Conari Press

Now try this one. Next to each of these items, put a number from 0 to 4: 4 indicates very much, 3 indicates a great deal, 2 indicates somewhat, 1 indicates a little bit, and 0 indicates not at all. In the past week, I experienced the following quality, feeling, or attitude:
_____Gratitude and Appreciation
_____Positive Quality of Life
_____Happiness
_____General Sense of Well-Being
_____Satisfaction with Life
_____Hope
_____Optimism
_____Positive Beliefs and Attitudes
_____Peace
_____Joy
_____Self-Worth and Self-Esteem
_____Warmth
_____Friendliness
_____Positive Mental Health
_____Sense of Meaning and Purpose in Life
_____Trust
_____Empathy
_____Love of Others
_____Love of Self
_____Attentiveness
Now add up the 20 numbers on this checklist to get your
Total Positive Score_____(the total score ranges from 0 to 80).
Now subtract your Total Negative Score from your Total Positive Score to get your
TOTAL SCORE_____(this score will range from -80 to 80).

Total days of pain: lots and lots.
Social approval of bipolar: not obvious.
Overall experience with bipolar diagnosis: kinda really bad.

My dad flew out from Ontario to see how I was doing and make sure I wasn't completely crazy. We blasted through the Chapters bookstore in downtown Vancouver, and he bought me every bipolar-related book on the shelf. We made a stop at the Starbucks. As we were power walking down the street, my dad hailed a taxi midsentence, hopped in, and rushed off to catch his flight back to Ontario. I stood on the sidewalk with a bag of bipolar books in one hand and a half-finished Green Tea Frappucino in the other.
The party was just getting started.