Gidget

I write a blog discussing the above question (you can check it out here andjustatouchofcrazy.wordpress.com) and each Thursday I have an adapted "Throwback Thursdays" segment, where I write a post sort of in the style of a first-person piece of fiction, but totally true, about a moment or time when my Bipolar was affecting me. For example, last week I wrote about a night where I went out all night with a man I barely knew (short version).

I'm stuck on what to write this week though. Is there anything you'd be interested in reading about?

I suffer from Bipolar Disorder and Anxiety, although I am trying my best to manage both (and succeed often!).

Lately my stress levels have increased significantly, and along with it my anxiety. Recently I have noticed that I will become mute when other anxiety symptoms start occurring. This will last for around half an hour, after which (with a lot of willpower) I can form words again. Before this, merely air will be expelled and it's with difficulty. Mostly I just don't try talking out loud. (I am able to communicate through written word.)

I have had this in the past as a fear response when others are angry, but over the past week it has become more lasting, more often, and with no specific trigger.

I have tried to research this but most of the results focus on children (I am a young adult), or deaf people.

I would be interested in knowing more about what is occurring to me.

Hey! As an 18 year old I have never been to one or been a guest to one. My boyfriend invited me as his guest and I have no clue what to expect which usually makes me stress a lot.

He's 20 and this is his first office party too. New job, he works for a car company responding to enquiries. Seems quite casual as after the first couple of days he started wearing neat jeans and plain tshirt to work.

First of all - he's taking both me and his best friend who helped him get the job. Is this normal? Apparently he discussed it with his boss and she encouraged him to take us both but you know how wanting something can change your perception.

Secondly - what do I wear? o.o I don't even know where to start and women are judged more harshly on how they dress so it's important.

Thirdly - what kind of behaviour is at office parties? Is it more relaxed or business-like? How should I act as his girlfriend?

Thanks for the help. I really want to know what to expect.

Before you make any answers in your mind, I know what you're probably thinking now: that no one should get a tattoo unless they are totally sure about it.

I absolutely agree. I've been planning a tattoo for probably a month now and I'm really, really keen on the idea. I feel confident at this moment. The problem is, I'm a big worrier and I don't know if a month is long enough to know if you want something on you the rest of your life.

Can anyone, preferably people who have tattoos, give me suggestions on how long to wait before scheduling an appointment to just be 120% certain I want it instead of 99%?

Seems like a weird question, yeah. The problem is, as a girl, I am reeeeally uncomfortable getting a tattoo from a male artist if I have to be topless for it. I've been searching for female artists but there's so few and it's a rather intricate design. I'm wanting to get it in the area just below my collar bone, off to the side. Like, next to my armpit and above my breast.

I want to get a beautiful tattoo but no matter how professional the guy is, I just am not at all comfortable being topless for it.

Oh my god, I've seen this stuff before and I never thought it would be me, I feel awful - I'm attracted to my boyfriend's best friend. I am very much in love with my boyfriend and this attraction for his best friend/housemate is purely physical and nothing romantic. I would never, ever act on it but simply having these feelings (especially seeing as I see him all the time) is very disturbing and I was hoping someone could tell me how I can get over it? (Need I add: WHILE STILL BEING LOYAL)

Me and my boyfriend are trying to get a bit more interesting in the bedroom. Or rather, I'm trying to encourage him to be. :P I'm mildly kinky but he is VERY vanilla (but willing to try new things). We discovered today that he is into spanking which has been quite fun but I want to try some new things and get him to explore his sexuality. :3 I'm personally a fan of being submissive, soft BDSM (like being tied up, handcuffed and such) and I'll admit I'm a little bit of an exhibitionist.

Can anyone suggest some kinks or fetishes that we could try? Preferably nothing too hardcore, and nothing that'll involve bringing in another person.

Thanks in advance! :D

Hi, I have just started University (it's basically like College for those of you who aren't aware) and I was hoping to get a new portable device to help with my studies. I currently have a 2 year old laptop which functions somewhat reasonably (provided I don't have too many tabs up) but it is very big and very heavy and will often crash, so I don't find it suitable for taking to and from home on a regular basis.

I'm basically looking for a device that is very mobile, good value for money, and will work for basic internet and basic word processing. I'm not looking to do all my research projects on it. I have up to $1000 to spend but I'd really like to keep it under $500 so I have money left over for other costs such as doctors bills or if I miss out on work for a week.

I figure that whatever I buy will pretty much be what I use all the time, for study or personal use, so whatever I buy I'm willing to spend the extra money if it's going to be useful. I don't do much gaming btw.

I also know that as my laptop is old and not functioning very well it may be useful to just buy a new laptop, but I really would prefer a tablet if that would still suit my needs.

Thanks in advance. :) I'll thumb up all answers.

I have a best friend. She's great most of the time, one of the best friends I ever had. But... my ex, not so great. In fact he was abusive. He sexually assaulted me for 2 years and even raped me.

My best friend knows this. But she's still friends with him. Is that OK? Am I just overreacting because if the role was reversed, it wouldn't even be a question about how much I despise the guy?

Every time I see evidence of their friendship it kills me so much. I have nightmares all the time.

I love her, but should I really be friends with her still if she can't stand in solidarity with me?

Joe's been my friend for years, always there for me and so kind and thoughtful. I was in a relationship for several years but we broke up a couple of months ago and a few days ago Joe was telling me how he had this major crush on me while I was still dating the other guy, and it lasted for over a year. To be honest, I was kind of interested as well. We've been talking for hours every night until the early morning and pretty much every spare moment we've had recently. And while I was only kind of interested before, since he told me he had had a crush I've seen him as a possibility and I've been thinking about how amazing he is and how he's really the guy I'm looking for. He understands me like no one else ever has, even better than I understand myself at times. He's really funny and smart and we think the same and we like the same things... Basically, nobody is perfect but he's so damn close. :P

And it's not like the feelings are totally unrequited - he compliments me all the time and says that I'm perfect and beautiful and amazing and how he gets so distracted thinking of me and when we had that first conversation about his feelings, even though he used past tense, he later said that night that his heart was burning. I even told him to imagine us being in a relationship and he said it made him feel good.

So what's the problem? Well, he still says he's not sure about his feelings for me despite how obvious it seems. He doesn't know if he wants to be with me and he says he's happy being friends. He knows I have feelings for him but I don't think he has any idea how strong they are at the moment. At the moment we have a bit of a friends with benefits situation going on. While I usually love all that, I just don't know how I feel only using my body when I do want more. Usually my meaningless hookups are just with people I like but don't "like". It kind of hurts doing one thing but not more, even though our close friendship basically means it's almost as if we are together. But at the same time, it's really fun and I love making him happy. But he also says he just wants me happy. You can see where the confusion is, yeah?

Anyway, after all that text I'll get down to the actual question. (Thanks for reading this far.) Should I keep going with the friends with benefits situation or should I do something else, and if so, what should I do? And although this question isn't as important... any ideas on how to make him want to be with me romantically?

I was told by one of my best friends that she went on a binge today. It was only in passing and as she was logging off because she was so tired, but I told her we could talk about it tomorrow.

I'm fine on the whole supporting her in general front, but can any recovered bulimics (or others with eating disorders) give me any specific advice as to how to help her? I didn't know her back when she was suffering from bulimia, so I can't recall on any knowledge from that. Any advice as to how to help her through this would be wonderful. <3 Thank you so much in advance.

I have my formal this Thursday and I'm torn between two eye shadow choices. My dress is a light, creamy champagne colour with silver highlights. I'm going for a soft, feminine look.

I have almond shaped eyes, and they're a dark hazel colour (closer to brown than green). I'm torn between either purple eye shadow or gold/bronze eye shadow. (Links to pictures of examples are at bottom).

After researching it I know that both colours would look good with hazel eyes, and I'm trying to play up the green. However, I'm worried that because it's at night it'll be too dark and my eyes will only look brown, and therefore purple would look totally out of place. On the other hand, purple is a complimentary colour of yellow (my dress) so it's a nice link there. I'm also not sure which would be better in giving off the soft, feminine look I'm hoping for.

Here are the links to what my ideas for each colour were:

Purple: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qQLwLwKecXU/T7AV9m4I4uI/...

Gold/Bronze: http://makeupforlife.net/wp-content/gallery/fotd/m...

http://www.stepbystep.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/...

My skin colour is a lightish olive, if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance! :) I'll thumb up all real answers.

I'm interested in getting a triple helix but there's some things I don't understand.

A) If you get a forward triple helix, are you able to change the jewellery?

B) How long does it take to heal?

C) When it heals, do you typically need to constantly have jewellery in the hole, or can you leave it empty sometimes? (e.g. for work, interviews)

D) Do people usually get it on one ear or both? If only one, does it matter which one?

E) When it's healed, what kind of jewellery can you put in it?

Any other information would be good as well. :)

I'm having a BBQ party at the end of October (in Australia, which means it'll be pretty warm/hot weather), and I'm wondering what food I should provide for a BBQ themed party. I'm having sausages as the main meat (about 40 guests, so steak is far too expensive!), and then there's the obvious party foods like chips and soft drink, etc.

What else should I provide?

Considerations:

- it'll be at a park, so it needs to be cooked/prepared prior and able to be transported

- should be able to survive heat

- nothing super fancy, Aussie BBQs are pretty low-key

- something as cheap as possible would be good. :D

Thank you in advance. :) I'll thumb up all answers.

Bit of background: me and my boyfriend have been together since we were 13 and now we're about to graduate high school. We've loved each other, been there for each other and had an amazing, fulfilling relationship. However, recently, with things going on in our lives we have not had the time or effort to put in the work a relationship requires. We were fighting so much, came incredibly close to breaking up, and although we've made up since then I know that neither of us is in the right place to be with each other.

Now, as for how I want to break up with him. I'm terrible with speaking words, so I mainly use written text whenever I can. However, we still love each other and he means a lot to me so I want it to be personal. So I've decided I'd like to make a really nice, handwritten letter which I'll give to him in person. (First question: Should I read it aloud to him, or just give it to him and let him read it and wait for him to respond?) As for when I give it to him, I was thinking of doing it outside of school (if I do it during a lunch break or straight after school we'll both be distracted from school work, and not have much time to talk). We were planning on going in a group to the Ekka (huge awesome festival with rides and showbags and watching the fireworks at night) this Saturday, so I was thinking of doing it then? However, I don't know whether to do it at the start or at the end.

Doing it at the start would mean that, if he responds well and agrees with what I'll be saying, we could have a really nice last date together, cuddle in the grass and watch the fireworks at the end, and part as friends both on the same page. However, if he doesn't respond well... Well, the day will be ruined. We'll waste the afternoon fighting or being upset, and not get a chance to enjoy everything going on.

If I do it at the end, it means the day would end on a bad note. He wouldn't understand that it would be our last date, so he wouldn't be able to appreciate the time together. I might spend the day sad and anxious about what is to come. When we look back on the day, we'd just remember the end of it being a bad note rather than a good one. However, it means I don't run the risk of the entire day being spent like the end would.

So basically, start of the date would have a really great potential, but could be disastrous. End of the date I know would be bad, but not as bad as start of the date *could* be.

Knowing Harry... It's more likely he would respond well than not.

What do you think?

So, in summary:

1. Should I read aloud or let him read?

2. When should I do it?

3. Any other suggestions/opinions?

I'd love to hear any of your opinions. :)

I suffer from anxiety which has gotten extremely severe in the past few weeks due to an increased workload and extra pressure. At times, when it's become extremely overwhelming, I get suicidal thoughts. I would never actually do such a thing, but I still think about it in those most stressful times, when it feels like it will never end. I know I would never do it. I care about the people I love too much to ever hurt them in that way. I'm wondering whether I should tell my partner. We've been together for many years, he loves me very much. But he already deals with all of my anxiety **** and I don't want to hurt him by telling him I'm having these thoughts. I'm scared of how he will respond. And you know, what he doesn't know can't hurt him? But I still feel like it's the right thing to do, even though I can't predict a positive outcome.

What should I do?

This is my first "teen party", and I'm really nervous about it. I have next to no friends (my only friend is not going to the party), but my boyfriend will be there. He's actually hosting the party (he's actually one of the "cool" people), so it means he's going to be having to meet and greet everyone there and talk to them and such, so there won't be much time for just me and him. I'm bad socially because I always feel like I am not wanted, or that I'm forcing myself on other people. When I'm certain they actually want to talk to me, I'm actually really good in conversations. Can anyone help me with this? Offer any advice? I would be very appreciative. Thank you in advance.

I'm going to my first "teen party" tonight. I have a cute, flowy, knee-length dress which has hot pink material with a deep purple chiffon over the top, and I'm wearing black tights, a black cardigan and black ankle boots with it. I have hazel coloured almond eyes and a light/slightly olive skin tone, and dark brown short hair. I like to be natural, only wearing makeup on special occasions and even then I only plan to wear lip gloss and eye makeup, maybe a bit of rosy blush.

Anyway, I'm actually a totally socially awkward person so I really want to look nice and fit in at the party. I have a fair amount of makeup. Can anyone suggest certain styles that they think might look good? I would be very appreciative. Thank you.

Me and my boyfriend were just talking, and us fighting came up in the conversation. I said that the way we fight is really healthy because they're resolved quickly, we don't leave anything hanging or hold grudges, and we're not nasty or abusive to each other during them. Except, he pointed out that I do occasionally hold a grudge, and he's right. About this one thing, anyway.

It was almost exactly a year ago (we've been dating for over 3 years). I had to take a week off work (where we see each other every day), and when I came back he was just really distant from me. This happened for a few weeks, and was totally weird for him. When I confronted him about it, there was a lot of mess, then he eventually told me he had a crush on another girl. Keep in mind, we were in a loving, committed relationship for 2 years at the time. I was crushed, heart broken.

It's been a year since then and we've come a long way. He's not the scared guy he was then. He's matured so much. But I do kind of still hold a grudge against him for it. Not always, just when we're fighting and it's relevant (or I believe it's relevant :/).

I know grudges aren't good, but this is also a big thing that he did to me. Do you think I still have the right to hold a grudge? Honest answers would be nice, thank you. <3

I'll thumb up all answers. :)

Hey, me and my boyfriend are planning are holiday (or rather, I'm planning a holiday for me and my boyfriend :3) and was just wondering what costs I need to account for? All I can think of is accommodation, food, travel and spending money. What am I missing? The place we're going is just a two hour drive away, so passports and such are irrelevant.