How to Cope With Bipolar II

Bipolar II is a sub-form of the chronic, treatable mental illness, bipolar disorder. People with bipolar II usually experience cycles of depression and hypomania--a form of mania that is usually less severe. If you have been diagnosed with bipolar II, learning to cope with your illness can be a challenge but not an insurmountable one. Learning to understand your disease and the ways in which your own symptoms manifest are tools that can help you improve the quality of your life.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• Journal
• Pen/pencil

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Instructions

• 1

  Learn as much as you can about the disease. There are many books available in your local bookstore or library, as well as good resources--both medical and personal--on the Internet. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (see Resources) is a good place to begin to look for accurate, up-to-date information.

• 2

  Find a support group. Meeting others with bipolar II can help you accept your own diagnosis, as well as learn from others who have been living with the illness. The National Alliance on Mental Illness can help you find support groups local to your community.

• 3

  Seek out health care professionals who have expertise treating bipolar II. Ask for references from your physician or people you meet in your support group, and "interview" each new professional before you commit to working with them. Long-term therapy is what is usually best for bipolar II, so find someone you trust and feel comfortable with--even if that means having to meet a few different professionals.

• 4

  Commit to your own self-care. Keep a journal in which you note your daily activities and your mood, so you can begin to find patterns between daily life and your triggers. Understanding what triggers your own mood swings can help you minimize or avoid these triggers.

• 5

  Follow your treatment plan. Treatment, which usually involves therapy and medication, is designed to not only help you deal with your symptoms in the short term but help lessen the severity of your mood swings in the long term.

• 6

  Involve your friends and family. You may feel shame or embarrassment about being diagnosed with bipolar II, but a mental illness is exactly that: an illness. Communicate with your loved ones and ask for their support, and encourage them to learn as much as they can about the disease.

• 7

  Be realistic. You won't learn to cope overnight, but you will learn how the disease affects you and how to live your life with bipolar II. Make a coping plan that involves the above steps, and stick to it.