Liz Spikol,
I downloaded the song. It's comforting. I'm sorry to hear that you've had nausea lately.

It feels weird to think of myself as bipolar since my first and last manic episode was five years ago during college. When the opportunity comes up, I make it a habit to inform a new friend I take Lithium for bipolar disorder, just to show them I'm not one of those hysterical patients on whatever TV hospital drama. I talked about my bipolarity with someone last night and he didn't feel uncomfortable. We both went to Ivy League schools and stress is always high.

Since I've been thinking about mental illness lately, I sought out your column only to find this great blog. (A long time ago, I interned for PW.)

My father's a doctor who believes in curing yourself by sheer will. He thinks I'm not bipolar anymore and I should stop taking Eskalith. I still take it, just in case something happens. But most of the time, I don't think about what I've been diagnosed with. I think about the City Council meetings I cover; I think about my boyfriend who lives three hours away; I think about finishing a book quicker without taking the usual six months to read it. And the only thing that differentiates me from the average person is taking that pill every night.

Liz-I got the Man Man track from you here, thanks for posting it. Stop by my podcast (95 per cent music, 5 per cent musing by the host, I'll be playing it this week with lots of others indie music and classic post punk, etc. It's a real old school radio show with months of archives available. http://www.inmyroompodcast.com
See ya'
Mike Edwards
P.S. There's nothing like sitting in your doctors office and hearing him say, in a casual manner-"You, Mr Edwards are bi-polar." "Well' I'd like a second opinion!" "Alright, you're ugly, too."