Back in hospital...

So after many months of relative wellness, here again I find myself in hospital. I spent a week at the Civic before being transferred to the Royal. I find comfort in the familiarity of my surroundings and of the staff at the Royal.

I don’t know exactly how I slipped or what went wrong…looking back, I believe I had a hypomanic episode and then just crashed to the bottom. It’s frustrating to find myself back here because I was so sure that I was doing everything right: my diet, exercise and medication regimen remained stable throughout the time before I landed in hospital.

Rachel's Story - Matt Good

I don’t know if you are familiar with Matthew Good but he is one of the several famous people who openly suffers from bipolar disorder. In 2007, he released a very candid album, 'Hospital Music', after a long stay in a psychiatric ward, a diagnosis with bipolar 2 disorder and a struggle with an addiction to anxiety medication.

I was only recently introduced to this album and though it’s not for you if you’re looking for something uplifting, it’s something I feel I can relate to from the perspective of someone who’s been on a similar journey.

Also, Matt Good has written a blog about depression and bipolar disorder and in 2008, received an award for raising awareness about mental illness.

http://www.matthewgood.org/tag/bipolar-disorder/

In addition, there is some interesting info about the album in the context of his illness here:

http://www.dose.ca/music/story.html?id=ea2f231d-829e-4b20-acd4-84849808031e&k=96302

http://new-wave-music.suite101.com/article.cfm/matthew_good_reborn

http://www.straight.com/article-110502/dark-times-inspired-matthew-goods-hospital-music