Hello and welcome to my podcast, The Wellness Project with Des. On today’s episode, I speak with Michelle Reittinger about living with bipolar disorder. I’m Desiree, a Mental Health Therapist that supports others to improve their mental health and live a healthy and fulfilled life. In this episode, we’re going to hear from Michelle about her experiences with having bipolar disorder and how it feels to live with a mental illness. I hope you enjoy this special interview.
Michelle knew something was wrong but she didn’t know what. She was experiencing increased occurrences of severe mood cycles but she thought it was a moral defect on her part. Every time she thought something was wrong and she needed help, she felt like she was making excuses for herself. Her family finally convinced her to seek help but sadly that wasn’t the end of her struggles.
For the next decade, Michelle explains what she went through with a series of misdiagnoses, wrong medications, doctors, hospitalizations, and medications that didn’t help.
Because she was trying everything but nothing was helping, Michelle explains the moment that changed her life- it was the moment she decided that she would try to live well with her bipolar disorder.
Two years late, her doctor introduced her to a supplement. This supplement was life-changing. After so much trial and experimentation, she was finally able to get her bipolar disorder under control. She felt like she was finally awake.
Michelle deep dives into her manic episodes as well as her depressive episodes. She explains how her bipolar disorder affected the relationships in her life. She speaks about the steps she took to improve these relationships and she gives us insight into her non-negotiable morning self-care regimen.
I think that we can all learn from Michelle’s words and experiences. Moreover, Michelle’s story can help us all to empathize with the struggles of those struggling with mental illnesses. We can all be inspired by her determination to live the life she wants while living with mental illness. Ultimately, it’s important to remember that there is hope. Listen to this episode to learn about Michelle’s journey and how to live a healthy and fulfilling life with mental illness.
Listen here:
Mentions:
- The 7 habits of highly effective people– Stephen Covey
- Hold Me Tight– Dr. Sue Johnson
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing