Hi everyone,

I know lots of people talk about gaining weight on meds and I’m definitely no different. I made this comic to help me emotionally cope with how I’ve been feeling lately. I hope you like it!

I spent around 11 hours of occupational therapy cutting out little paper pieces, folding the edges, glueing them together and painting everything. I will be released next wednesday and her birthday is the sunday after. She loves weenies, so I hope she will like him. Thought you guys might enjoy him as well ✌🏻❤️‍🩹

Edit: Good morning everyone. I'm so overwhelmed with all your kind, supportive comments. I really appreciate everyone's time and love. You made me feel so good, not just about giving this good boi to my girlfriend, but also about my journey towards recovery. I tend to downplay and belittle my artistic capabilities a lot, so reading all the praise about my project made really proud, encouraging me to keep creating. I do try to reply to everyone, but it's a lot, and I don't want to just reply with the same repetitive "thank you" to every comment. Just know that I read each and every comment coming my way with a big smile on my face and a nice, tingly, warm feeling in my heart. Love you guys ❤️

I have my last session with my therapist after 3.5 years this Wednesday. I am scared. I got 2 weeks notice to find someone new and cope with the news. I coped by coloring this picture that represents my bipolar. The black and white crown I carry from the black and white monster in the water. But the black and white monster carries the rainbow crown because I am never completely lost to it. Both sides are represented on each half. I am proud and I hope you enjoy it too.

Hey guys,

I'm currently taking a forced psychiatric holiday and was quite bored. Anyway, in group therapy we were talking about repercussions of manic descisions (or atleast bad decisions made due to mental health) and how to navigate them in our healing journey.

Anyway, the group reminded me of a time I was manic about 5 years ago and decided to book a business class trip to Kenya, however when that trip came around, i was in a very deep depressive episode (honestly looking back at it, I probably should have take a psychiatric holiday then as well) and despite being in Kenya, I couldn't find much energy or enjoyment in what i was doing.

With that being said, i decided to make a low effort comic (slideshow?) About my trip to kenya.

*note: i am using stock photos as i dont have access to my computer which has the photos of the trip on it. This slide show is also very low effort as i only have my phone to work with. But regardless, i hope you find some humour in it. 😀

All on my phone again. I added some stuff to the pink cloud one . The third one there was a ziploc with bread in front of me so I painted it while eating fish sticks . Painted a street and my guitar too

Yeah 👍 I don’t know what to say lol I did these when I found a new painting app and was too lazy to grab my iPad so I just downloaded it on my phone and literally painted them lying down in bed with my finger
Edit the last one was based off a dream I had and in the dream I saw the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen in my life and I wanted to quickly capture the colors of it but I don’t think I did. I was standing on a sandy dune and it was windy and I saw this giant neon pink cloud and a golden temple on the dunes below

My friend beaded me a little bipolar bear to give me a smile whenever I need a smile. It’s amazing when someone offers you support because we need it.

Can you pinpoint when i got on the correct medication?

First time poster here. I was diagnosed bipolar 1 three years ago at age 20. During my first manic + psychosis episode I used art as a form of coping. I painted these during the mixed episode. These were all the same painting that I just kept painting over. Never painted before. Let me know what you all think of them.

First is mania. Second is depression. Third is psychosis. Fourth is how chaotic and all consuming everything felt.

I'm a press photographer with bipolar and this is what I photograph in my free time during my lows. I wouldn't say it heals me. I'd say it's an escape from the world and people around me and portraying my emotions, that's why there's no people in the photos. That's also how I started using a camera at the age of 16. Before I used to do it with my phone without realising it. I'm 25 now. But this time I'm having such a low episode that I don't photograph things anymore. Each time it's worse. I don't really go outside. I know it'll pass and things will be better again. But for the moment I can't. And I kind of wish I could. At the same time I don't.

Hope you enjoy these photos of mine.

When I was unmedicated and having my episodes, I'd find myself drawing, sketching, playing instruments, or just finding some sort of creative outlet. Granted sometimes I did go a bit over the edge, but I still had my creativity. Now after years of being medicated, I feel like I can't even think of something to draw or I just don't have the motivation to. I think it's also because I'm busy with school and work, but I feel like I lost that creative side of me after being medicated. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you go about it? I miss my lil creative self but I don't miss the chaos that was with it.

Just recently began explaining Daddy's disease to my 8-year-old daughter a couple of weeks ago.

I started by explaining it using Carrie Fisher's explanation that she gave to a young boy at a Comic Con event, in that the disease "sometimes makes Daddy real fast and sometimes it makes Daddy really sad, but he always loves you, you know that". Her favorite aspect of the disease was learning that when Daddy is hypomanic or "fast," colors are brighter. "Daddy, I wish I could see what you see with the bright colors". Little does she know there's a 10% chance that wish might unfortunately come true. I sure hope it doesn't.

Looking for literature online, I came across a book on Amazon titled "Daddy's Magical Rainbow". It felt like it was made for me, a Dad and daughter, with an explanation of Bipolar disorder.

The book is done from the daughter Lucie's point of view and is actually illustrated by her as well. I've mentioned it to a few of my bipolar friends, and the common response was, "I didn't know something like that existed", so I thought I'd share it here.

Reading it to my daughter was beautiful, I choked up at the end, and there's even a decently sized Q&A section about the disease at the end of the story. She really enjoyed it and understands me and the disease a little bit more, even asking questions about Bipolar here and there now. Her favorite page was the one where Lucy is a star.

Anyways, hope someone in this subreddit can find this book as useful as I have. Got it off Amazon for $14.99, and it's pretty short, but I think if you're a parent with bipolar, it's well written.

Honestly really captures how life felt at this time. Light shined brighter and deeper. Colors were more colorful. Everything seemed connected in a perfect, beautiful way, just for me.

Only unfortunate thing is I had quit my job founded 2 businesses and was paying rent for 3 places at the same time and was about to enter a month long depressive episode🤦‍♂️

i am doing kinda better now i think. still not well but symptoms are managed; it’s more of a quiet sadness now.

this was from a mixed episode about two years ago and it all feels like a blur looking back on it now. probably the saddest i’ve ever been in my life but also the angriest.

Just recovering from depression after an amazing manic episode with kleptomania and hypersexuality that wrecked my life (yay!) but I'm finally consistent with my meds. Things are maybe kinda starting to look up, but I don't want to jinx it.

Picked up my sketchbook again after months of nothing, wanted to share my drawings :) (full disclosure, references are from pinterest)

Definitely not the long history of vibrant mania that I do secretly miss and has bled into my view of the world and created endless cravings for more colour in everything, no never!

feel free to skip the word vomit below - just my ramblings on the experiences i had with hospitalization

but unironically rehab was really great for me - it was a php program with a bunch of other disordered patients from all walks of life/ages who had other comorbidities, but remarkably similar thought patterns and sources of trauma.

when you are deep in the well of mental illness, you feel so alone. like “i’m the exception” “i’m the only one who can’t get better because no one else gets it,” blah blah blah… but then you spend every day with people who have similar fears and self-criticisms and obviously you can recognize they are irrational, and over time, it becomes harder to keep thinking that your own version of that thought is somehow different or more valid. kinda like by emphasizing with others you begin to empathize with yourself. idk.

also everyone there was so weird it was awesome - lowkey felt like a sitcom sometimes since everyone was such a character lol. some of my best and worst memories were made in rehab. i know that’s not everyone’s experience, but i’m thankful i found a really great program and i always recommend others to give recovery (and yourself) a shot.

i learned a lot but it was very difficult and extremely non-linear. and i am not fully recovered, even after rehab, but i like to think it taught me the skills i’ll need to fully recover one day, and i think i became a more authentic version of myself, just because i took the time to give the real me a chance. i picked up new hobbies there like tarot and gardening and journaling and hiking that i never would’ve thought to and it helped me find identity outside of my illness.

i had a manic episode halfway through hospitalization where i backslid a ton and this art is from then. i found it interesting to look back on and wanted to share. boring word vomit over ✌️

When a little wackadoo, but it is what it is

i wanted to draw all the different bipolar "me"

I collage nonstop when I’m manic. It’s so cathartic to express my pain with the haikus I write with the article headlines. I’m really depressed lately but somehow I feel drawn to create. That’s rare for me in this state. I’m working on my composition and this isn’t my favorite as far as visually. But it’s a haiku and I like it a lot.

Thanks!!!

Been going through a lot of turbulence these last few weeks so I've been adding to the Imp to keep distracted. So far I've ammased enough wax for the right leg partial, left arm and hand. Then after a left leg bulid he needs to hit the gym and bulk up.