- Joined
- Oct 28, 2019
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Hello everyone. My name is Jamie and I’m 34 years old. I currently work at an assisted living facility as a kitchen aide. I have many college credits in English, but no degree. I’m happily married for six years.
I want to write a book telling my story. I have bipolar 1 disorder, and when I have episodes, they’re bad enough to warrant hospitalization. I have severe manic episodes. However I take medication and I seek therapy, and I chart my moods. My episodes are rare as it is, and with my current treatment, my doctor thinks the likihood of me having another severe mood swing is small.
Anyway, I want to write about those experiences. I want to write about my delusions, psychotic behavior, the mood elevations, but I also want to write about what I do or have done to treat it. I want to write about the reactions people in my life took to my episodes, good and bad. I want to educate and I want to inspire.
My doctor told me, for as severe as my episodes get, I still get out there and work and live a normal life. He said in his 20 years of practice, people with my diagnosis and my like experiences shrink back from having a normal life, and make excuses why they shouldn’t have to work, why they don’t have good relationships, etc.
I joined a writing forum cause I’m really at a loss as to how I should put this in writing. Should it be a novel, with characters and a story based on my experiences? Should it be an educational autobiography where I tell my story one chapter, then educate on the illness in the next? I really think I have way more material to write on for it to be a memoir. But I’m not really wanting to do an autobiography where I talk broadly about every major event in my life starting with birth, though in my case my birth and adoption played a large role in who I became. I haven’t read many autobiographies or memoirs, so I’m at a loss for how to put it together, how to start.
I have been going through my old journals, taking notes on key events and ideas, and I have put together a loose timeline of my life, highlighting key experiences. Just not sure where to go from here.
Thank you for your time.
I want to write a book telling my story. I have bipolar 1 disorder, and when I have episodes, they’re bad enough to warrant hospitalization. I have severe manic episodes. However I take medication and I seek therapy, and I chart my moods. My episodes are rare as it is, and with my current treatment, my doctor thinks the likihood of me having another severe mood swing is small.
Anyway, I want to write about those experiences. I want to write about my delusions, psychotic behavior, the mood elevations, but I also want to write about what I do or have done to treat it. I want to write about the reactions people in my life took to my episodes, good and bad. I want to educate and I want to inspire.
My doctor told me, for as severe as my episodes get, I still get out there and work and live a normal life. He said in his 20 years of practice, people with my diagnosis and my like experiences shrink back from having a normal life, and make excuses why they shouldn’t have to work, why they don’t have good relationships, etc.
I joined a writing forum cause I’m really at a loss as to how I should put this in writing. Should it be a novel, with characters and a story based on my experiences? Should it be an educational autobiography where I tell my story one chapter, then educate on the illness in the next? I really think I have way more material to write on for it to be a memoir. But I’m not really wanting to do an autobiography where I talk broadly about every major event in my life starting with birth, though in my case my birth and adoption played a large role in who I became. I haven’t read many autobiographies or memoirs, so I’m at a loss for how to put it together, how to start.
I have been going through my old journals, taking notes on key events and ideas, and I have put together a loose timeline of my life, highlighting key experiences. Just not sure where to go from here.
Thank you for your time.