https://onikadainty.com/blog.htmlOriginal mental health and lived experience writing by Onika L. Dainty.en-CAhttps://onikadainty.com/journal/bipolar-depression-mental-health-lived-experience/https://onikadainty.com/journal/bipolar-depression-mental-health-lived-experience/Thu, 14 May 2026 11:11:00 -0400The Heavy Quiet, When the Light Fades Depression is not just sadness. It can feel like emotional dimming, identity loss, and disconnection from self…https://onikadainty.com/journal/generalized-anxiety-disorder-bipolar-disorder-lived-experience/https://onikadainty.com/journal/generalized-anxiety-disorder-bipolar-disorder-lived-experience/Tue, 12 May 2026 11:11:00 -0400Anxiety: The Worry That Lingers I remember the exact moment anxiety entered my life. It was brought on by abject terror. As a child, I had anxious moments…https://onikadainty.com/journal/inside-psychiatric-hospitalization-in-ontario/https://onikadainty.com/journal/inside-psychiatric-hospitalization-in-ontario/Sun, 10 May 2026 13:11:00 -0400Why I Needed to Write This There are experiences that change the way you see systems forever. For me, psychiatric hospitalization was one of them. I’ve been…https://onikadainty.com/journal/psychiatric-hospitals-vs-psychiatric-units-in-ontario/https://onikadainty.com/journal/psychiatric-hospitals-vs-psychiatric-units-in-ontario/Sun, 10 May 2026 11:11:00 -0400Two Systems, One Journey I have entered both psychiatric systems in very different ways. I have been restrained on a gurney, placed in isolation, and moved…https://onikadainty.com/journal/resources-within-psychiatric-units/https://onikadainty.com/journal/resources-within-psychiatric-units/Thu, 07 May 2026 11:11:00 -0400I Didn’t Expect Help Behind Locked Doors After years of navigating psychiatric units, I stopped expecting meaningful support. The resources rarely felt…https://onikadainty.com/journal/72-hours-in-system-personal-look-at/https://onikadainty.com/journal/72-hours-in-system-personal-look-at/Tue, 05 May 2026 11:11:00 -0400In the past 17 years, I have experienced 13 hospitalizations, each beginning with a 72-hour psychiatric hold for assessment. In total, that is 936 hours spent…https://onikadainty.com/journal/lived-experience-of-psychiatric-hospitalization/https://onikadainty.com/journal/lived-experience-of-psychiatric-hospitalization/Sun, 03 May 2026 11:11:00 -0400I Didn’t Know If I Was Being Saved or Discarded It was the summer of 2006 when my mother received a call from my then-partner. He described my strange…https://onikadainty.com/journal/lived-experience-helping-social-work-education/https://onikadainty.com/journal/lived-experience-helping-social-work-education/Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:11:00 -0400As I waited for the University of Toronto Master’s of Social Work (MSW) students to settle into the classroom, I could feel my nervousness rising. These young…https://onikadainty.com/journal/from-patient-to-panelist-reflection/https://onikadainty.com/journal/from-patient-to-panelist-reflection/Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:11:00 -0400From Patient to Panelist: Entering the Room As I walked through the doors of the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel for the 2026 SPA Convention, I felt a quiet…https://onikadainty.com/journal/my-journey-through-madness-writing/https://onikadainty.com/journal/my-journey-through-madness-writing/Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:11:00 -0400The Page Became My Place of Survival After nearly 20 years of navigating the highs and lows of Bipolar I disorder, I thought I understood the facets…https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-voices-didnt-match-diagnosis/https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-voices-didnt-match-diagnosis/Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:11:00 -0400I Thought It Was Just Stress, Until the Voices Stayed For years I was told hearing voices was a symptom of the mania I experienced with Bipolar I disorder. I…https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-diagnosis-changes-living-through/https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-diagnosis-changes-living-through/Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:11:00 -0500After Twenty Years Everything Shifted For almost two decades, I shaped my identity, routines, and survival around being someone with Bipolar I disorder. Then…https://onikadainty.com/journal/a-complex-storm-understanding-new/https://onikadainty.com/journal/a-complex-storm-understanding-new/Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:11:00 -0500A Diagnosis I Didn’t See Coming It was January 2025 when I started a group trauma informed treatment program at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health…https://onikadainty.com/journal/more-than-one-storm-managing-adhd-with/https://onikadainty.com/journal/more-than-one-storm-managing-adhd-with/Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:11:00 -0500I Thought It Was Just Anxiety, Then Came ADHD For years, I blamed my forgetfulness, restlessness, and impulsivity on anxiety or mood swings. Then came the…https://onikadainty.com/journal/more-than-one-name-how-i-manage-life/https://onikadainty.com/journal/more-than-one-name-how-i-manage-life/Mon, 22 Dec 2025 11:11:00 -0500Uncharted Territory: I’m Not Just Bipolar, I’m Also… The day I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder was the day my life changed forever. Then came the…https://onikadainty.com/journal/more-than-one-battle-living-with/https://onikadainty.com/journal/more-than-one-battle-living-with/Sat, 13 Dec 2025 11:11:00 -0500I Wasn’t Just “Self-Medicating.” I Was Surviving I used to tell myself I was just taking the edge off. Whether it was weed, alcohol, or something stronger, I…https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-battle-ends-baseline-begins-my/https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-battle-ends-baseline-begins-my/Thu, 20 Nov 2025 11:11:00 -0500It has been a week since my follow-up appointment with Dr. A. Although I had convinced him to let me heal at home, I knew he had reservations about whether I…https://onikadainty.com/journal/no-rain-no-flowers-my-pink-sweatshirt/https://onikadainty.com/journal/no-rain-no-flowers-my-pink-sweatshirt/Thu, 13 Nov 2025 11:11:00 -0500I sit in my big red writing chair as rain pours down on a dark, gloomy Thursday in November. Outside my window, I watch the English-style garden in front of…https://onikadainty.com/journal/recovery-remission-and-redemption-my/https://onikadainty.com/journal/recovery-remission-and-redemption-my/Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:11:00 -0500I have learned a great deal in my two years of remission. I have continued outpatient treatment and I connect with Dr. A regularly for check-ins, medication…https://onikadainty.com/journal/recovery-challenges-and-family-dynamics/https://onikadainty.com/journal/recovery-challenges-and-family-dynamics/Thu, 30 Oct 2025 11:11:00 -0400The weeks that followed my emergency appointment with Dr. A required patience, discipline, and a level of self-trust I had not fully practiced before. I began…https://onikadainty.com/journal/you-dont-know-what-you-got-til-its-gone/https://onikadainty.com/journal/you-dont-know-what-you-got-til-its-gone/Thu, 23 Oct 2025 11:11:00 -0400As I sat in the waiting room of Dr. A’s office at the hospital I once called home, I was terrified. To my right was the door to the inpatient unit, and I knew…https://onikadainty.com/journal/my-journey-back-to-baseline-part-1/https://onikadainty.com/journal/my-journey-back-to-baseline-part-1/Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:11:00 -0400My journey back to baseline has never felt harder than it has in recent weeks. Over the past 20 years of living with this complex and unpredictable illness, I…https://onikadainty.com/journal/one-year-of-onika-l-dainty-over-43000/https://onikadainty.com/journal/one-year-of-onika-l-dainty-over-43000/Mon, 29 Sep 2025 11:11:00 -0400The Post I’ve Dreamed of Writing One year ago, I pressed publish on my first blog post with a mix of fear and hope. Today, I sit here in awe: over 43,000…https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-hypomania-feels-like-home-living/https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-hypomania-feels-like-home-living/Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:11:00 -0400When Up Is Your Normal For years, I thought I was just naturally energetic, creative, and always “on.” I felt things intensely like joy, laughter, even…https://onikadainty.com/journal/managing-highs-how-to-navigate/https://onikadainty.com/journal/managing-highs-how-to-navigate/Mon, 15 Sep 2025 11:11:00 -0400Riding the Wave Without Getting Pulled Under I once signed up for three credit cards in a single day. When they arrived, I rushed to the mall and spent each…https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lessons-series-be-in-your-skin-and/https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lessons-series-be-in-your-skin-and/Sat, 30 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400Life Lesson #15 “Be in your skin and fall in love with the feeling.”, Onika L. Dainty Learning to Live in My Skin It took me nearly 42 years to embrace this…https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-high-before-fall-understanding/https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-high-before-fall-understanding/Thu, 28 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400When Feeling Great Isn’t Always Good I used to love the early stages of hypomania, the creativity, the confidence, the endless energy. It felt like I had…https://onikadainty.com/journal/finding-my-rhythm-abroad-getting-back/https://onikadainty.com/journal/finding-my-rhythm-abroad-getting-back/Mon, 25 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400Lost in the Fun, Then Lost in Myself In December 2024, I traveled to Guyana, South America, my birthplace, for the first time in 20 years. I thought I was…https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lessons-series-only-validation-i/https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lessons-series-only-validation-i/Sat, 23 Aug 2025 11:10:00 -0400Life Lesson #14 “The only validation I need is my parking.” – Onika L. Dainty Learning the Weight of Validation Validation is a complicated concept. By…https://onikadainty.com/journal/staying-grounded-on-go-self-care-plan/https://onikadainty.com/journal/staying-grounded-on-go-self-care-plan/Thu, 21 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400I Took My Diagnosis With Me, Not Just My Luggage I used to think travel meant a break from my mental health routine, that rest was optional and the thrill of…https://onikadainty.com/journal/bipolar-disorder-travel-crisis-plan/https://onikadainty.com/journal/bipolar-disorder-travel-crisis-plan/Mon, 18 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400I Needed More Than a Passport, My Mind Needed a Map Last year I took my first solo trip to Guyana in South America post-diagnosis and after twelve months of…https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lesson-series-world-cant-touch-me/https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lesson-series-world-cant-touch-me/Sat, 16 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400Life Lesson Series: The World Can't Touch Me In My Sleep – Onika L. Dainty Life Lesson #13 “The World Can't Touch Me In My Sleep” – Onika L. Dainty On an…https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-clock-runs-out-facing-end-of/https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-clock-runs-out-facing-end-of/Thu, 14 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400Living in Limbo: Packing My Bags, Again I remember the exact moment my caseworker told me I had 30 days left in my first transitional home. My stomach…https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-cost-of-survival-living-with/https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-cost-of-survival-living-with/Mon, 11 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400Choosing Between Recovery and Rent I lay strapped to a hospital bed in the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), cut off from the outside world. I didn’t…https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lesson-series-it-is-during-our/https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lesson-series-it-is-during-our/Sat, 09 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400Life Lesson Series: It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Life Lesson #12 “It is during our darkest moments that…https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-home-isnt-safe-living-with-others/https://onikadainty.com/journal/when-home-isnt-safe-living-with-others/Thu, 07 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400A Bipolar Woman’s Lived Experience with Transitional Housing A House with No Peace I moved into my first transitional home in March 2023 after two months in a…https://onikadainty.com/journal/finding-stability-in-chaos-recovering/https://onikadainty.com/journal/finding-stability-in-chaos-recovering/Mon, 04 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400When Recovery Doesn't Come with Comfort The first night I spent in a shelter came after a 72-hour hold in a psychiatric unit. I was still mid-mania, hearing…https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lessons-series-its-not-what/https://onikadainty.com/journal/life-lessons-series-its-not-what/Sat, 02 Aug 2025 11:11:00 -0400Life Lesson #11 (Continued...) Climbing the Mountain of Mental Health and Disillusionment How do you climb a mountain built from disillusionment, pandemic…https://onikadainty.com/journal/in-between-worlds-finding-transitional/https://onikadainty.com/journal/in-between-worlds-finding-transitional/Thu, 31 Jul 2025 11:11:00 -0400The First Step Wasn’t a Door, It Was a Decision My journey through homelessness began in the haze of a manic episode. When I walked out of my parents' home in…https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-role-of-physical-activity-in/https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-role-of-physical-activity-in/Mon, 28 Jul 2025 11:11:00 -0400Discovering the joy of physical activity was a revelation. For years, I faced more hard days than easy ones on my bipolar disorder journey. Clinicians…https://onikadainty.com/journal/its-not-what-happens-to-you-but-how-you/https://onikadainty.com/journal/its-not-what-happens-to-you-but-how-you/Sat, 26 Jul 2025 11:11:00 -0400Life Lesson #11 The last two decades of my life have been marked by unwelcome challenges and unexpected change. After deep self-reflection, I’ve come to…https://onikadainty.com/journal/embracing-creativity-how-artistic/https://onikadainty.com/journal/embracing-creativity-how-artistic/Thu, 24 Jul 2025 11:11:00 -0400Women with Bipolar disorder face unique challenges: managing mood swings, maintaining routines, and recovering from setbacks. For me, one of the biggest…https://onikadainty.com/journal/managing-finances-with-bipolar-disorder/https://onikadainty.com/journal/managing-finances-with-bipolar-disorder/Mon, 21 Jul 2025 13:11:00 -0400Managing money while living with Bipolar disorder is complicated, draining, and deeply personal, especially during episodes. I wouldn’t call myself…https://onikadainty.com/journal/understanding-impact-of-trauma-on-women/https://onikadainty.com/journal/understanding-impact-of-trauma-on-women/Sat, 19 Jul 2025 19:07:00 -0400Trauma and Bipolar disorder are deeply intertwined, especially trauma experienced in childhood as it can potentially contribute to the development and…https://onikadainty.com/journal/a-bipolar-womans-self-reflection-go/https://onikadainty.com/journal/a-bipolar-womans-self-reflection-go/Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:11:00 -0400The Power of Salt: A Little Girl’s Big Dream When I was a little girl my mother and I would bake cakes together. She would put all the ingredients in a…https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-importance-of-routine-how-women/https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-importance-of-routine-how-women/Mon, 14 Jul 2025 11:11:00 -0400One of the greatest lessons I have learned on my journey to better health and mental wellness is the importance of forming Structure, Routine and Healthy…https://onikadainty.com/journal/balancing-success-and-setbacks-what-im/https://onikadainty.com/journal/balancing-success-and-setbacks-what-im/Sun, 13 Jul 2025 16:44:00 -0400Success is a complicated subject for me. If I’m honest I’ve always feared success more than I have failure. Failure is easier to overcome and far less…https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-impact-of-blogging-on-mental-health/https://onikadainty.com/journal/the-impact-of-blogging-on-mental-health/Tue, 27 May 2025 11:11:00 -0400Blogging has become more than just a platform for sharing opinions; for many women living with Bipolar disorder, it’s a vital tool for self-expression…https://onikadainty.com/journal/last-dance-with-mary-jane-onika-l/https://onikadainty.com/journal/last-dance-with-mary-jane-onika-l/Sat, 03 May 2025 11:11:00 -0400Life Lesson #10 We danced all night So close I kissed you. We spent years together And now I miss you. Mary Jane you broke my spirit Time and time again. I…https://onikadainty.com/journal/coping-with-burnout-strategies-for/https://onikadainty.com/journal/coping-with-burnout-strategies-for/Thu, 01 May 2025 11:11:00 -0400Living with Bipolar disorder can be an emotional rollercoaster, but when you add the overwhelming effects of burnout it can become unmanageable. Women with…