I had two acute manic episodes over twenty years ago (edited sadly to add, I am evidently now in my third one, after a 20 year gap). Here are some links to what I wrote about them at the time.
| Title | Approx date |
| The Reason For The Hope I Have: My Experience With Mental Illness | July 15, 1996 |
| My Personal Experience With Manic-Depression (Bipolar Disorder) | November 25, 1997 |
| Letter of Complaint About Treatment In Psychiatric Unit | August 1, 1996 |
| My Personal Experience With Manic-Depression (Bipolar Disorder) – 12/05/02 Update | December 5, 2002 |
| Another Disappointing Psychiatrist | November 23, 2021 |
| 21 Years Today And Counting | December 7-15-17, 2021 |
| Welcome to my world | December 19, 2021 |
| Being Wrong Can Hurt People | December 20, 2021 |
| Hope on the Horizon | December 23, 2021 |
After those episodes I was able to taper down and go off psych meds mid-2003 (but I am not against meds in general, it was a personal choice made with the consent of my doctor and spouse). I have been able to manage my mental health since then with no more acute episodes and no more meds to date. (But I don’t know what tomorrow may bring)<==== edited December 22, 2021, to add, so, I am now in my 3rd episode, but hopefully well past the peak, and on meds for the time being.
More recently I wrote Manic People Are Overtired Children, Not Scary Evil Monsters: this contrasts my experience being around a person with Bipolar I Disorder with what I found out about the internal reality of mania when it happened to me. It is also a plea to the mental health profession to treat people with Bipolar Disorder in a more empathetic and empowering way. I expect this is happening here and there but I doubt it is widespread and consistently practiced across the profession yet.
I also wrote When Normal Happiness is Not An Option which is some thoughts about how perhaps repeated manic episodes are a response to a traumatic past and perhaps healing for the trauma might help the person achieve normal happiness instead.
I found the technique in Brain Lock very helpful for keeping my identity and my illness separate and learning I have choices in how to respond to my thoughts.
Here’s a list of all my posts I’ve tagged as relevant to mental health: