There are between 900,000 and 2,700,000 bipolar in France. Let's move forward together.
Being bipolar is a condition recognized by doctors. And in order to be able to live with this disease, it is necessary to act in a certain way.
Here is a definition of bipolar disorder.
“As a bipolar person we need to adapt our way of life as well as personalized follow-up.”
Let's take a look at the 10 things you can do to better manage your bipolar disorder.
Here are the techniques used by bipolar people to perform well on a daily basis.
People who are successfully living with bipolarity realize that there is no simple solution.
Through trial and error, these individuals created a personalized treatment plan that is right for them. For one person, focusing on mind therapy may work, while for another, a certain medication and specific adjustments to their daily routine are more effective. All treatments like medications, therapy, and lifestyle should be designed specifically for your needs.
Taking medication:
In cases of extreme bipolarity, medications such as mood stabilizers may be a solution. So take the time to make your choices and seeking the advice of several psychiatrists is recommended.
These individuals created their own treatment plans based on trial and error to find the solution that works best for them. Indeed, for one person, focusing on mind therapy may be the best solution, while for another, a certain medication combined with specific adjustments to their daily routine may be more effective. It is therefore important to personalize each treatment according to the individual needs of each individual.
When it comes to mental disorders such as extreme bipolarity, taking medications like mood stabilizers can be an effective solution. However, it is crucial to take the time to make informed choices and to consult with several psychiatrists to get their opinion on the best approach to take. As each individual is unique, it is important to find the right combination of treatments, therapies, and lifestyle changes to optimize results.
In sum, it is recommended not to settle for standard treatment, but rather to work with mental health professionals to develop a personalized treatment plan tailored to your individual needs. With the right treatment and the right help, mental disorders can be managed and overcome to improve their quality of life.
First, they are not afraid to ask for help; second, they understand that they need help from others when they cannot help themselves. They know that support can take many forms, for example by joining a discussion group such as: https://www.facebook.com/groups/deparole/
People who are successfully living with bipolar disorder also nourish their support team by staying connected, communicating, and expressing deep gratitude for the help and support they receive.
Consult a professional (psychiatrist or psychologist):
Often a therapy is one of the bases in the managing your illness. To find a psychiatrist who is right for you, do not hesitate to ask us for advice and test several people.
Your loved ones are the first to want to help you manage your bipolarity.
They are essential in your life and for your stabilization. You must therefore be able to help them understand your disease and talk about it with them so that they can detect your phases to help you better manage them.
To explain bipolarity to your loved ones, you have to use simple sentences at the beginning; I often say that it's an emotional illness.
When I talk about loved ones, you have to stay in a circle that suits you of friends and family, companion/girlfriend.
Unfortunately, bipolarity is still taboo in work in 2021 and that is why I recommend that you do not talk about it in a professional setting except as a last resort (especially if you have multiple work stoppages).
You can ask your psychiatrist for advice because he is the one who prescribes work stoppages and he has more information.
The discussion groups
Talk to people who understand you because they are going through the same thing as you is a good way to help you better manage your bipolarity.
It is sometimes difficult for those close to you to understand you during manic or depressive phases.
To do this, solutions must be found to help them in order to “save” them. Facebook groups like Close to bipolar with whom we work and associations are also there to support them in order to be able to talk to each other about the difficulties they encounter and thus find solutions.
Practicing meditation improves your ability to manage work, organize tasks, and focus in stressful situations. Here are the benefits of meditation for bipolar people Over the past decade, mindfulness meditation has been shown to improve a range of health and disease outcomes; new studies show what happens to the brain to produce these health benefits. Others may practice a form of mediation based on movement, such as yoga, swimming, or walking.
Meditation is a natural way to stabilize your mood. The benefits of meditation are numerous but all the more interesting for bipolar people. So I highly recommend practicing meditation every day.
How do you learn to meditate?
Personally I like a playlist on Spotify “3 minutes meditation”: it's free and the duration of the meditations is quite short. Sometimes I do 5 minutes or more but the important thing is to be regular in your practice.
The benefits of meditation are well established. Almost the entire scientific community is convinced of this.
Many therapists are in a position to introduce you to this practice. However, be careful to choose a method recommended for bipolar patients.
Knowing what stressors make you vulnerable to depression and/or mania can help prevent recurrences. Work-related stress, sleep disorders, and traumatic life events can all be triggers, and having a plan to prevent minor symptoms from developing into a full episode is critical. Successful people have developed a comprehensive plan, usually with the help of their spouse and/or family. They know how to recognize the onset of depression or mania and what they will do in such cases.
Whether they find it difficult or not, they know that living a healthy lifestyle, eating well, and exercising more is essential for maintaining a stable mood. Studies now show that people with bipolar disorders are more likely to have certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies, making a nutrient-rich diet all the more important. To find out more how eating at a fixed time can stabilize your mood.
“Succeeding as a bipolar person is possible thanks to the construction of your routines like Winston Churchil or Friedrich Nietzsche did before you.”
Taking care of your lifestyle:
Go to bed and wake up at a fixed time if possible, is one of the most important factors as well as maintaining a stable sleep rhythm.
Do sports regularly is also a factor that can help you on a daily basis. For this purpose, applications exist such as: Clock for Android that allows you to define your routine. (Bedtime, wake up time). The application automatically calculates your sleep schedules, which is very useful for understanding your sleep rhythm (are you in a manic or depressive phase for example).
For people living with bipolar disorder, sleep is a major cause of stress. We know that sleep problems don't just affect mood, they can also cause it. People who are successful in managing their bipolarity know that they need to keep a steady pace throughout the day... go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and follow the same routine in bed.
The program itself is personalized for each individual, but the point is that they stick to their routine, especially for important aspects like medication protocol if needed, exercise, diet, and sleep. They know that doing something regularly, like brushing your teeth, quickly becomes second nature and that it doesn't take the will to stick to it.
They are aware of the loop that connects bipolar depression, anxiety, and negative thinking, and they are working to break free of it. They learn to break out of negative modes such as catastrophic escalation, pessimism, and destructive self-talk and instead choose a more positive and practical perspective for almost any situation. Thanks in particular to speech.
They understand that gratitude is strongly associated with well-being and that practicing this state of being has a positive influence on their mood, relationships, outlook, and overall happiness, which can protect them from anxiety and depression. Some people have found it helpful to keep a daily journal and write down what they are thankful for every day.
Whether it's jotting down their mood, diet, exercise, or even what they're thankful for, simply writing it down somewhere (or typing it) helps to anchor the subject further in their memory. In addition to the validating and therapeutic benefits of keeping a daily journal, journaling your thoughts can be meditative, as it requires you to only think about certain thoughts and not everything at once. Another interesting option is the 5-minute journal, which is based on gratitude exercises.
It is important to write down your thoughts so as not to ruminate on them all day.
One of the most used concepts is that of”5 minutes newspaper” — Anglicism being easy to understand.
One of the important things is to write about what we are thankful for. For example: “I am happy today because...”
This should be written every day to start your day off right. Personally I also write down my goals for the day and once a week, on Sundays (usually), I write my goals for the week as seen above.
Being able to write down your thoughts, whether good or bad, allows you to externalize them.
Generally I also take the opportunity to write down what I learned the day before in order to have the opportunity to consolidate my acquired knowledge. It allows me to transfer what I have learned from my short-term memory to my long-term memory.
If you want to know more about memory it's here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/learn-smarter-cl%C3%A9ment-baissat/
Writing gratitude sections is also a good idea. For example for the morning: “I am grateful to be healthy.”
And for the evening at bedtime: “I had the chance to enjoy the sun today...”
I also like the concept of creating a mood chart during sunrise and sunset times.
