You’re still showing up. Still working. Still taking care of everyone. Still laughing, making plans, hitting deadlines, and getting shit done.

So…you must be okay, right?

Not necessarily.

In this episode of Watch Me, Lauren talks about the hidden side of being “high functioning” and how masking can make mental health struggles harder for other people to see—and sometimes harder for you to recognize too.

Lauren shares what high functioning looked like in her own life: being bubbly and productive on the outside while neglecting basic care, sleeping whenever nobody needed her, checking out at home, and convincing herself she couldn’t be doing that badly because she was still going to work.

We also get into why some warning signs can actually look impressive: overworking, perfectionism, staying constantly busy, being endlessly dependable, even rage-cleaning when everything internally feels out of control.

This episode explores:

• What masking can actually look like in everyday life
• Why “high functioning” is not the same as being mentally well
• How productivity can become a coping mechanism
• The difference between capability and capacity
• Anhedonia and what it means when joy starts getting quieter
• How to recognize changes in your personal baseline
• Why your private life may tell you more than your public performance
• How to notice the cost of functioning before you hit a breaking point
• Why you don’t have to wait until everything falls apart to ask for support

If you’ve ever thought, “I can’t be doing that badly—I’m still getting everything done,” this conversation is for you.

You can be capable and still need help.

You can laugh and still be struggling.

You can look completely put together and still know something feels off.

And sometimes your mental-health warning sign looks suspiciously like you getting your shit together.

If you’re experiencing thoughts of suicide or feel unsafe, call or text 988 in the U.S. for immediate support.

Follow Watch Me for more honest conversations about mental health, confidence, mindset, and the stories we tell ourselves.

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Mental health medication has helped save my life—and I still wish I didn’t need it sometimes.

I live with bipolar disorder and ADHD, and my relationship with psychiatric medication has been anything but simple. I’ve tried 36 different medications. I’ve stopped taking my meds because I convinced myself I had “healed” enough to not need them anymore. I misused my ADHD medication when I was 19. I’ve dealt with weight gain, nausea, changes in my sex drive, and the frustration of knowing I may need medication for the rest of my life.

And after all of that?

I am incredibly grateful for medication.

Because the right treatment didn’t take away my personality, ambition, creativity, or joy.

It helped give them back.

In this episode of The Watch Me Podcast, I’m talking honestly about psychiatric medication, ADHD medication, bipolar disorder treatment, medication stigma, side effects, addiction and misuse, and the fear so many people have that needing medication somehow means they’re broken.

I also share:

• Why I kept trying after 36 different psychiatric medications
• What happened when I stopped treating my ADHD—and lost my job
• Why I thought years of bipolar stability meant I had outgrown my diagnosis
• The warning signs that finally made me realize I needed my medication again
• How quickly I realized how depressed I had actually become
• My history of misusing ADHD medication and the safety plan Austin and I created
• Why Austin has literally stolen my pillows to make sure I take my bipolar meds
• The side effects I still hate, including weight gain and changes in sex drive
• Why meditation, personal development, therapy, mindset work AND medication can all belong in the same mental-health plan
• What I wish someone considering psychiatric medication knew before deciding they were “too strong” to need help

This is not medical advice, and I’m not telling anyone what medication they should or shouldn’t take. Your treatment decisions belong between you and a qualified healthcare professional.

But if medication has been recommended to you and shame is the thing keeping you from exploring it, I hope hearing my experience makes that conversation feel a little less scary.

Because medication didn’t make my progress fake.

It helped me become present enough to actually live the life I’ve worked so hard to build.

Subscribe to The Watch Me Podcast for honest conversations about mental health, confidence, limiting beliefs, personal growth, and challenging the stories in our heads that keep us smaller than we need to be.

Instagram: @thelaurenfritts
TikTok: @watchmepod
YouTube: @watchmepod

#MentalHealth #MentalHealthMedication #ADHD #BipolarDisorder #MentalHealthAwareness

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Bipolar disorder is so much more complicated than “mood swings.”

I was diagnosed with Rapid Cycling Bipolar I at 19, and for years I’ve lived through the mania, depression, medication changes, stigma, warning signs, mistakes, stability, and everything in between. But this episode isn’t just about what bipolar looks like in my brain.

We’re talking about what bipolar disorder can actually look like across different people—including Bipolar I, Bipolar II, hypomania, rapid cycling, mixed features, psychosis, bipolar depression, masking, irritability, impulsivity, addiction vulnerability, and the periods of stability nobody talks about enough.

I’m also sharing some of the hardest parts of my own story: staying awake for days during mania, spending $25,000 while eight months pregnant, the episode that scared my mom, hiding severe depression while still succeeding at work, trying 36 medications, and learning the warning signs my body gives me before an episode.

But I don’t want you leaving this episode with only information.

We also talk about what to actually do.

If you live with bipolar:
• How to identify your personal warning signs
• Why knowing your baseline matters
• How to build a plan while you’re stable
• Choosing trusted people who are allowed to speak up
• Creating guardrails around impulsive decisions
• Knowing when it’s time to call your doctor or treatment team

And if you love someone with bipolar:
• How to support without policing them
• What to say instead of “You’re manic”
• How to recognize meaningful changes from their baseline
• What to do when someone may not recognize they’re becoming unwell
• When an episode requires professional or emergency help
• Why caretakers need boundaries and support too

Most importantly, this episode is for the person who just got diagnosed and is quietly wondering:

Is my life over?

No.

Bipolar can be serious. It can be messy. Treatment can take time. There may be seasons that feel incredibly dark.

But there can also be stability, relationships, laughter, boring Tuesdays, dreams, careers, families, friendships, and a life that feels deeply yours.

I know because I’m living one.

If you’re in the dark part right now and you can’t see the light yet, borrow my hope for a minute.

There is still shit over here worth getting to.

Subscribe to The Watch Me Podcast for more honest conversations about mental health, confidence, stigma, and the stories we refuse to keep believing about ourselves.

Instagram: @thelaurenfritts
TikTok: @watchmepod
YouTube: @watchmepod

If you are experiencing a mental-health crisis or thinking about suicide or self-harm in the U.S., call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate danger or a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

#BipolarDisorder #Bipolar1 #Bipolar2 #MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #Mania #BipolarDepression #MentalHealthPodcast #BipolarAwareness #WatchMePodcast

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