As someone who grew up on the East Coast, being pushy seemed to be the norm, especially when it came to driving in Boston where the phrase offensively-defensive was coined (certainly during rush hour while driving in the breakdown lane & intersection gridlock when beating the light turning red) as this mindset seemed to permeate daily life.

For those of us who are Bipolar (anywhere on the Bipolar Spectrum) being in this environment reinforced a skill-set that was certainly not in our best interest at the time and learning how to moderate our impulse control mechanism was almost nonexistent.

We were rewarded for this aggressive behavior by moving forward toward our achievements and goals whether they be personally or professionally…oftentimes at great sacrifice to our physical health (alcohol & drug use) and mental well being.

Moving to Southern California over 30 years ago (sunshine & warm beaches in the winter) I thought pushiness was left behind and adapting to the pace of California would balance my coping skills, just like I thought taking meds for my Mental Health issues would solve them without the other work of therapy, behavior modification,….. all the necessary components of mental health balance.

Well, as you can guess, it didn’t go as expected so maybe it wasn’t about the East Coast pushy, aggressive, me first attitude and there were other underlying issues… not just environmental.

There were and it’s taken many years of NOT realizing that whether you’re from the East or West Coast is immaterial, Mental Health Challenges and coping skills are the issue and resolution.

Through this awakening, anger (and it’s root “fear”) have become apparent and are an arena that’s being tackled. It’s very challenging because unchartered areas don’t necessarily have a blueprint or map to follow but with the help of my Mental Health Team and Support Group I’m navigating this scary and oftentimes unpredictable path.

More to come on this topic soon.

Be-Connected.org “What do you do for the Other 23 Hours of the Day” provides peer-led support groups and is an opportunity for those not only with the mental health challenges but for their support team (family &/or friends) to attend and learn, as well as change public perceptions on Mental Health Challenges through Education by Awareness Campaigns.