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Polar Trippin' now has a Facebook Fan Page!

Friends through Facebook

So much has changed in the three years that this blog remained stagnant as a result of a lost password.  One of the major changes is the state of social networking on the Internet.  Polar Trippin' was created when the mainstream was unfamiliar with blogging, Web 2.0 and all of the social networks that have now become a fixture in our culture today.

Today, I talked for the first time with a friend I found on Facebook.  I have never met her in person, although we did attend the same high school.  Over the last several months we have been exchanging emails offering support and sharing experiences dealing with our commonality, bipolar disorder.

It was strange at first.  Especially, since I am an introvert at heart.  But, by the end of the conversation we had shared the most intimate of details.  Sharing all the gory details that typically scar all of the women that bear this illness . . . alcohol and drug abuse, sexual indiscretions, medication juggling, tortured friends and family and the negative stigma that hangs around our necks like an albatross.

So, I welcome the advent of modern day social networking.   I would have never shared any of the gory details of my life with her had we not established a level of trust through Facebook.  Now, I not only have another vehicle of support, I have found a kindred.

Sharing just a little more DUI misery

If for no other reason than to avoid attending 10 weeks of Fairfax County DUI ASAP classes. . . DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE HERE.

I've got about two more months to go of my "rehabilitation" and, true . .at least I'm not in jail. But, if these photos don't dissuade you from passing on that second drink then you must be able to tolerate misery far better than I.

I found another photo on my iPhone this afternoon and decided to start a Flickr set to chronicle this unbelievably boring journey. I have been enjoying days off from the classes because of the holidays. But, when I ran across this photo reality was back in my face.

This photo was taken while our instructor read articles about drunk driving that he had found on the Internet. Yes, it really is as depressing as it looks.

The heartbreak of a DUI

I mentioned in an earlier post that I managed to add a DUI to my list of proud life accomplishments. After my husband told me he wanted a separation, I was a basket case. I was driving around the neighborhood at 7:00am looking at town homes and apartment complexes, working myself into a blubbering mess.

I decided that a few beers would make the pain go away and purchased a six pack from a grocery store. I was down to beer number 5 when I was pulled over for stopping in the middle of the street, trying to figure out where I was. So, long story short . . .the officer immediately smelled the beer. I fessed up, told him what was going on and broke down in his arms. He felt bad for me (thank god!) . . .so much so that he just tossed the pipe and bud of pot he found in my console.

Anyway, a word of advice . . . .don't get a DUI in Fairfax County in northern Virginia. It is an immediate suspension of your license for an entire year, mandatory group therapy twice a week for 4 months, weekly alcohol education classes given by the county for 2 months and thousands of dollars for fines and lawyers fees.

I'm about half way through the ordeal. Not all of it has been bad. I actually really like and respect the group therapist . . .I may continue to see him after I've completed the mandated number of sessions. But, there is no greater pain than the government run alcohol education classes. A stereotypical example of a bureaucratic debacle. Weekly we show up and watch boring videos in a nondescript room with cheap chairs.

I snapped this photo with my iPhone last week. I think the picture says it all.

Strolling down mental memory lane

Wow . . . I just finished reading this blog after re-discovering it after 3 or so years. And, honestly, it was quite therapeutic. Therapeutic because as fucked up as my life is now with my marriage in shambles and a DUI hanging over my head I actually believe I am more stable now than I was when I first started this blog.

One the the most striking differences is the reduction in the number of medications that I take. I can't believe I was taking so many psychiatric drugs! Still wrestling with the love/hate relationship with Zyprexa, I now only take it when I feel mania gnawing at my sanity. I still take Lithium and Cymbalta but the anxiety and anti-seizures medications are no longer a part of my regime.

But, my favorite treatment is a trip up to the gym. I have discovered, for me, one of the best salves is exercise. A 45 minute stint on an elliptical machine works wonders for me. I actually can liken the effects to how Zyprexa makes me feel, even better.

But, while, I think I am doing better than I was when I created Polar Trippin', I am still haunted by the evil lure of alcohol. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, I experienced a mini-breakdown and holed myself up in my apartment with several bottles of wine. I did nothing but drink by myself. . . .nothing to eat, talked to no-one .. . just drank myself into oblivion. It was just as horrible as it sounds and a total waste of my life. It was pathetic and embarrassing. When will I be done with alcohol?

I'm back

When I started this blog in early 2007, I intended for it to be a sounding board for my struggles with bipolar disorder and alcoholism. I'm not sure how I managed to forget my password to blogger as well as the email account I set up on Yahoo, but I did it. I never meant to stop writing, I just couldn't get into the account.

Then, out of the blue and almost 3 years later . . .I remembered! I just completed deleting 3 years of spam comments scattered throughout my unguarded posts. But, in addition to the spam, were legitimate comments and emails from several people that share my viewpoints. I'm sorry I didn't respond. I just couldn't. To those that sent me email and made comments . .. please forgive me!!! . . .I hope that you understand I was not purposefully ignoring you!!

Not a lot has changed with my condition. I'm still as bipolar as ever. But, the marriage took a beating and I am now separated from my husband. I also managed to aquire a DUI and am dealing with all of the legal hassles that come along with it.

I won't try to catch you up on the last three years of my life in a single post. But, check back and I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I'm so glad I remembered that password!