Episode Description  Hi, my name is Kristina. I’m diagnosed with Bipolar type 2 and Borderline Personality Disorder. Growing up I experienced depression, low self-esteem, eating disorder behavior, and self-injury. I always poured myself into academics and was able to get into my first-choice school. I starting my college journey attending a small, private university in New York studying aerospace engineering. I started abusing alcohol and one night while drinking I overdosed on Tylenol PM. I had to go to the hospital and after I started going to therapy. A few weeks later I cut myself while I was drunk. My school decided that it wasn’t safe for me to stay on campus, so I was forced to take a medical leave of absence and go into treatment. That is when I got my diagnosis, 2005. After that first psychiatric hospitalization, I decided to transfer to a university in Alabama.  I made the move and brought my psych meds with me. I had a counselor on campus and phone appointments with my psychiatrist in Vermont. But the meds made me tired which made it hard to study, so I decided to stop taking my medication. I was actually OK for a little while and I even got married in 2006 when I was 20. After I got married, I transferred schools again because my husband got a job in a different city, I lived off-campus and poured myself into academics. I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Latin American Studies and International Business in 2008. After graduating, I lost all the structure that was keeping me together. My mental health declined and I had to be hospitalized. This was a very dark, scary time. I was too depressed to move. When I wasn’t depressed, I was really, really mean to my husband. I would scream at him and spit on him and tell him that I hated him. When he would start to walk away, I would start crying and tell him how much I loved him. This was very confusing for him. I also stopped eating and lost too much weight. I went to hospitals and treatment centers all over the country. A specialized mood disorder program in Arizona, eating disorder residential in Nashville, a Christian residential program In Louisiana…it was all very expensive. The stress of me being gone for so long was really hard on my marriage... If you need the full biography of Kristina you can reach out. If you are looking for all things James Edgar Skye, you can find his social media visiting https://linqapp.com/james_skye The Bipolar Writer Podcast is listener-supported, and for as little as $5 a month, you can help support the mental health advocacy that I do by visiting www.buymeacoffee.com/jamesedgarskye. Please help this podcast grow by sharing with friends or anyone that you think will benefit from the experiences of others and myself. You can also find me on the following websites. You can also find me on the following websites to book your interview, ask questions, and reach out to me. www.jamesedgarskye.me Purchase my books at: https://www.jamesedgarskye.me/jamesedgarskyebooks --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jamesedgarskye22/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jamesedgarskye22/support