Live Well Bipolar ™

If you have ever struggled with drinking or alcohol when living with bipolar and wanting to learn to overcome these struggles then this episode is for you.

I sit down with my guest, Andrew Ramirez, Certified High School Counselor living with Bipolar 1, PTSD, & OCD. He is a graduate of the University of Miami and Rutgers University, a proud Puerto Rican, Husband, and Daddy of 2!

Andrew breaks down the acronym "RAG" (Routine, Awareness & Gratitude) that made a difference in managing his life after receiving his bipolar diagnosis and starting his sobriety journey.

He shares what it was like going from 3 hospitalizations to gaining insight into triggers and noticing trends in recovery.

Connect with Andrew on social here!

There is nothing better than being able to talk to someone who has turned their life experiences into fuel to help others.

This week I am joined by Niki Castle, a mental health coach for parents who have a child struggling with their mental health. As a former PAC 12 basketball player, Niki specializes in working with young athletes facing mental health challenges. She is a speaker with NAMI's "Ending the Silence" program to help eliminate stigma by creating awareness to mental health challenges through sharing her own bipolar disorder journey. She is also an Ambassador at Large with "Morgan's Message" an organization that educates college athletes about mental health along with being a regular contributor to the International Bipolar Foundation blog.

Niki shares what her upbringing was like with a long history of mental illness in her family. She describes being raised coming from a mixed family where she felt a lot of stigma because rather than talking about your struggles you would go to church and pray.

We get into the breakthrough that helped Niki discover what works for her when it comes to being able to Live Well Bipolar. Niki shares the role structuring her life plays in her stability and how doing this work is what allowed her to become a coach to help others.

Tune in to hear how you can take your own lived experience and use it as a guide to Live Well Bipolar.

Connect with Niki on social here and on her website here!

What role does peer support play when it comes to learning how to live well bipolar?

Tune in as Paris brings on this week's guest, Avantika, the host of the podcast Beautiful You. She has been an active mental health advocate since 2020, creating videos, blogs & podcast for mental health advocacy. Avantika was diagnosed with bipolar II at 17 and featured in the magazine called The Week and an Indian national newspaper, The Times of India, for sharing her story with bipolar disorder.

We talk about the importance of creating your support network through relationships along with leveraging others who understand what it looks like to live with bipolar.

Avantika shares her story as it relates to moving from denial to taking action to make her mental health her top priority. She describes the importance of acknowledging our limitations and not letting them keep us in a box.

For more Avantika, connect with her here along with her podcast here!

Tune in to hear Paris speak with this week's guest, Dr. Aruna Tummala, a pioneer in holistic psychiatry who works to help her patients struggling with bipolar disorder reclaim their lives.

Dr. Aruna shares the struggles she faced herself and how all the treatments that failed her lead her to discovering a solution. She shares how she was able to leave her problems in the past tense with the changes she made to her life.

From attending her first holistic psychiatry conference in October of 2013 to becoming board certified in Integrative and Holistic Medicine, Dr. Aruna shares how she was able to identify the root of her suffering.

She dives into the 3 root causes she sees in all her patients...diet, trauma and toxins. Along with this, she details how she has been able to transform many of the issues she saw working as a young doctor to help so many.

Connect with Dr. Aruna on Instagram here or on her website here.

Have you ever tried tracking your habits ...or ones you want to start or do more often?

I wanted to make this short, solo episode to share with you all why I started tracking mine almost a month ago.

Habit tracking has helped me get more clear on how I am processing so much change in my life and allowing me to see what I am doing well with (journaling/daily gratitude) and where I need more support (daily meditation).

You can easily track any habits you want more insight into like I do in a journal or on your phone too! Doing this have given me better insight into how to live a more balanced and productive life.

What habits do you track or want to start tracking?

Send me a message on Instagram here and let me know about your relationship to habits.

This was an unexpected episode I wanted to share this week because I realized something.

Healing does not mean the same thing that it used to. Back when I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 19... I did not start to do the work of healing until I was around 23.

Why did it take me that long? How did I get started? What do I do differently today compared to almost 10 years ago?

I get into how my healing journey is never and will never be complete. Tune in to better understand 3 things you can do to take better care of your mental health and how to know you are doing it right.

If you haven't already, get connected with me here! Don't hesitate to reach out and learn more about my story by reading it here too!

3 months later.... and we are back!!! I have missed you guys so much and I wanted to share this episode all about triggers and what I experienced on my honeymoon.

Tune in to understand the way in which triggers can be both good and bad. I break down what the good triggers look like for myself that I have experienced these past few months.

As many of you know, I got married in March, moved into my first home with my husband in April and then left in May and June on our honeymoon to Europe.

I get real on the triggers that arose on the trip, what they meant, how I managed them and how you can manage both the good and bad triggers you experience with bipolar disorder!

Be sure to stay connected with me over here where you can always access the podcast, my book and my inbox to chat! Love you guys and I have missed you! :)

I missed you guys so so much!!! I took 2 months away to be present for my wedding that took place on 3/4/23!!

I wanted to make this episode to share a few big updates with you guys along with how I am taking care of my mental health before, after and during this time.

I have a lot of big changes coming very soon that I share in this episode. Some of them make me very happy and being away from all of you makes me sad but I open up about what is to come following all of these changes.

If you are not already, please follow me here and leave me a podcast review on Apple Podcasts if you haven't yet.

Last thing... check out my story and book here. Your support and presence here is what keeps me going, love you!

A topic not explored enough is one I want to bring you all today. What is the relationship between bipolar, body image and eating disorders? How can they impact one another? My special guest this week, Jennifer rollin, gets to the bottom of it.

Jennifer is a therapist, founder of The Eating Disorder Center, co-author of "the Inside Scoop to Eating Disorder recovery" who specializes in treating clients with eating disorders, body image issues, depression and bipolar disorder. Jennifer sent me a DM on Instagram and breaks down coping strategies for hypomanic, manic, and depressive episodes along with how EDs and bipolar can be intertwined and special considerations for coping.

What has it been like to manage living with bipolar with my wedding coming up? I want to share what has helped me the most throughout this entire process and time in my life and a change I am making...

As you guys know, every single Monday I have new episodes and 2/6-3/6 I will be taking a break from the podcast and releasing episodes in order to enjoy my bachelorette, bridal shower, time with family/friends and the wedding day!

Setting boundaries has helped me tremendously in this process, along with staying consistent with my routine (sleep schedule, meditation, medication, exercise, diet, journaling). I wanted to share things I have been struggling with and how I am prioritizing my mental health during this time.

I am so excited to share this solo episode with you guys with my wedding date coming very fast on 3/4/23!

If you have not already, please leave a review for the podcast on Apple Podcasts (I read and share them all).