […]

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Bipolar Disorder and Smoking: How I Finally Managed To Quit

Daniel Bader, Ph.D. — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 22:34:29 +0000

The rate of smoking among people with bipolar disorder is incredibly high. Studies have found that 50-70% of people with bipolar disorder smoke, compared with 20% of the general population. Since smoking kills about 50% of long-term smokers (as my cigarette packs used to point out), smoking causes a great deal of mortality for those […]

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Is It Possible To Be Authentically Bipolar?

Daniel Bader, Ph.D. — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 20:25:24 +0000

Being bipolar can be a very lonely experience, because we are so often required to hide our emotions and thoughts. I’ve personally become very good at what therapists like to call “presenting well”, that is, disguising the symptoms of my bipolar disorder. About two years ago, I wrote the article, “The Fine Art of Hiding […]

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School: The Bipolar Way

Michael Ligtenberg — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 17:22:23 +0000

In this blog, I would like to share my experience in schools over the last 44 years. It traces how bipolarity affected my progress in school and my social life. I always hated school, from the very first day…and indeed, I do remember that day well. I was outside the kindergarten section of the neighbourhood […]

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Michael Ligtenberg: Photography

Michael Ligtenberg — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 16:00:16 +0000

Columnist Michael Ligtenberg is also a photographer, and has generously shared a new gallery with us at Bipolar Village. -Daniel It was only about 15 months ago that I picked up the camera again. The reason…I wanted to provide my own pictures for the articles I have written for Bipolar Village. My fiancée, an artist, […]

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What I Cannot Change, What I Can Change, and How To Know the Difference

Daniel Bader, Ph.D. — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 15:20:58 +0000

Many of you are probably familiar with what is called the “Serenity Prayer”. It’s part of a longer prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr, and is very commonly said at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and is also popular for putting up in homes. For those who don’t know it, the most popular part follows: God grant me the […]

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Responsibility Without Blame: Healthy Ownership of a Bipolar Life

Daniel Bader, Ph.D. — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 17:22:40 +0000

Bipolar disorder has caused me to do a lot of harm, especially before I was taking proper medication. Between my temper, broken promises, substance abuse, and process addictions, I have either hurt or failed a number of different people. These failures were often not my own “fault”. Especially when I was unmedicated, I lacked sufficient […]

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Scott Hunt: Photography

the Bipolar Village Gallery — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:48:33 +0000

I was in the USAF when trouble began to brew for me. After being discharged from the USAF in ’95, I was having great difficulties maintaining a job. My life was a roller coaster and I almost lost the love of my life. I went to the Denver VA and had my self-placed on the […]

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