Cat eyes

In my situation I am Dx 17 years with BP and it has been a long slow process to get to where I am right now. For me I have found that there are many factors that affect my mood regulation. I live by some golden rules now for instance, a routine which took years of practice and experience to manage one that I am comfortable with and can manage my daily life; exercise, I am fairly lazy but there is nothing like a yoga session or even a simple stretching session daily to banish that dangerous trigger - stress; Diet, in my case when I am depressed I do not eat and lose a lot of weight so rather than trying to cook massive meals I take short quick energy snacks and comfort food and use vitamin supplements....I bought a juicer and juice 6 carrots and 2 apples daily and drink it in one go. It is a great source of goodness when you cannot be bothered to eat whole foods. Like everyone else - sleep. Always try to go to bed at the same time everyday. If you are having difficulty sleeping still go to bed at the same time, but if unable to sleep dont dwell on it and toss and turn in the bed, get up and do some light distraction like reading some posts or posting here. Dont beat yourself up over your sleep. Socialising is good but I sometimes do need to withdraw considerably either to protect myself because I am hypomanic and may say things or do things that are inappropriate or if I am depressed I simply lack the energy to be with people and I dont want to think anymore negatively about myself ie. thinking falsely that I am bringing others down with my low mood. Know my triggers is essential and have a plan and structure in place to deal with them, for instance long haul flights make me manic, death of a close loved one makes me manic, any substance that artifically alters the mind makes me hypomanic.

Over time I realised that because of Bi Polar disorder I have limitations, I fought against them for quite some time and that was a mistake. By fighting them I was in a battle and in any battle there are two outcomes - a winner and a loser and I usually came out being the loser so now I embrace my limitations, have acccepted them and have moved on, as a result I have less conflict in my mind and it helps with dealing with a depressive mood swing.

Education is key, read what you can, get a good healthcare team behind you and always remember they work for you not you them and never be intimidated by them. If you are you must speak out otherwise you will not be treated effectively.

Do not beat yourself up, you cannot help this it is an illness, an unpredictable condition. But like a phsyical illness to feel well one needs to take care of oneself and if you are beating yourself up for things that happened in a hypo or manic or depressive state you are not being fair to yourself. It happened, its over, its in the past and I have learnt by it. We all make mistakes at some point.

Medication is vital, but what works for one may not work for the other and it is trial and error. NEVER self medicate and if prescribed benzos use them appropriately and with respect. Also be aware that some meds used to treat physical ailments can destabilse your mood for instance certain pain relief medication ie some opiate based painkillers. Always discuss your options with your healthcare provider.

Finally I have found therapy excellent, I have done Transactional Analysis which is great to understand how we think about ourselves and our interaction with others and games that people play, Psychodynamic is also great and CBT.. I have recently got into mindfulness and so far it is very interesting and helpful to regulate those racing thoughts that we get.

Anyway thats my twopence worth, hope there is even one thing there that may help

kind regards

Paddy