Today I am feeling so much hope and happiness. I have a sense of the upward spiral beginning again. Thank you all for your concern. Got a nice haircut today and haven’t felt low in a couple of days. Played guitar and piano and took a walk with Ike and enjoyed every minute of it. Feeling flat at times, but it’s easier to laugh and feel alive. Please don’t worry, I’m OK. Love to all! xo Amy

Well, I have done it again.
Last week I was in the hospital for a little under a week, to help me get back on track with my sleeping and meds. I have bipolar disorder and have written about it several times already. Feel free to browse the archives. (They are a little messed up at the moment, so it will take some wading, but it’s worth it, in my humble opinion, if you want some insight from someone who lives with this daily.)
The hospital is not the thing that I want to write about at the moment, though.
I want to write about a fun, yet not-so-fun, aspect of this illness.

The celebrity crushes.

I am not sure if anyone else with bipolar disorder routinely suffers from this weird affliction, but I certainly do.

I was first diagnosed with mental illness in 1995, when I’d just turned 21. About September 30, to be exact. At the time I broke down I was at an R.E.M. concert. And my crush was a certain Mr. John Michael Stipe. (I’ll never get over that one, I’m afraid..he was a crush since I was 16. Too bad he’s gay! ;-D )

Well, that crush was the one that lead me to believe that he was in the hospital with me. I told my friend, Tammy, that one over the phone and she half-believed it and was, needless to say, very very confused! Hee hee.

Fast forward to my next hospitalization, and it’s February 2005, Melbourne Australia. I am in the hospital because I believed that Garrison Keillor was sending me dedications over the radio. Yes, everyone reminded me of his age, his looks and that he had a wife and child. That didn’t make it any easier. I decided I needed to get over that one, but it was a painful process. Did I mention that I had a husband at the time? Yes, indeed. That was not my concern. Also, this husband took me to the Melbourne R.E.M. show, where I got to meet Mike and Peter. Can you say “Make the crazy woman even higher without the aid of cocaine?!” Yes, I knew you could! However, since Garrison was supposedly out of the picture, I went back to crushing on Michael and could not believe he had the audacity not to show up to the bar where we were hanging out with the other guys.
I KNOW!

Now it’s three years later and I’m crushing on someone new. He’s 12 years older than me, has grey hair, blue eyes, freckles, is Glaswegian and so hilarious. I watch him at 12:30 am because I knocked out a deal with my family about my bedtime schedule. (Routine is very important when one has bipolar disorder.) He’s a talk show host named Craig Ferguson. I’ve scared my sister good already. I don’t know if she knows, but I’ve read an entire book written by him and watched a movie called “Saving Grace” which he wrote and starred in.. Mom agrees it is great. However, I won’t be trying to email him or get in touch with him because, though I have mental illness, I AM NOT CRAZY! :-D HAaaa.

Crazytown is where I live right now, but it’s not where I want to reside forever. So I’ll crush from afar, and maybe, just maybe I’ll end up crushing on Stipe again after this next concert on June 16…guess who? That’s right! R.E….. oh, you know the story of my life already…. so I’ll just shut up and sigh over this new-to-me drummer/author/actor/writer/comedian. *SIGH*

So, who are YOUR crushes? Crazy or not. Celebrity or nae…

When I’m here at home and am excited about life my sleeping habits get out of whack. I find I can sleep for a short amount of time and take a nap or two during the day, yet I don’t know if that is causing me any harm..if I’m not getting enough sleep. I mean, I FEEL fine. Is that enough? I certainly hope so. I mean I am happier. I laugh easier, and that is good for me and for everyone I love. I know they all want me to get better, to return to a person who is well and well-rested and who can concentrate and write her words, paint her pictures. I know I will get back to some kind of “normalcy” but right now I am a walking bundle of contradictions. I chatter to myself during the day as if I was speaking to an audience of eavesdroppers. But, that will fall away someday..and will I be able to rest easier then? I have a warm feeling that it will! And that I will.

In other news, I got my hat pin in the mail and am so thrilled with it..I will have to take a picture of it once I find my hat! Haa! Typical that I lose it like that only a matter of days before the pin arrives in the post.
I’ll keep looking and I know it will turn up!
The brim might too. It’s a Scottish bonnet which has a couple of ways that it can be worn. Brim down if you are taken and brim up if you are wanting to flirt with the boys. Hee. I am going to wear it that way for a change! It’s about time.

Some days are better and some days are worse, when recovering from a relapse of mania and a huge stressful change like moving to a new country, even though it is the “old country”! Haa.
This week has been one of the better weeks for me, it has seen me laughing more and relaxing around people. I’ve been able to ask for what I need and want and I’ve not been so strict with myself.
I am able to read a book again, to take a long walk, to sing in the car and to write out to-do lists again.
Two major goals? Learn to drive on the right side of the road again and look for fulfilling work.
I know I can do it.
Thanks to everyone for their enduing support. I still need it and I’m grateful for all of it!
I am happy!

Today I was thinking of a funny thing that happened in Melbourne when Cameron and I were driving Ebony to a party one day. There were people on the roadway collecting money in buckets for what we thought was the Salvation Army. Cam handed the money to the man who walked up to the driver’s side window. He smiled at us and called out, “Thanks for saving the gay whales!” We stared at him blankly for a split second before he explained that “the kids love that one!”. He was a volunteer for the Victorian Association of Youth in Communities, which supports young teens who have social and family problems. We laughed long and hard over the one-liner, and I kept the flier in my pocket because it was such a funny memory.

These days I want to keep those funny and good memories in my pocket and do my best to stop rehashing the old broken and negative memories. It’s been a turbulent month as far as recovery goes, but I am getting there. I am happier than I have been in a long while and know how to cope with my emotions in a much healthier way. So far, so good! In fact, I wasn’t expecting to feel this good at all! It’s a most welcome and wonderful feeling.

To all of you reading this and supporting me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! ;-D
All My Love,
Amy