Merry Christmas! (Christmas Day)

I had a bit of a rough time late last night because I was very bloated and freaking out over it (thinking I had gained a ton of weight overnight instead of it just being bloating). Also Michael couldn't find his dvd of The Snowman so we downloaded it and watched it. Because I was in such a bad mood I took a Klonopin and that settled me down. Michael calmed down because I became calmer. We watched The Nutcracker Prince before bed, too, and I wore my pink Victorian-style nightgown to bed.

This morning we got up and opened presents.

These are the presents I received --

Michael:
Bella Sara horse - Nike
Bella Sara horse - Valkrist
Who's the Boss? season 1 dvd set
The Nanny season 1 dvd set
Glee, first season dvd set
(and as of yesterday, the Dal doll named Melize)
Xena graphic novel (received 12/29)

Michael's mother:
Dark pink hooded sweater

Michael's sister:
Fruits Basket bookmark

Maria:
A KIMONO!!!! Pale pink with red roses! Along with the wooden shoes with dark pink cloth around the front of the foot and some hair pieces and the ribbons for wrapping around the kimono. This is an amazing gift!!! I will wear it to the Japanese festivals in the summer:-)

Disney Princess Memory Game
Ever After dvd
Thumbelina dvd
Fern Gully dvd
Birnbaum's Disney World 2011 book
A silver ballerina Christmas tree ornament
A threadless t-shirt of a fairy with butterflies and leaves

Preventing and Controlling Mood Episodes

Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder made me start thinking about ways to improve my mental health. I never really considered how other symptoms like irritation or being quick to anger can be related to bipolar, even if you aren't currently in a serious mood episode. Also PTSD and OCD are very commonly comorbid with Bipolar and what I read recently is that nearly everyone with bipolar has anxiety problems. This kind of makes sense to me because all of my mental health issues started about the same time. I'd already gotten severe overload problems and meltdowns due to autism, but when I was put in a calmer environment I was fine. And I did get some sadness/anxiety at night, but nothing severe. My first bipolar episode was hypomania with started college and it lasted my first semester. I felt like my brain "switched" over winter break. Then I came back mildly anxious and mildly depressed, but then I ended up being stalked and fell into a severe depression (my first ever). Then a few months later it gradually turned into a bad, long mixed episode which is what I was in for my first psychometric testing.

I have already made goals of ways to improve my life, but here are some changes I'm going to try making specifically for my mental health:

1. Drink 3 bottles of water a day
2. Take my multivitamin and also vitamins of Omega-3 fatty acids
3. Eat (dark) chocolate occasionally (apparently it helps some people)
4. Try to eat a fruit a day
5. Eat peanut butter and yogurt for protein
6. Eat raw vegetables
7. Try to eat the amount of calories my psychiatrist (Eating Disorder specialist) thinks I should eat
8. Stretch daily and maybe try to do yoga (turning off outside stimuli and focusing on breathing)
9. Try to do meditation exercises at least when upset (preferably a daily thing, like stretching)
10. Try to do more strenuous exercise 3x a week (ballet exercises, stomach crunches, and push ups?)
11. Journal out all my problems, obsessions, and worries
12. Take Zyprexa daily and Klonopin as needed, as well as my medications for physical issues
13. Unless it's a special occasion, go to sleep by midnight
14. Have people who know me well watch for any signs that I'm beginning to enter a mood episode so I can do something about it
15. When behaving in unsafe or negative ways, have people close to me point them out and explain why they are problematic
16. Have people try not to argue with me rationally when I'm in a mood episode, but help me find ways to stop the mood episode and cope
17. Email one of my psychologists if I need to talk about something due to mental health problems
18. Page my psychiatrist if I am having problems and need a medication change/increase/decrease
19. Talk to a friend when I'm feeling depressed or lonely
20. Wait out angry feelings before doing anything drastic (write about my feelings and tell someone what I'm feeling and why, maybe having them point out why it would be a mistake to act on my feelings)
21. Do soothing activities when my mood is becoming problematic (art, reading comforting books, writing poems)

Christmas Evening

At my mother's today I spent most of my time playing Solitaire on my computer:P I could have started reading the last Harry Potter book (my uncle brought it with him), but I felt like I couldn't concentrate. Dinner was good (my mother cooked). Opening presents was fun. My aunt and uncle gave me a really pretty white sweater (there were no pink sweaters and my aunt remembered I also like the color white). My aunt and uncle also gave me a $75 gift certificate to amazon with which I bought The Care Bears: 25th Anniversary dvd set, Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 dvd set, Mining the Soul (Jungian psychology), The Spiritual Enneagram, and Literary Lost (about the television series Lost). My mother's boyfriend gave me a $50 gift certificate to Victoria's Secret and I immediately got on the computer to use it before everything I like is sold out in their semi-annual sale. There was one pair of pajamas left in a design I like (dark blue fading into yellow with snowflakes); they're styled after Long John's/thermal underwear. I also bought a sweater in the color "wine tweed." I went a little over my gift card at each place, which was expected. My mother's boyfriend also gave me his gift certificate to the salon/spa his sister always gives my mother and him gift certificates to; he hates that stuff.

Tonight Michael and I will probably watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special on hulu.com and something called "Father Christmas" which is on his dvd of "The Snowman" which he didn't bring.

I hope everyone else that celebrates has had a good Christmas!:D

5 Gratitudes

1. Having a good Christmas with Michael and my family
2. Getting wonderful gifts and pleasing others with the gifts I gave.
3. Playing more Dragon's Quest IV and getting past where I was stuck
4. Not getting too anxious today
5. Watching Charlie Brown Christmas specials on hulu