Home is Where the Dog Crate Is

Hi Friends,

So, it’s been a bit since I last posted but I’m just figuring out this blogging stuff so bear with me! Here I sit at 2:06 AM in my new apartment near Grapevine Lake in the great state of Texas! This is an incredible relief as I have been in a dual living situation since mid-May. Going between my man’s two-bedroom apartment (after moving out of a shared living arrangement with him since September 2013… a lot to do with his temper but more-so with my not being medicated) and my folks’ two-bedroom house proved to be a wee-bit challenging for Miss Managed Mania. In fact, although it was the healthiest living situation for me to regain my strength while beginning my meds again, it was tough to have all my junk in two different places and hopping to-and-fro got a little tiresome as time went by.

I am now closer to my original regimen of medication: 100mg of Zoloft, 50mg of Lamictal, and Klonopin as needed. Thankfully I have an awesome workbook from my dear, sweet mama that a good friend suggested called The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook to help me through those times when I feel like I need the Klonopin. My mind and my body have trouble differentiating between real panic and phobic behavior so the workbook has proved to be helpful in allowing me to recognize stress-inducing situations and was truly a God-send when I started working again.

Now that I’m on my own two feet again I feel better about being able to handle life’s challenges such as moving, which brings me back to my original thought… home is where the dog crate is. Although I didn’t technically live with my main squeeze for the past 5 months, it was pretty darn close because my dear sweet Bennett Nolan, read more about My Healer here, was still residing in the apartment as John was kind enough to keep him for me and take care of THE Bennet Nolan while I began a new job and the journey of being medicated once again. I cannot thank him enough for his help! That being said, a HUGE thanks also goes out to my family for sticking by my side through mania and depression, medication or whatever my version of medication happens to be at a particular time, basically through thick and thin. It’s not always easy but it’s ALWAYS worth it.

I mentioned that I started this post about twenty minutes ago around 2 AM… so not only did I just up my Lamictal from 25mg to 50mg at night but I used to take it in the morning and I feel as though it makes me manic but I can’t decide if that’s just because I’m sitting here in a fort of boxes typing on my iPad as we wait for internet and I contemplate how I want to arrange this beautiful apartment. I’ll figure it all out eventually but for now I’m content to be home sweet home with my main squeeze and the dog… even if his crate is not set up yet!

Where do you call home? And to my bipolar companions, do have trouble sleeping or identifying triggers? What medications do you take daily?

Peace & Love,
Lindsanity

My Healer

Hey friends,

The focus of my blog, Managed Mania, is to feature various people and/or coping mechanisms I employ as a means to deal with being diagnosed Manic Depressive, more commonly known as Bipolar Disorder, about two and a half years ago.

I won’t really go too in-depth about Bipolar except to say that your assumptions about people with the “disorder” are likely wrong and if you want to read more about it, I encourage you to visit the links at the end of this post.

On to happier things! In this post, I’d like to highlight my number one fan, THE Bennett Nolan, my 3-year-old Australian Cattle Dog, more commonly known as a Red Heeler. My Heeler truly is MY HEALER because he keeps me going everyday. Even on days when I don’t feel well or believe I can’t get out of bed, Bennett gives me a reason to open the curtains and bask in the sunshine.
This guys is pretty adorable y’all. He could really give anyone a reason to smile. Since I was a youngin’ (on a farm in Michigan, no less) I’ve had a passion for animals. My folks owned a litter of kitties and puppies (all named after beans… Lima, Garbanzo, Jelly, etc.) when my sister and I were wee little ones and taught us from the time were were born to love and care for our furry friends. It only makes sense that we would grow up to care for our own pets. Bennett isn’t my only Healer. His furry friends, cousin Turkish and Aunt Miley also rank among my favorites in the Animal Kingdom.
Miley (left) is a 6-year-old Daushund and Turkish (right) is a 5-year-old Miniature Pinscher/Pug Mix. Miley belongs to my folks and Turkish, my sister. I love them both dearly and so does Bennett! They love taking walks together and running around my mom’s beautiful backyard destroying her lovely flowerbeds. My sister even wrote a blog post about it! Check it out here: Jamie’s Home Blog!

Bennett came into my life in January of 2012. He was a rescue dog found at the Texas-Louisiana border in the Spring of 2011 and a friend of mine who raised a few Blue Heelers of her own had taken him in. I instantly fell in love! He is such a sweet and caring dog. Quite hyper and energetic, albeit, but it definitely helps to keep us both active. We were not certain on his birthdate so I call it April 1, 2011 and loving refer to him as, “My Little April Fool!”

This past weekend, my main squeeze and I took him to the lake for the first time and he thoroughly enjoyed basking in the sun, frolicking in the water, and chillin’ on the beach listening to ’90s hits on Songza!

Aren’t they handsome?! Nothing like watching the sunset on the lake with the loves of your life!

Who are your healers? Let’s share in this journey together.

Peace & Love,
Lindsanity

Links of Interest:
Bipolar Disorder in Adults
Mayo Clinic Definition
National Alliance on Mental Illness
DSM-IV