The BiPolar Reality Dispatch Blogger Edition #001.1
JANUARY 2015 UPDATE:
The book is available with a LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL PACKAGE available ONLY on the portfolio destination:
Friday, 26 September
2014, The Farmhouse Estate, Ceres, California…
This is a new blog in the Google community which I recently started engaging in an effort to establish both
contacts and relationship here in The San Joaquin Valley. Recently relocated
from Chicago with my wife and our two teenage kids, I am (newly) published author
of “My BiPolar Reality; How Life Goes On…” and since this is all about sharing
my work, I thought I would include the “Introduction” as it appears in the book
as a way to begin this blog. In subsequent posts, which I’ll try to update
weekly, on Wednesday, I plan to move to more “real time” thoughts, actions,
feelings, notions, or whatever as this blog publications develops. I am into
the idea of continuing the story of “My BiPolar Reality…” as my life goes on so
organically sharing myself via this platform/forum, seems to be the right idea.
It could be helpful in promoting my book, but more importantly, it potentially
opens a dialogue with my readers to share our collective or individual
experiences as people who manage a “cursed blessing” like BiPolar disorder. Then
again, it might not do anything, nobody might ever read this or worse, it could
become a magnet for negative energy! That’s alright too because what’s
important is, for now, I’m having fun doing this!
So, without Annette
nor further d’Lay…I give you the first few pages of my book “My BiPolar
Reality; How Life Goes On…”
An Introduction
Greetings!
My name is d'Philip Chalmers and I was born on Thursday,
the 7th of December of 1961 in Chicago, Illinois. I have fathered four children
by three different women; I am presently married to my wife of 19 years and we
live in the same suburb I grew up in with our two school age children. I’ve
always been an artist, a writer mostly but I have dabbled in music, video,
performance and photography. On the
contrary, most of my employment experiences have been as a professional driver,
a marketing manager, in retail sales or with a multitude of menial labor
opportunities for cash under the table. I was, as a child, considered to have
great potential to excel academically because of my high IQ (176), however, I
was more autodidact and was never very interested in the educational process in
school. As an adult, I earned both an occupational degree in sound engineering
and production (1981) and then a bachelor's degree in media communications and
marketing (1991), but to date I haven't made very much of these
accomplishments. I have tried to start and operate four different businesses in
the past 30 years. I enjoy the organizational development process, but fail to
manage the daily routines of running a small company. These days, I prefer to
work by myself at home, simply writing.
I am on disability as the result of a major psychotic break in November
of 2006; and that, in essence, is what this book is all about...How I've
Learned to Successfully Manage My BiPolar Disorder so that my Life Goes On!
There are dozens of clinical
and educational books about what BiPolar Disorder is, including books from a
personal stand point by a wide range of people and their BiPolar experiences,
not to mention, hundreds of resources available online for gathering
information about all aspects of this very serious mental disorder. Why is this book any different, what makes
this story worth telling and how could I shed any more light on an already
exposed issue? This is why; with this book I have crafted an engaging, unique
style of telling my story which will create something of a “BiPolar experience”
for the readers of this book. This book not only teaches you facts about
BiPolar Disorder, but it will give you a taste of this madness as well. In reading
this book, a graphic, vulnerable, sometimes brutal journey of one person’s
personal struggle then perhaps, one might have a better understanding of this
mental illness. My hope is that after you read this story, if nothing else, you
will have a bit more empathy for those afflicted with this disease (and
others). I have not only been living with this disorder since I was 14 years
old when it was still being called “manic depression”, I have been very
diligent for the past 20 years in developing a form of therapy for myself which
includes a variety of traditional and nontraditional methods for managing this
disorder. I have personally used my own mind and body as a vessel for
experimentation with numerous substances, drugs, medications and preparations. I
have undergone many forms of therapy throughout the whole of my life: extending
from family systems talk therapy, which focused on the dynamics of my family
situation, to new age men's groups which included sweat lodges, dancing naked
around bonfires with other men, and expressing every emotion imaginable in an
effort to exorcise the demons I felt inside of me. There are literally dozens
and dozens of notebooks, computer files, and scraps of paper with my meandering
journal entries in them dating back as far as the 1970's with all of it, every
last page of it, somehow stemming from this affliction of mine, this Rapid
Cycling BiPolar 1 disorder.
BiPolar disorder is a very
serious mental illness of which there is no known “cure” for and all we can do,
as patients and a community, is learn how to best manage disease and develop
the best possible coping skills we can.
I am not a doctor nor a clinical researcher so although I will use some
clinical and medical terms to describe this disorder, I use it in context of
reference only, and make no claims to having any formal training on this
subject matter. No formal training
unless you count the past 37 years (plus) of having this mental illness and
learning, the very hard way, how to successfully manage it to enjoy a very
productive, positive and happy lifestyle.
I am inspired to write this book because, through the various blogs and
online community forums I have participated in, I realized that my words and
actions, the things I was doing for myself and then sharing with others, was,
in fact, starting to work for them as well!
Indeed, when these random folks from the Internet tried doing the things
I was doing, it was somehow working for them too. I make no claim that this is
any kind of a cure for this horrid disorder, I suspect it's a different matter
for different people because it always is, however, if I can help somebody,
anybody and/or their loved ones who are suffering with this disorder, I'll have successfully reached an important
goal. I have a lot of hope for those of
us who are dealing with this “blessed curse”; we are a very unique breed, often
with a lot of positive potential and passion for Life.
Although this book should
give you a clear and concise insight into how this disease manifested in the
life of one person (me), it is most certainly not a guide for diagnosis. If you suspect this disorder, my best and
most sincere advice is to get yourself a professional psychiatric evaluation by
a doctor or clinic that specializes in mental illness. This is not an easy step to take, quite
frankly, it's like going to find out if you have cancer or something, it is
that scary! Think about this, if you
were having trouble with your heart or your digestive system, you would not
hesitate to seek professional medical help, would you? So why is it, when it comes to having your
brain checked out, possibly one of the most important organs in your body,
people cringe at the thought? It's perhaps more terrifying than seeing a
dentist, yet it's far more important to simply have your brain checked out,
perhaps even tuned up a little, after all, without the full function and
potentials of your brain/mind, your life and health could be far worse! Trust me, BiPolar disorder can wreak havoc
throughout your world, it will negatively impact the world of nearly everybody
you come into contact with, it's that destructive. It can kill you, in fact, you get so down you
get suicidal. If it doesn’t kill you, it can easily turn inside out, creating
homicidal actions causing you to do harm to others, without any control of yourself! Being BiPolar is nothing to shrug
off, don't laugh about it (well, maybe a little) but don’t just keep ignoring
the fact. If you even slightly think you
or someone you know is ill, please get professional help as soon as
possible! I know, with all my heart and
soul, that if I did not get the treatment I did when I did, I would be dead
today. So get help if you need it, please!
Lastly, in my most humble of moments, this book is deeply
inspired by my sweet, departed daughter, Valerie Anne...for it was in her
tragic loss, that I finally found my own salvation.
Thanks for reading and Enjoy!
Have Peace, Share Love, Find Bliss!
Be Well,
d’Philip
01 June 2014
Palatine, Illinois, USA, Earth
 |
Available Everywhere, October 2014
“My BiPolar Reality; How Life Goes On…” used by permission, The Intrepid Editor Press Ltd., © 2014
**************************************************************************
Okay,
that’s it…the first post in “The BiPolar Reality Dispatch”, a weekly blog here which I hope you enjoyed enough to subscribe to this blog, share it
with others and when the book comes out next month (10.20.2014), maybe you’ll
get a copy of the book yourself! I welcome any and all comments, however, I do
not tolerate ignorant, rude or plain disrespectful language and attitudes. I
encourage diverging opinions and insights, that’s where the sparks of change
often come from, but if you’re going to engage with me, or others on my blog, I
kindly ask you to be civilized, considerate and cool, dig?
Thanks again for
reading, I’m Grateful for your time and welcome invitations to read the blogs
of others!
Take
care and be well!
Peace,
d’Philip
|
.jpg)
.jpg)