I am Stormy and I am 29 years old and a Bipolar. I live in Jackson, Tennessee where there are no mountains. I like living in the south. And I like that my roots are here. My husband “bman” and I live with our son in our little house that we are buying. Our families live close by.

My roots are tricky though. My father and I are estranged because he was destroying me everytime I was around him. He’s an alcoholic and I suspect, an undiagnosed bp. He’s got the moods to prove it. My mother is an alcoholic too, and let me tell you, being raised by these two was not pretty. They divorced when I was 8 and I was fought over constantlly, more of a power struggle than anything. That was before puberty hit.

I was also molested by an uncle when I was about 4 or 5 years old. It happened several times and I always remembered. I have been through extensive therapy for dealing with this and have made as much peace as you can with it. I was actually in therapy for that when we discovered my bipolar.

In my teens I was wild, moody, shy, outgoing, sophisticated, babyish, and everything else. I was
promiscuous. I drank, I smoked marijuana, I took pills, you name it. I was hurting and I didnt know why. I was desperately looking for some sign that I could be normal. My mom and I faught all the time and things were no good at home. So when what looked like my sign came along, I fell for it hard.

I met my first husband when I was 16 years old. He was 29. We dated and he seemed so steady and...

I got pregnant. My daughter. My big girl now. I think I had my first really good manic phase after she was a year old. I wound up leaving him, taking my daughter with me.

Well of course there's another man around and yeah soon after the separation there was another one. And this was a nasty one. He beat me and was accused with harming my daughter on purpose. I to this day do not know what happened. Our trailer caught on fire and she was in there. I was at work at the time. He didn’t get her out and that has not been explained to me. Its just a blur of reports from ppl. She was 2 years old. And so sweet and beautiful today! Almost 12 years old now.

I got away from him and drifted some and met husband number 2 in a bar I was working at. He was
twenty years older than me. He was an alcoholic and he beat me. He actually broke my jaw once. (and I went back, go figure) We went up and down and we got on what I thought was going to be a wonderful Christian life. But he couldn’t leave the booze alone, and since he hit me when he drank, I left him. After that I lost visitation rights to my daughter.

Drifting again I had been diagnosed in 95, the year before I left my husband number two. I was taking my meds sporadically. I was not taking my treatment seriously. But I met who would become my rock in '97. I was singing in a band and working as a waitress. The drummer and I became friends just because we got along. And he had this nephew that came over one day that knocked me out. (and I was enjoying my “drifting” if you know what I mean.) But we got married and had Luke. I will tell ladies that Post Partum depression is nothing to sniff at. I have suffered for 16 months.

Now I have a good life. My home life couldn’t get much better. I’m getting the help I need for my
depression. Its good to be me. I have a man who loves more than anyone ought to be loved. He shows me always. He supports me and makes it possible for me to breathe sometimes. And my son, my angel...I didnt think I would ever have another child. And you are such a blessing. A joy every single day. Yeah, I think I can be happy with this.