Whoa, folks! There's much that we can do for ourselves in bipolar illness. There are some folks who even go into remission with the disorder. Remember, it's a mood disorder not an intellectual disorder.

First, start with the four things you must not do:

1. Do not drink or use alcohol in any way; it makes bipolar illness worse.

2. Do not eat or drink anything with caffeine in it; it makes bipolar illness worse.
(That means no coffee, chocolate, tea--that has caffeine- or candy containing it
or anything else for that matter that contains caffeine; it's really bad because
it isn't removed from the system as water is; it clings to organs of the body and
may take as much as a year to be rid of it if you're a long-term user.)
I suggest that you read an article called "caffeine allergy" on a website called
Doctor Yourself.com) It will astound you regarding the seriousness of caffeine
use for those sensitive to it. It has been written by Ruth Whalen; she has given
me permission to quote from her work, but you'll get a clearer picture if you read
it yourself.

3. Take your medications.

4. Establish a routine sleep schedule and adhere to it.

(Those were the four "laws" given to me by my psychiatrist years ago.)

Now, when you've got that under control, change your diet so that you aren't eating so many aciding-reacting foods. Go to Alkaline Foods.com to learn which foods are
better for keeping a slightly more alkaline state of fluids in the body.

Next, because all medications leave an acid-residue, you will need to drink fresh lemon juice squeezed into a glass of cold water about twice a day to offset the acid buildup of medication metabolism.

Major foods to stop using immediately are caffeine, white flour products, cheese, and
milk products because they are all highly acid. Your object is to get the fluids more alkaline.

Take it slowly, as it suits your style. Another thing to note is that you should stop using refined salt. Instead, use one of the world's finest salts called Himalayan sea salt, which has all the trace minerals missing in refined salt. The benefit? It helps in removal of acid from around brain cells and creates a calming effect.

Bipolar illness is an inflammation of a portion of the brain; doctors don't know why yet but they are working on the genetic problem. It is also a chemical imbalance.

Newer research indicates that some bipolar patients cannot manufacture the enzymes necessary to metabolize folic acid (a vitamin) into folate--a form of the vitamin which can cross the blood-brain barrier and which the brain can use. It's available in a form called Deplin. (By prescription as this time.)

That's a starter course for you to take charge of your bipolar illness. There is much, much more to this, and you should begin your research project to get yourself on the way to remission.

Diet plays a huge role in this illness; so do exercise, sleep, and lowering of medication dosages as you improve your feeling and functioning levels.

Many bipolar patients have notorious diets and they are detrimental to improvement of the illness.

We all start at some point if we want to go into remission.

Maybe we could talk more about it some time in the future if you wish.

Genetic