Last night, I couldn’t fall asleep. This is an ongoing problem I have due to my bipolar disorder. I get this random spark of energy at night, instead of winding down like post people do before bed. Since I suffer from mania more than depression, I get racing thoughts that make it hard for me to fall asleep. I think about basically anything and everything. Like this time for example, I was thinking about what I was going to share during my DBSA meeting today. I couldn’t get over the fact that I went through so much trauma during my manic episode abroad, which I go into more detail during my book “Bouncing Back from Bipolar”. Past experiences can have a lasting impact on our mental and/or physical health. We don’t always have control over when and why they happen, but it is important to take steps forward to heal from the traumatic event or relationship. It is important to learn how to cope, but everyone handles their recovery from trauma differently. I’ve realized that my motto lately has been “focus on the good”. I won’t pretend the event didn’t happen, but I will always try to focus on the good and positive things that came from that experience.