When my psychiatrist diagnosed me with bipolar disorder, one of the things he told me was “stress is ‘the killer’ for bipolar disorder.” He’s right, IMO. My episodes are triggered by ongoing periods of extreme stress.

So...what to do. It is challenging, for me, to deal with stress. (See signature, lol, ugh)

I’ve found three things critical:

I’m with a supportive partner who understands bipolar disorder and accepts me fully (I’m lucky and I was “abandoned” in my prior relationship, a long marriage, after diagnosis. Rough times, happy ending.).

DBT therapy has been the most helpful as far as therapy for my bipolar disorder and anxiety. Dialectical Behavior Therapy. I cannot recommend it enough. “Radical Acceptance” is one of my favorite concepts. Amazon has a DBT workbook for bipolar disorder on Amazon, if you don’t have time for DBT therapy right now. There also is the original DBT workbook. I prefer the original...it has a green cover.

https://www.amazon.com/Dialectical-B...1H6ATGDSZMKQDY

Self-care, meaning putting yourself first. Your health. I struggle with this one, due to my upbringing and prior marriage. I’m in therapy and working on this. It’s very hard, but I have to do it. My partner puts his own health first (he also has bipolar 1) and I am so glad (and admire him, frankly.). He’s my rock, but sometimes he needs to rest and recharge. That’s good for him and helps me build self-resiliency.

I still stress out a lot. I relate to the move. I’m planning a move and I WANT to move. It will be awesome....but selling my home, moving to another state, finding and buying a new home, yikes! I’m pacing myself. I had to stop watching the HGTV Channel where people are buying the same type of house/same area I will ultimately buy. But after a good ten exciting episodes...time to get going, lol. I am already worried about transporting my cats.....not helping. Refocus, deep breaths. lol

Sending positivity your way.