Posts by Gregory Flores48

Personally, I’ve always felt that the internet and the MP3 format brought something truly transformative to the table.
When I look back at my high school days, it used to take me an entire year just to track down the full discography of Led Zeppelin—constantly hunting down classmates who happened to own that one specific record I was missing, just so I could sit there and painstakingly dub it onto a cassette tape. Fast forward to today, and you can access basically anything instantly.
There’s also a massive practical upside: nowadays, I can stream a track online to see if it actually holds up before I go out and drop money on a CD. It saves me from making a bad purchase.

I’ve been wrestling with this condition for years now—and let me tell you, the environment you grow up in plays a massive role in how this all unfolds.
In my case, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was just twelve years old. My mother—bless her heart, though she couldn't see it—never once accepted that I was dealing with a legitimate neurochemical imbalance,
instead, she was convinced I was just being "bad." It was a brutal way to grow up; I ended up enduring both psychological and physical abuse because of that refusal to understand the science behind it.
This illness is incredibly vicious—it drives far too many people toward suicide. But, if there’s a silver lining, it’s that it is manageable.
Treatment usually focuses on mastering self-control through specific types of meditation. About two years ago, I checked into a specialized clinic in Switzerland—and I've lived abroad for nine years now—and since then, I’ve felt remarkably steady.
I haven't had any more outbursts, haven't lashed out at myself, and I haven't caused any unnecessary friction with my wife. Another thing to keep in mind—and perhaps a bit of hope for those struggling—is that the intensity often wanes as you age.
Once you hit your 40s or 50s, the grip of the disorder tends to loosen significantly.