Guest Blogger: Karen Tyrrell

As per my last blog entry, I am very pleased to welcome Karen Tyrrell to this blog. I have 'known' Karen virtually for a couple of years now and I have supported her endeavours to write Me and Her:  A Memoir of Madness from the beginning. This is not just because Karen writes a compelling story but also because Karen tells a very different story from mine. I believe it is important for people affected by bipolar disorder of types 1 and 2 to have access to as many personal experiences as possible in order to give our complex and demanding condition a human face, especially when those experiences are communicated with as much honesty and clarity as Karen shares hers. I have no hesitation in recommending Karen's book and wholeheartedly support Karen's advice.

BOOK GIVEAWAYS!

To be in the draw for a FREE eBook please leave a question or a comment for Karen on this bog as normal and I will pass on what you have written to Karen OR contact Karen directly on her website www.karentyrrell.com . Two copies to be won!

So please welcome Karen Tyrrell, an Australian mental health advocate to here at Bipolar Girl. Karen has published ME & HER: A Memoir of Madness, her gutsy story of how a harassed teacher developed severe bipolar disorder and how she recovered. Karen wants to share how she reclaimed her life.

1)  Karen, what was the most important thing that helped you recover?

A strong support network kept me on track … my family, friends, work colleagues, my psychiatrist and psychologist all watched over me.

2)  What part did medication play in your recovery?

Medication played a vital role in the early stages to calm my mania and normalize my thinking. As my medication reduced, I needed to find out what pro-active strategies would help me to fully recover and keep me well.

3)  What part did positive thinking and self-awareness play in your recovery?

Daily morning exercise and meditation increased my positive thinking. I practiced the Chinese philosophy of Mindfulness, keeping self-aware in the Now. I monitored any tiny fluctuations with my moods and emotions. Each day, I wrote down exactly what I was feeling in a stream of consciousness way.

4) What if there was only one piece of advice you could give other bi-polar sufferers, what would it be?

Learn what your triggers are and how to avoid them. Develop an individualized wellness plan, tailored just for you. This plan should include your warning signs and how to combat them with coping strategies.

Thank you Karen, now please tell us more about your book. This is YOUR space :)

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Dear friends and supporters,

ME & HER: A Memoir of Madness ... my journey into and out of mental illness is OUT now on Amazon.

ME & HER is a fast-paced narrative ... How I became ill. How my Mania and Psychosis manifested. How I recovered.

I share my proactive strategies to recovery and wellness ...

  1. Empower yourself with visualization, breathing techniques, a calming sleep routine, meditation, free flow consciousness writing and MORE.
  2. Learn what your triggers are, and how to avoid them.
  3. Develop your own individual wellness plan to combat any fluctuation in your mood
  4. Use Writing as a Recovery Tool


ME & HER will challenge and confront your pre-conceived ideas on mental illness … We’re all vulnerable!

ANNOUNCING … ME & HER Amazon launch

ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness launches this week on Amazon.

Please go to http://www.karentyrrell.com and click on BUY THE BOOK to purchase ME & HER as an eBook or print book!

 

Thanks for your Amazing support!

Karen 

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Here is a reminder of Karen's International Blog Tour:

ME & HER Blog Tour 14th - 20th May

14th May Kaz Delaney- Writing Inspiration http://kazdelaney.wordpress.com/

                Prachi S.Vaish - Psychologist - Interview www.hopenetwork.in

15th May Tuesday Writing Tips- Writing Memoirs http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/

            Dr Happy – Happiness after the Gloom http://www.thehappinessinstitute.com/blog/

16th May Sally Odgers - Writing & Editing Process http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com.au/

17th May Gabrielle Sheppard,UK - Bipolar Recovery www.bi-polargirl.com/blog

18th May Natasha Tracy, Canada - Writing for Recovery http://natashatracy.com/

19th May Jill Smith- Book Review & Interview http://authorjillsmith.wordpress.com

           Kids Book Review- Mental Health Books 4 Kids http://www.kids-bookreview.com/

20th May Ang Hall - ME & HER Book Review- http://bluedingonet.wordpress.com/

 

Guest Blogger: Karen Tyrrell

Thank you  Gabrielle, for your very warm welcome.

Thanks so much for hosting this LIVE interview here today/ tonight.

I'm asking your Readers to ask me any question on how I recovered from bipolar disorder.

Feel free to comment too.

Everyone who comments OR asks a question will go in to the DRAW to win #2 copies of ME & HER: A Memoir of Madness

... Karen :)

 

Awesome blog tour

Hi Bi-Polar Girl,

Thank you for having given another insight into Karen Tyrrell and her self regulation of her condition.

I'm enjoying the blog tour as a co-host.

Kind regards

 

Jill Smith

Aussie Author

ABN 520274968221

author Dual Visions

co-author Fan-tas-tic-al Tales

jillsmith57@hotmail.com

http://authorjillsmith.wordpress.com

facebook.com/jillcreativewriter

Thanks Jill, for supporting

Thanks Jill,

for supporting my Blog Tour and leaving posts on my STOPS!

 

Jill,  I work out to stay recovered from this illness on a daily basis.

I tell everyone i'm recovered NOT cured!

I'm looking forward to your book review & interview on the 19th... CYA then ... Karen :)

Me and Her :)

Karen, first up I would like to Congratulate you on being a survivor and turning a very stressful sad time into not only a positive result for yourself but also producing a great tool for others in the same or similar situations, this book has the potential to impact and save many people from what you went through.

I would like to ask a question about your condition.  I know you were unaware you had bi-polar and I am curious about how it started to display in the very beginning? can it be easily "confused" with other things like depression etc and if so at what point did you realise or others realise it was more?

Stress is a huge contributor to a condition myself and my girls have (genetic) so having the right tools to fight it is essential.

Your book should be in the library of every school, as a tool to empower teachers and make them aware and for would be teachers like my girls, a tool they should use before setting foot into teaching.

Your courage in writing Me and Her is remarkable, most people prefer to "hide" such things from as many as possible so I am sure that your coming forward and exposing your story will help many   blessings :)

 

 

Hi Anne, Thanks for joining

Hi Anne,

Thanks for joining in the discussion on my bipolar Recovery

My development of Bipolar happened very slowly and insiduosly over a two year period.

I didn't recognize any symtoms at the time.

This is my progress/ decline  by word tags  ....

Severe stress > anxiety > insomnia >  acute anxiety & trauma > severe sleep deprivation > hypomania > mania > psychosis

It wasn't until I wasn't severely manic & psychotic that anyone "noticed" something was wrong.

Thats when the police incarcerated me with an involuntatry tretment oder.

 

Thanks Anne, for your awesome encouragement & support :)

Karen Tyrrell's Blog tour

Congratulations on a fantastic and insightful blog tour.  I am learning something new each time I come online and follow your blog. I love the other inspiring messages that are posted as well.  Buoy, what an exciting but exhausting time you are having and it would be hard not to overdo it.  I know that time management can be especially difficult for people that have Bipolar.  What strategies to you use to help you time-manage effectively?  I am very inspired by you and your uplifting story.  Thanks Ani

Hi Ani, i learned many time

Hi Ani,

i learned many time mangement strategies when I was a full time teacher.

Basically I keep a daily diary with a schedule and a tick list. Whatever iIdon't complete on one day,  I complete the next. This Blog tour is exhausting, so I'm taking time out to enjoy a few FUN activities ech day ... :)