"It's just tea."

I started drinking Chamomile Tea for anxiety when I was in college.

My friend introduced me to it.  She said that when she was in grade school she would go to the nurse's office and the nurse would make her chamomile tea to help calm her nerves.

I started drinking it and it really did help, although I complained to her that it only worked moderately... she said, "It's just tea."  Like I was expecting too much from it.

It might just be tea, but it is a great way to relax.  Pair it up with some medicine if you need to... Tea is a warm, delicious, and a calming drink.... And something you can share with a friend.

Chamomile tea comes in many flavors and varieties..  Below are a couple of links to some unique flavors. I recommend Celestial Seasonings, Stash, and Tazo brands.  Be warned that some brands taste more like hay than tea, and if you happen to get one of those, please don't give up on tea altogether.. Just try a different brand.

The following are all available on iherb.com  If you haven't shopped there before, you can get a $5 coupon for your first order by using this referral code: LIN282  That should make your first box of tea practically free.  Iherb also has great prices on supplements.

Celestial Seasonings, Honey Vanilla Chamomile

Celestial Seasonings, Sleepytime Extra, Chamomile Mint Flavor

Cohesiveness

Being cohesive is something most of us take for granted.

These days I don't have any problem planning what I am going to do for the day and then going through my list and getting things done.

However, in the depths of my Bipolar, that wasn't always the case.


I remember days when my Bipolar was so bad that just the task of getting ready to leave the house was so difficult that I would get frustrated. I wasn't cohesive. I couldn't hold the thoughts together of what I needed to do before heading out the door.  Of course, that would make me frustrated.

Having a "door list" is good solution for the stuff you don't want to forget, like keys, wallet, glasses, etc.  However, a door list only goes so far... What if you can't remember what you need to do once you leave the house?

The opposite of cohesiveness is being scattered.  Thinking of one thing and then thinking of something else unrelated and having the thoughts come on so fast (or so slow) that is is hard to make sense of them.

Sometimes, it's helpful for me to look back on times when I wasn't doing so well, and be fortunate for how well I really am doing these days.  It's Thanksgiving this week and I am very fortunate for how much progress I have made.

Too Many Days of Happiness?

It seems like I've gone too many days without depression.

I should have had at least a little depression this month.  But the closest I came was feeling overly emotional for one or two days.

I've been drinking green tea, often twice a day.  Eating pecans every other day, or so.  Not getting out to walk as much as usual, though.   Waking up a little bit earlier than normal.  Only sleeping 6 or 6.5 hours instead of my usual 7-8.  I don't feel tired.  I want to keep going and going.  Work excites me.  Life seems so happy.

Music has been sounding great too.

I must be hypomanic.  But I'm just not feeling any of the negative aspects from it, this time.

I've taking my lithium orotate as usual.   No med changes lately.

I guess I'm just feeling happy!  Does that mean that I'm gearing up for a big depressive spell?  Hypomania is always followed by depression.  It's just a question of when.  I'm just hoping that I'm not depressed during my Thanksgiving trip to visit my parents.  I need all of the normality and strength I can get for that, which is certainly going to be stressful.

I just wish I could know ahead of time when I'll be depressed and when I'll be (hypo) manic.  But Bipolar Disorder doesn't work that way.  And on some (hypomanic) days I think that maybe I've cured it for good!  And that I can go on this blog and tell the world about my wonderful, easy cure.  Now that's a dream, or a delusion :)