Welcome. This website provides information on what bipolar disorder (manic depression) is really like, not in dry medical terms, but in the living breathing daily details of our lives.

If you are manic depressive, or think you might be, or have a partner or child or friend who is, the information here can be of help in understanding them. Or yourself.

You can also get practical advice on how to cope with everyday issues - from someone who's been there and knows what it's like living with depression and mania and all the problems they can cause.

The Website has Four Sections

The BIPOLAR DIARY covers a five year span from diagnosis to relative stability. It describes our mood swings in great detail, how they affect everything we do, and the struggle it is to stabilise and to learn to accept ourselves.

I've been told many times that there is nothing else like it on the web. Start here and see for yourself if this section describes you or your partner.

HOW IT FEELS describes what it's like to be manic, depressed, and on various drugs, and gives an inkling of the difficulties we can face.

IDEAS FOR COPING talks about specific things you can do to make life easier for yourself. You'll always be bipolar, but you can be successful.

Being bipolar affects everyone around us. FAMILY AND FRIENDS is aimed at our loved ones so they know what to expect and what they can do.

I hope you find the information useful and I would be delighted if you would contact me to tell me what you think.

• The site is currently not being updated much. Sorry - work and studies (I'm doing an MBA) are taking precious time.
• HOWEVER - I have recently been experimenting and I have found that getting enough sleep seems to work very effectively in stabilising my moods. Advice: go to sleep at 9:30 pm and get up at 5:30 am. Every day. You'll feel the difference*. (* - conditions apply, as usual)
• If menu links on the upper left corner of this page do not work, you can access the entire website via this link.

I've won the Internet Beacon Diamond Award 2007, given to only one site annually.

Not sure if you are bipolar? Check out the signs for being manic and being depressed to see if what you are feeling matches them. Check out the official diagnosis too.

Which is better, taking medication or going to therapy? Here's how I think each stacks up.

Feeling that you are a failure? Consider this point of view.

When my life started to spiral out of my control, I didn't know the cause. All I knew was that everything I did, every bit of self-control and discipline I exerted made no difference. My close relationship with my family was disintegrating, I was seeing my friends less and less, and work was something I frequently dreaded to go to. I often felt tired or restless for days on end. And then there were the odd periods when I would disappear for a few days. Definitely not normal.

I knew things weren't normal, but strongly resisted going to see a psychiatrist. After all, I wasn't crazy or mentally ill. It was just that I was having a difficult time with the amount of work I was doing, or I had just finished a project and I was tired, or I needed some time alone away from people, or...well there was always a reasonable excuse.

But one day, after a period in which everything had gone horribly wrong, I looked at myself and realised how far I had drifted from the image I held of myself... continued here

This website is privately owned and maintained. There are no commercial or sponsorship affiliations.

If the What's New date (above) is more than 2 weeks past, this usually means I'm depressed and not updating the website.

I may not respond to e-mails during these periods as well.

The author is diagnosed with Bipolar 2 Disorder. However, the author is not a medical practitioner and information on the website is not intended to replace a patient / doctor relationship. For diagnosis and treatment, please seek the advice of a doctor. The author accepts no liability for damage caused directly or indirectly from actions taken based on information contained on this website.