Advice for Manic Depressants

Manic depression (also known as bipolar disorder) can be like a summer lightning storm with flash flood. The depression can last for hours or days, sometimes even weeks. Mania can last for days and nights without sleep. There can also be mixed states where an individual can experience both depression and mania simultaneously.

Inform Yourself and Others

• There is a variety of methods for treatment, including self-treatment, for manic depression. One of the first steps is becoming more informed about the illness, symptoms, causes and treatments. After becoming informed yourself, inform those around you so that they can help offer outside perspectives and sound, informed advice. Informing others helps to ease the stigma of manic depression, as well as building a support network of caring individuals around you. The National Alliance on Mental Illness offers a website that is loaded with information, online forums and support groups and links to other information (see References below for link).

Four Rules of Thumb

• 1. Organization is one of the best strategies. Get a notebook and structure it in a way that you can record what works for you in dealing with either the mania or depression. Look for early warning signs that you may be switching states. Warning signs vary, but some may include: withdrawal, inactivity, excessive sleep, slow speech, decreased appetite, avoiding people or paranoia. Working to increase self-awareness is key in figuring out when something is about to happen and then figuring out what you can do to mitigate the emotional extremes of mania or depression.

  2. "Coping skills" is a fancy term for ways to help you relax. Find creative activities, places to go, people to talk to or favorite movies to watch to help with the emotional extreme. Being involved in regular activities, apart from the extreme states, can help to build a network of caring individuals around you and regular activities that help keep your mind off the emotional aspects of bipolar.

  3. Develop a wide assortment of things to fall back on. Physical activities, relational supports, attitude changes, self and medication management and spirituality are all different categories of things that help manage manic depression. Finding what works for you specifically, writing a list of what those things are and then committing to doing them will help.

  4. Commitment is the hardest step. Many times, individuals who suffer from manic depression are dominated by emotions, with motivation waxing and waning according to the emotional climate within. Being committed to yourself apart from emotions in general is extremely difficult. Having accountability with a friend or family member in this area is essential in most cases.

Finding Help

• Most important of all is finding help. In a survey conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, "Ninety-three percent (93%) of respondents agreed that manic depression is a medical condition requiring professional treatment. Yet, only 35 percent would consult a mental health professional themselves or for someone else experiencing symptoms of manic-depression."