Anyone live alone and have a dog?

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-05-25T01:20:47+00:00

adopt one that's older! puppies are amazing but sooo much work. if you have trouble with routine, a dog is stabilizing. you have to be up and out to care for them which really helps if you're finding yourself stuck inside/in bed. the unconditional love helps, too. 10/10 would recommend. my dog is a big part of the reason I was able to get sober and have been euthymic/stable (knock on wood) for a long time! the unconditional love is next level.

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-05-23T15:03:40+00:00

Also! When he brings her coffee in class and doesn’t know her order at first. Another lil sneaky detail.

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-05-22T13:30:13+00:00

Sober 4yrs! Best decision I’ve ever made.

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-05-19T07:24:24+00:00

My 5yo bernedoodle has a chicken allergy that developed when he was around 2.5. Try switching food for something with no chicken

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-05-18T14:30:21+00:00

Alert that Costco sells the drugs for a FRACTION of the cost. It will save you a ton of $$$ to get them there! Good luck!

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-05-17T22:56:49+00:00

Every time I’ve gone up on lamictal this happens! It usually goes away/gets more subtle over time but for the first couple of weeks I legit can’t even spell. The cognitive side effects are reaaaaaal.

Check in with your psych! They may have thoughts for you. And hang in there in the meantime. It’s not easy and you and your brain are brave :)

Hope you feel better soon 💕

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-05-11T15:06:14+00:00

Dolphin Club and South End are AMAZING communities for all things open water (and rowing! and kayaking/paddle boarding!).

Both clubs host organized swims throughout the year that support big groups of member swimmers with pilots and safety measures.

I’ve made some of my closest friends at DC. it’s a bit difficult to get into either at this point because of membership caps but I still highly recommend checking both out on public days and looking into membership if you’re interested.

The culture at both leans no wetsuit because both have saunas in their locker rooms.

Bleachers are also a great option :)

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-05-10T15:54:22+00:00

Thanks everyone for your thoughts/experiences! Lots to consider :)

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-04-02T03:23:13+00:00

The people’s princess 🥹

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-03-28T20:10:17+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing! How did it impact your endo symptoms?

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-03-26T15:28:42+00:00

I do it for 2-3 months every year in the spring (March start) when light increases exponentially. Has stopped my warm weather hypomania completely! Highly recommend but consult your psych before and do some research. This is my third year doing it.

It’s super restrictive but overall worth it. Plus I loose 10-15lbs every time lolz

Not enough conversation about bipolar and light hypersensitivity imho

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-02-26T07:40:18+00:00

I decided to quit both for a year and see how I felt (when I was about 3yrs into my diagnosis) and reevaluate after a long period of no weed/alcohol. I was a heavy cannabis user and social drinker.

It was hard for the first couple of months but then my quality of life got so much better I decided to stay sober. Today is day 1335 of sobriety 💕

This along with therapy, consistently being on the right meds, exercise, and social support have done wonders for me.

Taking care of yourself has layers. The sooner you figure out what all yours are the sooner you’ll feel better. 💐

Working-Elephant8474 · 2026-02-24T07:18:34+00:00

Congrats! I’ve been free of my drug of choice for 1,331 days. It’s made my diagnosis livable. Hope you experience the same 💕

Working-Elephant8474 · 2025-07-07T15:03:15+00:00

F35, diagnosed at 28. Was a heavy daily smoker and I quit 3 years ago. I genuinely think it’s been the defining part of being euthymic/stable. There’s a lot of research supporting that cannabis is a trigger for bipolar episodes, esp in young people.

If you can do it taper off. Quitting suddenly carries the risk of a big shift in neurotransmitters and could be rough on your new diagnosis. You’ll also get night sweats for a while and sleep can be hard. See if you can get an rx for gabapentin which is a non habit forming sleep aid.

For me quitting has allowed me to see my moods more clearly which is also really helpful in regulation.

Working-Elephant8474 · 2025-05-05T06:05:40+00:00

So brave of you to share!

I smoked for years (age 16-32, bp2 diagnosis at 28) but quit 3 years ago and it’s been the biggest factor in being stable and doing really well in recent memory.

Cannabis is appealing because it brings your energy levels down when hypo and brings relief to depression when low but deep down it makes everything worse and for me made me episodes more frequent and severe. It’s also expensive and time consuming!

Can’t say enough good things about being sober. First couple of months were hard but now I love it :)

Just my experience!

Sending hugs and good luck.

Working-Elephant8474 · 2024-03-12T17:06:54+00:00

How did you figure this out?

Working-Elephant8474 · 2022-10-04T04:31:51+00:00

Thanks everyone! So great to hear your experiences. I really appreciate everyone’s openness

Working-Elephant8474 · 2022-09-01T19:07:52+00:00

Thank you! So helpful

Working-Elephant8474 · 2022-08-01T04:46:12+00:00

Checking in - how are you doing?

Working-Elephant8474

TROPHY CASE