Pessimism is a very common thinking pattern nowadays. It is accompanied by a well-known reasoning: ‘I choose pessimism, because I hate to be disappointed.’ Thus pessimism seems to be the safe way through life. But is it really? What if it escalates to depression? And even if it does not – do we really want to be miserable for 70 or even 100 years, simply in order to avoid disappointment? I used to be a pessimist. The upper safety strategy was so deeply rooted in my ways of thinking that I was not even aware of it. In addition to that I had another belief: ‘If I expect the worst, I will...

People often find similarities in my story, even though they might have a different diagnosis from mine which is schizoaffective disorder. I have recently written the following lines as an answer to an e-mail. I find them interesting for others as well: Over the years I have come to the conclusion that the exact diagnosis does not matter that much. Also there are cases when people get totally O.K. in their thirties, even though they have been diagnosed with ‘chronic’. So do not despair! The western medicine (psychiatry) does not believe that our lifestyle can help the illness, but they...

Last week I was asked to contribute my ‘bipolar bio’ for a revised edition of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies. Joe Kraynak, one of the authors of the book, wrote to me: ‘We’re currently revising Bipolar Disorder For Dummies and are looking for people to contribute “Bipolar Bio” sidebars.’ It is funny how such e-mails always arrive, when I am losing faith in my project. Thank you Joe Kraynak!

The last but one weekend the weather got really hot in Slovenia. I ended up whining again: »Oh, it’s over. No more jogging till September.« Then one morning I went for a walk and while I was approaching our apartment building, someone asked me, if I had been jogging. I replied: »Oh, no. I went for a walk. It’s too hot.« I knew I was only looking for excuses. So I went jogging right afterwards. I had to stop in a shade several times and bow down in order to let the blood supply enough oxygen to my brain. But I did it. Instead of whining I did something. Whining is well developed in our...

Those of you, who have been reading my blogs for a while now, know that I used to be a volunteer at a local home for old pensioners (assisted living). After 4 years I got tired of volunteering there and I automatically assumed that I was a bad person. On the contrary! I just needed a new job, new problems to solve, I needed to change the subject. Now I volunteer for a group of organic farmers, because I believe that this is our future. It matters a lot, what we put into our mouths. First I did a translation from German for them, then I helped them pluck weeds and last but not least I helped them...