Crazy Christmas (TW: ED)
Whilst Christmas brings enjoyment, excitement, indulgence and treats for many, Christmas to me has always brought an element of anxiety and significant self-criticism. This post is to help myself, and hopefully others, understand the complex experience myself and others with mental health problems and/or eating disorders can go through at Christmas My combined issues of Bipolar and Bulimia means that I have a rollercoaster of an experience every festive season. Christmas is one particular time of year that has a tendency to trigger a manic episode - or at least hypo-mania - due to the excitement that Christmas brings. I would probably explain the mania at Christmas as an enhanced version of how I felt as a child on Christmas day but prolonged for weeks on end and often detrimental to my mental and physical health. This year feels a little bit different with Covid and the tier restrictions we are facing. My feelings towards Christmas 2020 are less hypomania in the sense of happiness,