The Rub: a podcast about massage therapy | March 12, 2024

This week on The Rub...

Hello friends, traditionally, creators try to keep a certain distance from the people they create for, partly as a mental safeguard and partly because you're not listening to the rub to hear about my personal issues. However, I'm a big fan of learning in public and talking about struggles, so this short note is to tell you that this week's episode will be a bit delayed. 

Creating these episodes takes a lot of time and I have bipolar disorder, so it's common for me to experience hypomanic episodes in February and or March. I also have bouts in September, but the fall occurrences are less intense than the spring ones. People experience bipolar disorder symptoms in a multitude of ways, but my hypomania makes my sleep erratic, I talk very fast and I tend to hyper-focus on whatever topic my wheel mental of fortune has settled on. Practically speaking, this means I wake up between 2 and 4 am, read and think deeply about one random topic and have very loud earworms at almost all times, which can make it hard to physically hear and therefore listen to other people. In case you were Funkytown, an Ed Sheeran variety pack, and the theme from the new True Detective season are the most frequent visitors for this go round.

Sleep is always the trickiest part. People with bipolar disorder need sleep the same way we need water. Deficits accumulate quickly and have profound and immediate effects. When someone without bipolar disorder says they've lost a night of sleep, it's bad and we should all stop pretending it's a sign that you're the best hustler, but the sleep loss will correct itself.

When someone with bipolar disorder says they can't sleep, it's often a red flag. Also, people with bipolar disorder often don't have good sleep pressure. This means that when we lose sleep, we don't feel more sleepy. We continue to be awake and alert. You don't need to worry about me. I've done this enough times that I know the best way for me to cope is to take my medications as prescribed, get as much sleep as my brain will allow, not make any large purchases of non-returnable items and adjust my productivity expectations. I'm really excited about the upcoming episode. We had a great time rubbing elbows at a conference in California and I'm excited to tell you about it and to talk about things that you can do for your own conferencing adventures. Thanks for your understanding and thank you for listening.