Practical Ways for Dealing With Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder affects an individual with episodes of depression and mania. An individual can also have episodes that are a combination of depression and mania at the same time called mixed episodes. While it is not a disorder that has a cure, there are many measures that you can take that will enable you to control the symptoms and therefore have more control of your life.

QuickFacts About Bi-Polar Disorder

• Medications that have been developed for bi-polar disorder can be of assistance in controlling the highs and lows of the disorder.

  Symptom and life management skills are necessary to learn to maintain positive relationships with co-workers, family and friends.

  There are many actions and thoughts you can pursue that will enable you to control your manic and depressive symptoms. One such action is to maintain consistent sleep. The lack of sleep can trigger a manic episode.

Taking Control of Your Life

• There are four main steps in the process of taking control of bi-polar disorder:

  Step 1: Pay Attention to Warning Signs
  A. Know the symptoms of bi-polar disorder and specifically know your unique symptoms. Not everyone suffers from the same symptoms and therefore having a firm understanding of which symptoms you experience is the key to preventing or lessening the degree of severity.
  B. Keep track of your moods. This is easy to do with mood charts and daily journal entries.
  C. Recognizing your bi-polar episode triggers is essential to avoid making the episodes more severe.

  Step 2: Taking Precautions against Triggers
  A. Avoid making episodes worse by learning how to get adequate sleep, maintaining your medication intake--right dose at the right time, and avoiding any other symptom triggers that you have already identified.
  B. Add positive actions and thoughts to your daily routine.

  Step 3: Symptom Reduction Techniques
  A. Remain active as much as possible. This is vastly different than over stimulation as remaining active involves tasks such as cleaning house, running errands, attending school and work, exercise and other activities that involve your mind and body. Make a schedule of activities if you are unable to motivate yourself when you are in an episode of depression or mania.
  B. Change how you think about yourself and your disorder.
  C. Have a plan in place for when you begin to face mental meltdowns and begin the process of reversing these meltdowns.
  D. Avoid over stimulation and have a plan in place in the event you find yourself becoming over stimulated.
  Step 4: Monitor your Progress.
  A. Keep a calendar to keep track of your moods, triggers that occurred and any episodes that you experienced during the month.

  This is only a guide to aid the medication and the interventions of the professionals on your team. Discuss the interventions and skills they would like you to incorporate to ensure the plan takes care of all areas of your life and disorder. Success in controlling your bi-polar disorder can be obtained when all aspects of your care are being monitored by you and your team.