Managing your daily life and being a functional, productive adult is difficult with bipolar and other personality disorders. Sure, proper treatment can help you become the best version of yourself even with this mental health issue — but you still need to do a lot of work on your own if you want to manage symptoms daily. Besides seeking aid for bipolar disorder, there are a few things you can do to alleviate the resulting stress. Let’s dive in and see what you can do to take more control of your daily life!
Aid for Bipolar Disorder: Seek Treatment
Managing bipolar disorder can feel overwhelming, with the brain’s biochemistry often seeming to dictate one’s emotions. Yet, effective treatment can significantly change that. Through a combination of therapy and medication from qualified professionals, many individuals find they can regain a sense of emotional control.
Unfortunately, access to this kind of local care can sometimes be challenging, especially in states with poorer mental health care. For instance, in Tennessee alone, approximately 115,000 adults experience severe bipolar disorder, aligning with national prevalence rates of 2.8%. Despite this, many individuals may not receive the necessary treatment, highlighting a need for accessible mental health resources in the area.
As a leading mental health treatment center in the state, Time Wellness Tennessee actively addresses this growing need for accessible mental health care. They work hard to close the treatment gap for those with bipolar disorder. Through comprehensive services focused on mood stabilization and stress management, they empower individuals across Tennessee to better manage the unique challenges of this condition. By providing locally accessible treatment options, this center plays a vital role in improving the quality of life for those navigating bipolar disorder, fostering stability and resilience in the community.
However, self-management strategies can make a significant difference in addition to professional support. Techniques like structured routines, mindfulness, and regular exercise can help alleviate symptoms. This leads to fewer and less intense mood swings over time. Remember, life with bipolar disorder involves ongoing choices. By making healthy ones, it’s possible to lead a more balanced and fulfilling life with symptoms that feel more manageable.
Learn More About Your Condition
The best way to improve the effectiveness of your treatment is to participate in it actively. That means doing more than passively listening to your healthcare provider.
Instead, start reading up on your condition and study its causes, effects, and symptoms. If you find the energy to become an everyday expert on the subject, you can make better choices in the long run. Being informed is its kind of superpower, especially when you’re collaborating with therapists and doctors.
You’ll always be expected to voice questions and opinions while the experts plan your treatment. If you want to communicate effectively, you might as well try to have an informed opinion.
In the process, you’ll also learn to be more patient with the treatment. When you know more about bipolar disorder, you’ll understand why a total and instant cure isn’t an option. Instead, you’ll be more open to exploring different treatment plans and programs until you find something that works for you.
With more information, you’ll also be able to verbalize your needs better and explain any medication side effects to your doctor in more detail.
Actively Monitor Your Symptoms
As we’ve mentioned above, seeking aid for bipolar disorder is important. It is equally crucial to constantly self-regulate and monitor your emotional states. Bipolar disorder is far from a static condition, and your treatment is likely to change over time.
To ensure you’re getting the most effective help, you must be more in tune with your feelings than the average person. You need to know when depressive and manic episodes begin and roughly when they end. Incorporating self-monitoring practices into your daily routine can significantly enhance the management of bipolar disorder.
In truth, a study published in the International Journal of Bipolar Disorders highlights that self-monitoring increases illness insight and self-management by helping patients make lifestyle adjustments and facilitating communication with clinicians.
By diligently tracking your mood fluctuations, energy levels, and sleep patterns, you can identify early signs of mood episodes and take proactive steps to mitigate their impact.
Unfortunately, mood swings are often difficult to intercept because we notice their warning signs too late. You must closely monitor your energy levels, general mood, and sleeping patterns.
Otherwise, you are more likely to stay one step behind your bipolar disorder instead of managing the worst mood swings in advance. It’s exhausting, and such intentional monitoring of your emotional states takes up much time and energy — but it’s necessary to stabilize your mood in the long run.
Develop Mood Stabilizing Techniques
Every person is different, and no two cases of bipolar disorder are the same. This is why you’ll need ways to stabilize your mood and reduce stress. However, there are plenty of methods that you can include in your overall strategy.
It’ll take some time and energy to experiment with different techniques and find what works best for you, but the result will be more long-term stability.
For instance, you can always take extra care to get enough sleep — at least eight hours. Also, you can develop a network of close friends and family who are available for an honest conversation about how you’re feeling.
If you’re not sure your closest social circle provides enough support, consider looking for a support group nearby. On the other hand, you can consider which activities and chores drain your energy more than others and find ways to cut back on them.
Depending on whether you’re the creative type, you can also write a journal or find another outlet for your pent-up energy. Exercise is always a great idea, as is exposing yourself to as much sunlight as possible.
For most people with bipolar disorder, minimizing the amount of caffeine you drink daily is beneficial. Eliminating alcohol is a must, considering its disruptive effects on your mood. Plus, alcohol is almost guaranteed to interfere with your medications — so it’s not something you want to mess around with.
Of course, the specific mix of techniques you use to improve your mood will depend on your preferences.
Wrapping Up
While there’s no definitive cure for bipolar, you can do plenty to manage the illness and minimize its symptoms. Besides seeking professional aid for bipolar disorder, you can do everything in your power to lead a healthy, fulfilled life. Over time, these healthy habits will help you stabilize your mood — but they require persistence.