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Navigating Bipolar Disorder: 5 Strategies for Living Well
- hr8746
- Feb 5, 2024
- 8 min read
Living with bipolar disorder presents its own set of challenges, a rollercoaster of highs and lows that can seem overwhelming at times. But there's hope and plenty of strategies to help you steer through the ups and downs, maintaining control over your life. Let's dive into five practical tips that can make a significant difference in managing bipolar disorder.
On this page:
What is Bipolar Disorder?
At Caritas, we understand bipolar disorder as a mental health condition marked by significant mood fluctuations. These include manic or hypomanic highs and depressive lows, impacting sleep, energy, judgment, and clear thinking.
Types of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar I Disorder: Defined by manic episodes lasting at least seven days, or by manic symptoms severe enough to require immediate hospital care, usually followed by depressive episodes.
Bipolar II Disorder: A pattern of depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes, but not the full-blown manic episodes of Bipolar I.
Cyclothymic Disorder: Numerous periods of hypomanic symptoms and periods of depressive symptoms lasting for at least two years.
How to cope with bipolar disorder
No matter how down or out of control you feel, it’s important to remember that you’re not powerless when it comes to bipolar disorder. Beyond the treatment you get from your doctor or therapist, there are many things you can do for yourself to reduce your symptoms and stay on track.
Living well with bipolar disorder requires certain adjustments. Like diabetics who take insulin or recovering alcoholics who avoid drinking, if you have bipolar disorder, it's important to make healthy choices for yourself. Making these healthy choices will help you keep your symptoms under control, minimize mood episodes, and take control of your life.
Managing bipolar disorder starts with proper treatment, including medication and therapy. But there is so much more you can do to help yourself on a day-to-day basis. These tips can help you influence the course of your illness, enabling you to take greater control over your symptoms, to stay well longer, and to quickly rebound from any mood episode or relapse.
Tip 1: Get involved in your treatment
Diving headfirst into your treatment plan can transform the way you manage bipolar disorder. Knowledge is power—so immerse yourself in learning all there is about your condition.
Aim to become your own bipolar disorder guru. Understand its nuances, from the symptoms to watch out for to the myriad of treatment options at your disposal. The more you know, the more adept you'll be at navigating the condition and making decisions that serve you best.
Using what you've learned about bipolar disorder, collaborate with your doctor or therapist in the treatment planning process. Don't be afraid to voice your opinions or questions. The most beneficial relationships between patient and healthcare provider work as a partnership. You may find it helpful to draw up a treatment contract outlining the goals you and your provider have agreed upon.
Here are some ways to make your treatment work better:
Be Patient: Getting better takes time. Don't expect to feel all better right away.
Talk to Your Care Team Often: Things change, so keep in touch with your doctor or therapist. Be open about how you're feeling and any side effects from medicines.
Take Your Medicine Right: If you have medicine to take, make sure you take it just like the doctor said. Don't skip doses or change how much you take without talking to your doctor first.
Go to Therapy: Medicine can help with some things, but talking to a therapist can teach you ways to handle your feelings, solve problems, control your mood, change your thoughts, and get along better with people.
By being a big part of your treatment, you can help make sure you get the best care possible.
Tip 2: Monitor your symptoms and moods
To stay healthy, it's really important to pay attention to your feelings. Sometimes, by the time you really notice you're feeling super high or super low, it might be too late to stop those feelings from getting bigger. So, watch out for small signs that your mood, how much you sleep, your energy, or your thoughts are changing.
If you spot these changes early and do something about it quickly, you might stop a small shift in mood from turning into a big up (mania) or down (depression).
Know your triggers and early warning signs
Knowing what makes you feel really up or really down is super helpful. Think about the early signs that show you're about to feel very high or very low. Write them down. Also, think about what has made you feel this way before. It could be things like:
Getting really stressed out
Money worries
Fights with people you care about
Issues at school or work
Changes in the seasons
Not getting enough sleep
By knowing these signs and triggers, you can be better prepared to handle your mood swings.
Tip 3: Do Something About Warning Signs
If you start seeing signs that you're heading into a high (mania) or a low (depression), it's really important to do something about it fast. Having a set of tools or activities that help you stay calm or feel better when you're not feeling great can be a big help.
Develop a wellness toolbox
The coping techniques that work best will be unique to your situation, symptoms, and preferences. It takes experimentation and time to find a winning strategy. However, many people with bipolar disorder have found the following tools to be helpful in reducing symptoms and maintaining wellness:
Talk to someone who understands.
Make sure you sleep enough.
Slow down and do less stuff.
Go to a group where people support each other.
Call your doctor or a therapist if you need to.
Do something that makes you happy or creative, like writing in a diary.
Take some time just to relax.
Spend more time in the sunlight.
Get some exercise.
If you need it, ask people you're close to for extra help.
Eat less sugar and drink less alcohol and caffeine.
Change how much noise and activity is around you, depending on what you need.
Create an emergency action plan
Even when you're trying your best, sometimes you might still end up feeling really down or way too high. If things get really tough, you might need someone else, like a family member or your doctor, to help take care of you. Having a plan for these times can make you feel a bit better because you know what to do.
A plan of action typically includes:
Phone numbers for your doctor, therapist, and people in your family.
A list of all the medicines you take and how much you take.
Signs that show you need someone else to help take care of you, and any other health stuff they need to know about.
What you prefer for your care, like who you want to help you, which
treatments and medicines work (or don't work) for you, and who can make decisions for you if you can't.
Tip 4: Reach out for face-to-face connection
Having a strong support system is essential to staying happy and healthy. Often, simply having someone to talk to face-to-face can be an enormous help in relieving bipolar depression and boosting your outlook and motivation. The people you turn to don't have to be able to “fix” you; they just have to be good listeners. The more people that you can turn to who will be available and good listeners, the more likely you are to manage your moods.
Don't Stay Alone!
When you're dealing with bipolar disorder, it's super important to have folks around you who can help when times get tough. Being alone too much can make you feel worse, so hanging out with supportive friends and family can actually make you feel better. Reaching out for help isn't a sign of weakness, and it doesn't mean you're bothering others. Your family and friends care about you and want to help.
Join a Support Group
Being around people who understand what you're going through can be really comforting. In a support group, you can hear from others who have been in your shoes and share your own experiences and tips.
Make New Friends
Feeling lonely and isolated can make bipolar disorder tougher to deal with. If you're feeling like you don't have enough support, try to meet new people. You could take a class, join a community group, volunteer, or go to community events.
10 Ways to Connect With Others
Talk to someone about how you're feeling.
Volunteer to help others.
Grab lunch or coffee with a friend.
Have someone you trust check in with you now and then.
Go see a movie or attend a small gathering with someone.
Reach out to an old friend with a call or email.
Take walks with a friend who likes to exercise.
Make plans for dinner with someone every week.
Join a class or club to meet new people.
Talk to a counselor, therapist, or religious leader if you need to.
Tip 5: Make a Healthy Daily Plan
Your lifestyle choices, including your sleeping, eating, and exercise patterns, have a significant impact on your moods. There are many things you can do in your daily life to get your symptoms under control and to keep depression and mania at bay.
Build structure into your life. Developing and sticking to a daily schedule can help stabilize the mood swings of bipolar disorder. Include set times for sleeping, eating, socializing, exercising, working, and relaxing. Try to maintain a regular pattern of activity even through emotional ups and downs.
Exercise frequently and avoid sitting for long periods of time. Exercise has a beneficial impact on mood and may reduce the number of bipolar episodes you experience. Aerobic exercise such as running, swimming dancing, climbing or drumming – all activities that keep both arms and legs active are especially effective at treating depression.
Try to incorporate at least 30 minutes of activity into your daily routine. Ten minutes here and there is just as effective as exercising for longer periods of time. Walking is a good choice for people of all fitness levels.
Keep a strict sleep schedule. Getting too little sleep can trigger mania, so it's important to get plenty of rest. For some people, losing even a few hours can cause problems. However, too much sleep can also worsen your mood. The best advice is to maintain a consistent sleep schedule.
Healthy sleep habits for managing bipolar disorder
Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
Avoid or minimize napping, especially if it interferes with your sleep at night.
Instead of viewing screens or other stimulating activities before bed, try taking a bath, reading a book, or listening to relaxing music.
Limit caffeine after lunch and alcohol at night as both interfere with sleep.
Stepping Stones to a Brighter Tomorrow
Bipolar disorder presents a challenging path, filled with many twists and turns, and our conversation today merely touches the surface. If you or a loved one is navigating these turbulent waters, reaching out to Caritas Behavioral Health Services LLC is a step towards finding tailored support.
Caritas Behavioral Health Services LLC is Here for You
Your journey is as unique as you are, and we're here to guide you towards a life that's balanced and fulfilling. Remember, every shade in life's mosaic, whether dark or light, plays a crucial role in shaping our collective story.
