From Broken to Blessed on The Bipolar Spectrum

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From Broken to Blessed on The Bipolar Spectrum | Sara Schley ~ ATTMind 178

Today’s episode is a bit of a lateral step from psychedelics specifically as we are going to talk about bipolar with the author of the highly-acclaimed memoir BrainStorm: From Broken to Blessed on the Bipolar Spectrum.

Our guest is Sara Schley.

Sara Schley, Co-Producer, Co-Writer, and Author of the memoir BrainStorm, is a business consultant, social change entrepreneur, speaker, and author who has led systemic transformation at renowned companies around the world. She is a mother, grandmother, community leader, and has been married for twenty-six years. She also has a bipolar II brain on the bipolar spectrum. Sara has kept this mostly secret for four decades. Until now.

In her memoir, BrainStorm: From Broken to Blessed on the Bipolar Spectrum, the inspiration for BrainStorm the Film, she tells her riveting story to save lives, end the stigma, and maximize healing. Sara has a BA from Brown University and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts.

Together we talk about Schley’s journey of discovering that she has bipolar and the many misdiagnoses along the way.

We talk about bipolar as a spectrum and the different variations of bipolar disorder; why it is that so many people with bipolar are misdiagnosed and the issues this presents to those individuals and their families; major triggers for bipolar episodes and why medication isn’t enough to keep people stable; the self-care system Schley has developed for living with a bipolar brain; and how to support your friends/family that are in a bipolar crisis.

As always, there is a timestamp episode breakdown in the description of this episode wherever you are checking it out.

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Episode Breakdown

(0:00) Opening
(1:52) Guest bio and episode summary
(3:40) Patreon thanks | Support the show
(5:45) Interview Begins
(8:37) The story of Sara discovering that she has bipolar
(12:34) The bipolar spectrum and the different variations of bipolar disorder
(16:55) Traditional SSRIs do NOT work for bipolar
(18:21) The epidemic of misdiagnosis of bipolar
(21:52) How undiagnosed bipolar (and mental illness in general) can destroy your relationships and your life
(27:17) Why there are so many mentally ill people in our society
(30:25) The genetics, epigenetics, and neurology of bipolar
(35:34) Does life context “activate” bipolar or is it inevitable regardless of context?
(43:49) PECS self-care system (Physical, emotional, creative, spiritual)
(49:56) Pharmaceutical vs non-pharmaceutical treatment for bipolar
(1:00:39) Having a practical PECS moment
(1:02:19) Keeping bipolar stable and major triggers
(1:08:39) Why isn’t medication enough to keep stable?
(1:14:16) James’ morning practice
(1:16:07) How bipolar made Sara a better person
(1:20:41) What Sara wants you to remember from this podcast
(1:21:31) The emergency ally toolkit (how to support your friends/family that are in a bipolar crisis)
(1:23:04) Follow up links for other content, social media, and Sara’s book Brainstorm
(1:24:33) Closing, socials, and gratitude

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