https://www.seebrightness.com/home daily 1.0 2023-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1631543043615-49LE3LAOWCZR27SLB37V/Wickerham_Kallem Home - Hope, humor, and asking for help. Hi, there! My name is Dr. Rachel Kallem Whitman (she/her) and I’m an educator, advocate, writer, and public speaker who has been shacking up with bipolar disorder since 2000. The “Dr.” is silent. The bad jokes are loud. You can’t have education without curiosity so if you’ve come to my website looking to better understand disability and mental illness I’d love to learn with you. Image credit: Jared Wickerham / Wick Photography https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1597612785682-VHF03D5ZLQDRESFZ321M/Hypomania2.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1597613155284-VBUHJRZBHHB7I55N2SR6/Hypomania2.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1597612723881-ACLDS0W5VHQPTHABZQQP/Mania3.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1596759551143-BOGT87L6PQ1T13Y1TZPD/RachelEbook.png Home - Buy my book! Purchase your copy today from White Whale Bookstore, Bookshop, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble. Book reviews for my debut book: Inside Our Minds Pittsburgh City Paper https://www.seebrightness.com/bio daily 0.75 2023-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1597614308913-7QFJGO8KG0BJ2AM8X5UR/Hypomania2.png Existential Quandary: Who am i? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1596912670440-G0FO5TICYGMT3A3ZGDA9/IMG_7977.jpeg Existential Quandary: Who am i? - Why “See Brightness”? When I was 17 years old, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and my world collapsed. After the diagnosis I struggled under the condemnation and low expectations set by stigma. I was told I wouldn’t be able to go to college, enjoy healthy relationships, or have a meaningful career. I remember the psychiatrists and therapists who dismissed and devalued me. I still try to forget the stays in psychiatric hospital wards. I can’t even count how many medications I tried over the years. During this challenging period in my life, it was hard to hold on to hope. Everything in my day-to-day existence was so painful that it made it impossible to envision a future. A life where my illness did not own me. But I’m a survivor. Instead of giving up I started to focus on the bright spots. To celebrate the small wins that brought a glimmer to my day. To appreciate the flicker of even the tiniest positive things in my life. To find the light in a life full of tangled moments. To remind myself that I always find my way out of the dark. Over the years I have come to accept that bipolar disorder will always threaten to topple my world, but I won’t let it extinguish who I am. I am a spark. A firework. A flame. I choose to see the brightness in my life. https://www.seebrightness.com/mission daily 0.75 2022-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1596763551779-4Q3TE1AQF0FP2ADRT5F7/2big.jpg Mission https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1596763477724-OV3JNUT1NHVTUA7ACZFS/1+big.jpg Mission https://www.seebrightness.com/consulting daily 0.75 2023-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1597613891820-YUGQPTHZ9N3UT5EEH0ZB/Mania3.png Consulting https://www.seebrightness.com/resources daily 0.75 2022-08-02 https://www.seebrightness.com/store daily 0.75 2023-07-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1596845339394-IVR9UHW5BSE1KLOXAM9U/InstabilityCover Store https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1597110931355-QNVP97O54TE56NQLPQNV/Jake+Review.png Store https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1597110933311-313MDHA1R9NG37LENC1U/Brooke+Review.png Store https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/1597110934822-PFQOUBAA7AVBG5CZQ0UD/Ryan+Review.png Store https://www.seebrightness.com/excerpts daily 0.75 2022-02-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2b5aab1c211158ec5560d0/3a4f8c45-bef9-42cb-a42c-9e36ce40b292/LindseySmith_r1_MSP20359.jpeg Excerpts - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.seebrightness.com/shop daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://www.seebrightness.com/shop/p/conference-ticket-party-tk9nj monthly 0.5 2019-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d0c36c494ff5f00012dc9e9/1561491032689-BM01L5RPSSE49WEMRN5O/2005.37.4_PS2.jpg Shop - Conference Ticket + Party https://www.seebrightness.com/shop/p/conference-ticket-h2zs8 monthly 0.5 2019-06-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d0c36c494ff5f00012dc9e9/1561491032689-BM01L5RPSSE49WEMRN5O/2005.37.4_PS2.jpg Shop - Conference Ticket