author BioXanthe Wyse is passionate about creative expression as therapy. Meaningful creative projects provide a sense of meaning and purpose. She is diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social anxiety disorder.
Xanthe wrote and edited her semiautobiographical novel, Pet Purpose: Your Unspoken Voice in bipolar hypomanic episodes. The process took years, as Xanthe has short-term memory impairments with her disabilities and forgets what's she's written. Elevated moods allowed her to see the complexity of the patterns she wanted to communicate and have a hyperfocused burst of energy. Then she needed time to recover in between. Pet Purpose is by far her best writing effort, with more than seven drafts, sequencing, editing, proof-reading, formatting. It will help readers clearly understand what bipolar with PTSD are like. Readers have described it as very emotional. This is book has been positively received and has gone to readers in at least ten countries. |
Xanthe Wyse aka Bipolar Courage
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Xanthe decided to publish a raw, minimally processed memoir she wrote in 2014-2015, as Bipolar Cringe. The story is linked to Pet Purpose, yet covers other events. Most of it was written before Xanthe legally changed her name from trauma. It is written in analytical style, with emotion shut down (Xanthe has the shutdown presentation of PTSD). Bipolar Cringe is an account of the hypersexuality in an open marriage with undiagnosed bipolar mania and trauma. At the time, Xanthe was identifying as autistic/Aspie/Aspergers.
It is the thought process of someone who is very unwell, headed for a breakdown, resulting in hospitalisation for two months. Since writing it, Xanthe has had over two years of weekly one-on-one therapy with a clinical psychologist, specialising in trauma. Bipolar Cringe is a vulnerable piece of writing, left raw and minimally edited. Xanthe knew Bipolar Cringe would be controversial but didn't expect just how much so. It has been slammed by a group of troublemakers leaving malicious reviews, because of their identity politics. For example, for her decision not to edit out the words Aspergers and Aspie. This is after years of harassment because Xanthe no longer identifies as autistic (her clinicians concluded her diagnoses look similar). Xanthe had two solo art as therapy exhibitions. She made over 500 raw, unedited videos on YouTube about bipolar disorder, PTSD and her creative process. She won a business award for a pet sitting business she started from scratch. She also won third prize in an Australasian writing competition for an essay about mental health. She will focusing on some other writing and creative projects with more privacy. She is currently writing two more books. |
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