I'm about a week late for May mental health awareness month, but decided I want to share my piece anyway. I live with bipolar 1 disorder ( wikipedia ). It has been more than 10 years since I experienced my first manic episode. I was treated in a psychiatric ward (Fairfax hospital in Kirkland WA back in late December 2010). To help me process the experience, I decided to journal about it, shared what I wrote with a couple friends, and was encouraged me to get my writing published in a journal-- so I did! Google books indexed the journal (Recovering the Self A Journal of Hope and Healing Vol. IV, No. 2 -- New Beginnings) that I submitted my experience to ( https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/9ZwuCoRrEZgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA49 ), and I was originally excited for you to be able to read it there, but Google books recently updated their system to miss it, so instead I am including the text here: * * * * * Reclaiming Myself: A College Student’s Three-Week Stay in a ...