10 Bipolar Disorder Self-Help Tips

[stargazer]

Are you taking meds to help you to sleep?

No, I'm not. I usually fall asleep readily enough - it's just that I awaken about fours later, and I don't *want* to sleep anymore. I strongly feel like getting up and doing things, so I do.

The meds I'm taking are strictly for Bipolar One / hypomanic, and for anger issues, in combination with therapy, once it gets rolling.

 

[amastie]

No, I'm not. I usually fall asleep readily enough - it's just that I awaken about fours later, and I don't *want* to sleep anymore. I strongly feel like getting up and doing things, so I do.

The meds I'm taking are strictly for Bipolar One / hypomanic, and for anger issues, in combination with therapy, once it gets rolling.

If your meds are for hypomania, then I'm guessing that their purpose is to slow you down and to relax you. Are you taking enough of them to fully give you the opportunity to sleep fully.

I imagine that you know that hypomania is a reason for *not* sleeping well, that as well as you feel when you wake that is not necessarily a sign of *being* well for you.

And as for the irritability/anger that you speak of in your other posts, that too is very typical of hypomania. Have you discussed with your doctor/psch whether you are on enough of the meds for the hypomania? Because, to me, much of what you describe is the sort of symptoms I would expect to see being due to hypomania. And as much as those symptoms don't necessarilly feel "bad" they can incur problmes nonethless. But I fully expect you to know that

 

[stargazer]

This is getting too complicated for me.

 

[amastie]

Sorry stargazer. I think when I posted that earlier post I was having trouble myself focussing

Take good care

 

[Always Changing]

Is it possible to make the First post on this thread a sticky?

 

[Into The Light]

thread has been made a sticky thanks for the suggestion!

 

[kelsischanging]

• Don’t drink alcohol. (This is a biggie.) Drinking alcohol can neutralize the beneficial effects of the medications and interact with some medications to cause liver damage, seizures, unpredictable shifts in mood, and other health problems. (Avoid other substances, as well, including medications that your doctor has not prescribed for you.)
• Steer clear of stimulants. Caffeine, nicotine, and other stimulants could tip your mood balance, especially if they cause you to lose sleep. Yep, those energy drinks gotta go.

Wow, I'm glad I read this list. I know that all the medications I take for my bipolar disorder say not to drink alcohol but I never knew why and I certainly did not listen to that warning. When I felt my mood getting worse or myself getting manic I usually increased the amount of alcohol I consume a day so obviously this was having the opposite effect than I wanted it to. Also I drink about four pots of coffee a day and I never thought about the effect of caffeine.....

Thanks for posting this list! :cool2:

 

[Missed Link]

Something I've learned that helps me a great deal:
When depressed, anxious or in a mixed state, I used to think about how I felt a lot saying to myself many times during the day things like, "Why do I have to be so tired?" or "I feel like I'm in a dark and desperate pit", etc. When would try to suppress what I was feeling, which was a losing battle--it only fueled the problem, empowered it. What I finally started doing instead was replacing my negative self talk with something positive, like "I'm so happy the sun is out" and then go to the window and look at the sunshine in the trees. Or, "I love the smell of vanilla extract, it is so comforting" and then go to my cupboard and smell it. It didn't matter that I didn't feel happy or comforted and saying those things didn't change how I felt. What it did do as I practiced it day after day, week after week, was to change my focus. I was no longer reinforcing negative thinking and that helped to stop the downward spiral of depression, and/or the escalating intensity of anxiety or mixed moods. I was no longer giving the moods extra fuel. I took back some control. It was hard work for a couple of months to make myself do this, but now it is second nature and I am mentally and emotionally healthier for it.

 

[abram]

thats really good advice I like the part about having healthy routines, easier said than done, you know what i mean, for me cause I lost my drivers license,
I used to drive to town for fun in the evening, instead now i stay home all weekend, easy to get sucked into unhealthy habits.
thanks for reading abram