In My Head; Living My Life With Bi-Polar

I wrote my book, "In My Head; Living My Life With Bi-Polar", to bring more awareness and understanding to mental illness. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of twenty-six years old. I wrote explicit details of my horrific thoughts, out of the ordinary behavior, and my treatment. I had a severe episode with depression when I was twenty-two years old, and at that time I had suicidal thoughts, and thought the only way I could get relief was to take all the medication I had been prescribed for my depression and end my life. I was convinced that my children would be better off without me. I did not know what was wrong with me, and I didn't think I would ever get better. I was afraid everyone would label me as "crazy". I had a severe episode with mania at the age of twenty-six, and at that time was when I was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. I had symptoms of schizophrenia, paranoia schizophrenia. I also had psychotic behavior, and delusions. I came to the point where I was living out of reality. At the age of thirty-six years old I reached the extreme high of mania once again, and I was not able to function day to day on my own. I lived for years plagued by the lows of depression, and highs of mania. I overcame the denial, and the anger of having bipolar disorder, and I continue my treatment by seeing my psychiatrist on a regular basis, and staying on my medication. I was buried under my illness for so many years. I have become more stable in the past four years, and I have been living a more fulfilling, happy life than I ever thought was possible. God has blessed me tremendously!

Websites to purchase my book:
www.xlibris.com, www.amazon.com, www.bn.com, and www.borders.com

My passion is to do all that I can to help people by sharing my story, having the East Texas Bi-Polar Support Group, being a connection facilitator for NAMI Tyler, and continuing my goal to have the non-profit Bipolar Awareness Foundation I organized in March 2008 to be successful. My mission for the Foundation is to have educational information available, provide support, resources of where people with a mental illness, and their families can go to seek help. I hope to have a web site for the foundation soon so that people will be aware of it, and also so that people can share their own stories. My hope is that the foundation will grow from donations, so that funds can be used to help people whom are not able to afford their medications, or their treatment, and also to be able to give towards research for mental illness.

There is Hope! May God bless you!
Melody Hope Stroud
Author name: Melody Hope