Bob
Tough Guy with a Big Heart

I’m 46 now and just finished what I call my worst manic trip. It not only cost me my job; it almost cost me my marriage and life. Waking up 800 miles away and not really knowing how to get home wasn’t fun at all. I’m so ashamed of myself.

When I was 16 years old, my dad put me into rehab for using drugs, not knowing that mania was my real problem. The state hospital apparently wasn’t familiar with bipolar disorder yet so they put me in restraints and heavily medicated me.  Later I became violent and tried to escape.

Fact of the matter is, I’m still scarred from all the events leading up to my correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder, type 1.  I realize the medical world has increased their level of knowledge but I’m sure there are a lot of people like me that endured terrible treatment because of that lack of knowledge. I’ve been in so many different situations because of mania that it would take thousands of words to try and explain it.

Today I love making people happy; I’m a manager of people and work hard and strong at helping employees achieve their goals. I play guitar and write songs, sometimes a lot of songs. I enjoy playing live gigs. I’m thinking about writing a book. My life has been both wonderful and tragic.