We Said Goodbye Six Years Ago Today

My Grandfather with his sister circa 2004

The 4th of July has never been the same, I get that it is this fantastic holiday that we, as Americans, celebrate our Independence Day, and I will always honor the day like all of us, just with a sad heart.

On July 3, 2014, we lost my grandfather forever.

Every year I have honored one of the greatest presence in my life, my grandfather. I once wrote a poem about him called The Bravest Man I Knew. I wanted to spend some time this year talking about the man that was always there for me when I needed him since I was a little boy.

My grandfather was born March 18, 1932, in Ewa Beach, Hawaii (pronounced Eva Beach because the “w” is a “v” in the Hawaiian language). My grandfather and grandmother were married in November (I forget the year). My grandfather served in the United States Army for twenty years. He was an amazing man who loved to buy cars, computers, and was very intelligent (where I get my own smarts).

A fact about my grandfather, he was in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was bombed.

I wish he was here today as I near the end of publishing my first novel. I started going to school for my bachelor’s degree around the time that he got sick with cancer. The doctors gave him six months, and he fought for a year and a half. My grandfather had an amazing spirit, and he was always willing to help his only daughter, my mother, and his grandchildren, he even got to know five out of his six great grandchildren before he passed.

I still remember, he went fast. He was okay in June and then starting on July 2nd be started to lose consciousness and before we knew it he had passed on July 3rd.

It sucked. I was depressed for close to a year after taking care of my grandfather for that year and half. I have never gotten over the suddenness of how cancer can take a person. But he was this amazing man who lived his life, saw the world during his time in the military and drank coffee everyday (which is one of the reasons I am a coffee addict!) My grandfather was, is and always will be loved by those who knew him because he was an amazing man.

Just from these photos, you can see the people that loved him and that five years ago came together to honor this great man. I love my grandfather to this day because he taught me so many great things that I have today. If only he would have seen me continue my recovery with Bipolar 1 and panic disorder, but I believe he is still here in spirit and watching over us with my grandmother.

The last photo was taken weeks before my grandfather passed with his sister visiting. What you don’t see in this photo is all the sweets on his desk not just for him, but his great grandchildren. We all miss you grandpa!

Always Keep Fighting

James

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A Thank You, Patrons

Sunday is always my relaxing day but writing is life

Relax. Such an amazing word. It is something that I do not do well.

This month my Patreon account has grown a little with the addition of three new members. As it is the end of the month, I wanted to have a special shout out to those who have joined my writing journey.

For the purpose of this post is only to name first names as a thank you.

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1. Angela
2. Chris
3. Paula

For those that are interested signing up and becoming a patron, the sign up is easy, and the lowest tier is $2, and in the future, when my book is published this summer, I will be adding more to the tiers. So why not become a Patron of my writing??

Writing Topics for June

It has been a struggle to keep up writing new content for The Bipolar Writer Collaborative blog. With my hectic schedule with my graduate courses, my freelance work, and my writing projects there is just not enough time to do everything that I want to get done. I want to change this narrative.

So, this blog post is asking what type of new content would you like to see on this blog. It can me anything mental related and I will make sure that I write good post. So leave your ideas in the comments.

Always Keep Fighting

James

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Medication Changes in 2019

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This year has been the one for many changes as my new psychiatrist since the start of the year continues to make my life easier so that I continue to be productive in my graduate studies and writing projects.

The first change has been a good one. I am no longer on Ativan, and I have changed over to Clonazepam, which has helped my social anxiety and my general anxiety. It had some early drawbacks like I was really tired the first two weeks of taking the medication, but eventually, that went away, and the results have been positive.

My psychiatrist wanted to change my mood-stabilizer from Lithium to Depakote, but I had a bad reaction to this medication to where it was raising my anxiety the longer I was one it, and I was able to stop the medication and stabilize. Sometimes in this mental illness, life medication changes are not great, and this is one of those trial and error things that comes along with this life. I was able to stay on the lithium which seems like it will continue to be my future.

Today I had an appointment with my psychiatrist today, and she wants to make more changes since the Depakote failed to work. Right now, I am starting a new medication again called ____, and I will know in the next few weeks if it will work with the medication that I am already on. I am no longer taking antidepressants, so this new medication is supposed to help curb depression, but it is not an antidepressant.

The one piece of bad news is that there is not really a change for Seroquel, one of the most essential medications that I take and also the bane of my existence.

The medication would be fine if all it was for was to keep any voices at bay (not that I hear voices anymore that was a long time ago), it was used as an anti-psychotic, and for sleep. But the side effects suck. The two main ones are major grogginess with waking in the morning and the weight gain. Since having to take more to get me to sleep, my weight keeps increasing no matter how much I work out and change my diet, which I have done.

That has been my 2019 medication changes so far. Maybe there will be some positive out of all these changes, it is too early to know for sure, but at least I have someone that is finally listening to me. That has been a pleasant surprise so far. Things are always changing and that is a good thing.

Always Keep Fighting

James

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The $2 Patreon Challenge

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I ask a lot from the followers of this blog. Maybe too much. I want so much to publish my memoir The Bipolar Writer: A Memoir, and right now I am in the beta reading part of the writing process. I have a copy editor ready to put the finishing touches on the memoir. I have saved every penny (that has not gone to keeping this blog at its highest level) but it is not enough.

The last count for this blog 11,500 followers and I love that so many people are a part of this collaborative journey. I want to challenge my followers to subscribe to my Patreon account for the $2 tier. I know for so many, myself included, we have so many responsibilities when comes to this mental illness life. The sign up is easy and I offer a lot even at the lowest tier. There will also be a special blog post for those that become patrons in April and a release of a never before seen poem.

With that said, I hope I can get many of you to rise to the challenge. If you can’t I understand, if you can’t subscribe, please share this post. It would mean the world to me–James.

Always Keep Fighting

James

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A Final Push – My GoFundme Campaign

I wanted to say first, thank you all to those who have already donated towards upgrading The Bipolar Writer Collaborative blog to the business level. There have been some fantastic large donations and also amaing small donations that have brought us closer, but we are still not quite there–as of today we have made over 300 dollars, which is really amazing! I think this final push will help us finally achieve our goal.

Always Keep Fighting!

What is the Goal?

The next level. Upgrading The Bipolar Writer blog to the business level for the next year and a half. This will give the blog more options on getting the collaborative work out there into the world. I also want a place where authors can showcase and sell their work on here (I am working on how this will be possible.) At the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to spread the stories and experiences of those in the mental illness blogging community with the world and end the stigma.

https://www.gofundme.com/rasing-to-upgrade-the-bipolar-writer-blog

This blog has always been self-funded by my own money, but the community has also helped me with funding from time to time. Every penny that I raise is going towards this blog and spreading the many stories that feature on this blog. It takes just small donations (significant donations are also welcome) and with the 11,100 plus followers of this blog donating 2-3 dollars we can finally reach the goal! The final goal will be $425. 

You can also help my spreading the word by clicking the reblog button or sharing this blog post on twitter or facebook.

My GoFundme

https://www.gofundme.com/rasing-to-upgrade-the-bipolar-writer-blog

There are other ways to donate

PayPal

This is another excellent way to donate, and to do so just press Pay with PayPal and you can choose to give a minimum of $2.00 (you can decide how much based on the number of donations, so 3 times would be 2 x 3 and you would donate six dollars.) 

Venmo – 831-287-4369

I don’t mind sharing my number (I have before several times in the past.)

That is it. I am hoping to raise enough money by this weekend. 

James Edgar Skye

Thank you! Another Milestone!

11,000 plus followers! What an amazing milestone!

It takes an amazing community to reach this level.

Another milestone down and what an amazing one it is, I want to say Thank you all. Conributors and followers of The Bipolar Writer blog make this all possible!

This blog has done a lot and reached so many people. I always celebrate these things because the mental health community is the best that I have had the pleasure to be a part of. We all fight the stigma together. Keep writing, and I will do the same. Stay strong!

Always Keep Fighting

James

My GoFundme Campaign

I am still raising money so that my blog can reach more people through the WordPress Business level. This blog is partially funded with my own money, but it takes a lot to take The Bipolar Writer to the next level. It means the content on this blog can reach more people and help end the stigma of mental illness. If you can please donate! It means the world to the contributors, followers and of course The Bipolar Writer.

https://www.gofundme.com/rasing-to-upgrade-the-bipolar-writer-blog&rcid=r01-155054779534-08c129e8ee14436f&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w

Idea Topics for February

As January 2019 ends and February 2019 begins, we will be ending a strong month of January for The Bipolar Writer blog. I always like to start the month off by asking what the mental health topics you would like me to write about on my blog. This blog is all about inclusive and a safe place for people to talk about mental health.

If you have a topic in mind leave a comment below. I am also open to a guest blog post and increasing my contributor writer. If you’re interested, please email me @ jamesedgarskye22@gmail.com

Always Keep Fighting

James

Photo by Jasmine Waheed on Unsplash

An Awesome Achievement!!!

I wanted to share a special achievement for The Bipolar Writer blog.

I was told by WordPress that I have reached 10,000 plus followers. Wow. I never imagined about a year ago that this blog would get to this point. I started this blog to share my experiences with Bipolar One, and talk about my brand–The Bipolar Writer.

I never imagined that this thing that I started would take off. I figured that after a month things would change to a point where I would get bored. This wasn’t my first blog.

I am amazed every day that I get to wake up and know that my blog is making a difference in the mental health community. To all the contributor writers, thank you. For all that are following, thank you. It has been an honor to be sharing my experiences with you. To many more amazing people finding this blog!

James

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2019 Goals for The Bipolar Writer

My Mental Health and Personal Goals

2019 Edition

It is that time of year when we begin anew and make goals and resolutions that we hope to keep in the new year.

Happy New Year The Bipolar Writer Collaborative blog family!!!

2019 is going to be a good year. We can put the struggles of 2018 behind us and work towards better mental health and to end the stigma of mental illness. Those seem like lofty goals, but together, I believe we can achieve great things. So, here is my list of goals and resolutions in 2019.

Mental Health Goals

1. Work on my social anxiety – This is my most important goal. It was my biggest goal of 2018, which I have made strides, but I genuinely want to conquer my social anxiety.
2. Work on my sleep – This is perhaps my lifelong goal and one that has always seemed out of reach. I will be working on this in the coming year.
3. Work on my Isolation – I need to be going out into the world and doing my thing more often. I can’t let my social anxiety control and isolate me in 2019.

Life Goals/Resolutions

1. Finish a novel in 2019.
2. Finish a  screenplay in 2019.
3. Publish my memoir in January 2019.
4. Work out daily and eat better.
5. Grow my freelance writing business.
6. Help to continue to end the stigma of mental health.

My goals and resolutions are not significant or unattainable. I genuinely believe that all these things are in my grasp. I will be writing about my journey here on The Bipolar Writer blog to share.

What are some of your goals for 2019?

Always Keep Fighting

James

Photo Credit:

Annie Spratt

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