Living with Bipolar Disorder: Strategies for Managing Symptoms and Preventing Relapse

Living with bipolar disorder is challenging so it is important to know what it is. Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that goes far beyond being happy or sad. Also known as manic depression, it is a brain disorder that causes your mood to swing back and forth between two polar opposites – the lows of depression and the highs of mania. When you become depressed, you may feel sad, hopeless, even suicidal, and lose interest or pleasure in most activities.

When your mood shifts to mania, you may feel euphoric and full of energy. Clinical psychologist, Dr. Stephanie O’Leary, who herself has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, describes it as “living with a set of conjoined twins. If you don’t keep personalities appeased, the disorder has the potential to wreak havoc on every aspect of your life.”

Different people experience bipolar disorder in different ways. Mood shifts may occur only a few times a year, or as often as several times a day. In some cases you may feel symptoms of both mania and depression at the same time.

Living with bipolar disorder can be a challenging experience. However, if you are willing to work at it, having a healthy, happy, balanced life despite your diagnosis is an achievable goal.

Following are some actions you can take to help keep your symptoms in check. There are also healthy choices you can make to stay well longer between cycles and be able to rebound from an episode more quickly.

Strategies to manage symptoms, lessen disruptions, and prevent relapse

Become an expert on bipolar disorder.

Learn all you can about how it manifests and what the available treatment options are so you can recognize the symptoms and be prepared to deal with them. The more you know, the better choices you can make.

Monitor your moods.

Stay in tune with how you feel and become familiar with your triggers and early warning signs. Then you can intercept mood swings and prevent them from blossoming into full-blown episodes of mania or depression.

Act swiftly on warning signs.

Create a wellness toolbox from which you can draw coping skills and activities that will help you stabilize your mood when you feel an episode coming on. The things that work best for you will be unique to your situation and symptoms, so you may need to do some experimenting at first. Have an emergency action plan as well in case you experience a crisis.

Journal.

Journaling can help you monitor your progress, keep track of feelings and activities that affect your stress level, identify warning signs, and process your emotions.

Don’t isolate.

Staying connected is vital. Reach out to family and close friends and build a support system of good listeners who understand what you are going through and who you can turn to for help when you hit a rough patch. Enlist them to cue you in to your symptoms if they notice you acting in a way that signals a manic episode so you can curb it before it has a chance to escalate.

Join a bipolar disorder support group.

Group therapy will help you not feel isolated and can give you ideas for coping. It can also affirm your worth as you share ideas with others.

Build structure into your life. Establish a routine that helps you take care of yourself and stick to it consistently even when you don’t feel like it. Maintaining a healthy daily routine can help stabilize your mood.

Maintain a consistent sleep pattern.

Getting enough sleep is crucial. Have a consistent sleep-wake schedule and aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

Make healthy lifestyle choices.

Stay active and eat well. Regular exercise and a healthy diet can help reduce the symptoms of bipolar disorder, especially the depressive ones.

Minimize stress.

Know your limits, set boundaries, and don’t commit to more than you can realistically handle. Make leisure time a priority.

Practice stress management techniques.

Learn and practice calming techniques such as rhythmic breathing.

Don’t get complacent or let down your guard.

Consistency is key to maintaining progress. Take your medications exactly as directed and don’t stop or reduce your dose on your own when you feel good during a manic episode. This can lead to negative consequences and make it longer and more difficult to get stabilized when you start taking them again.

Avoid drugs, alcohol, and caffeine.

They can both trigger and exacerbate your symptoms.

Christian Counseling for Bipolar Disorder

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