Understandably, living with bipolar disorder is not an easy task. But one must remember that when a person has bipolar disorder, they are not alone in it. Besides following the guidelines set by doctors and bipolar disorder therapists, one can also understand their symptoms and take steps to prevent or reduce them. There are specific steps necessary in other diseases, as a person with diabetes has to take insulin or a smoker has to take nicotine tablets. Taking some steps to become healthy and keeping things in check will help any patient control their mood, anger, and sudden outbursts.
Regular treatments are a must, indeed, but other everyday small steps can be undertaken by bipolar disease patients to take control of their life. The following few guidelines can help such patients take control of their life.
Familiarize with the disease.
Once diagnosed with bipolar disease, try to get yourself acquainted as much as possible with the condition. Learn and read about it in-depth. Read up on all the symptoms and the ways to recognize them on their onset. Also, learn about the different treatment options which are available for various symptoms. Also, if they are symptoms that can be controlled and know how they can be held. Once you have read information and gain some knowledge about your own disease, ask questions from your doctor and collaborate with them to gather more knowledge. Don't be shy of telling them what is on your mind and let them know what you are comfortable or uncomfortable with.
Keep track of your own moods and symptoms.
To remain healthy with bipolar disease and live everyday life, the patient needs to closely monitor themselves and understand themselves the most. These are usually known as triggers, which set off a reaction. These can be episodes of depression or anger or anxiety which can lead to such after-effects. One can often dismiss these as mood swings, but there can be underlying reasons to consider their symptoms or triggers. Always talk to your doctor once you have recognized something and work with them to understand and analyze a situation more. You should also keep an eye out for your sleeping patterns, energy levels, and different thoughts processed by you at other times of the day and their impact on your physical and mental health. If you understand these small triggers or symptoms, then it will become very easy to manage yourself.
Some triggers can include stress, financial difficulties, lack of sleep, changes in season, changes in the environment, different sleeping patterns, etc. Also, some typical onset of symptoms can be frequent headaches, lack of sleep, too much or too few conversations with others, people around you feel irritating, you have stopped things you would regularly do like going for a jog, cooking your own meals, watching your favorite show, etc. As soon as these symptoms or onset present themselves, you must have a backup plan. This can be talking to a person who understands you and your disorder, long 8 hours of good sleep, go see your doctor, talk to your Champaign therapist, go outside more, exercise, do something fun, play games, listen to music, etc.
Create a backup plan
Even if you are trying your best and doing all things right, everything cannot go right in life. So always have an emergency backup plan if required to fall back to. This plan should consist of the list of contact numbers of doctors who are working with or whom you can contact, the medications required, the symptoms for usual triggers that can be causing this, and their relative solution.
Join an outreach program
Bipolar disorder can seem very lonely, primarily due to social taboo, but you don't necessarily need to isolate yourself. There are always family members, friends, colleagues who are ready and happy to help. Even chatting up with them can perk up your mood. Try joining a bipolar disorder support group where you will find many like-minded people. People who understand you and sympathize with you since they face the same things. You can learn from them, understand what works or doesn't, know about doctors, etc. You may even find new friends, which is never a bad thing!
Have an active lifestyle
Bipolar disorder is characterized by untimely mood swings and uncontrollable behavior. That is also precisely why you should try to bring discipline into your life and build a structure around it. Create a timetable for doing things, everyday tasks, making it less likely to have possible triggers. Also, start exercising since it is the best natural medicine. Exercise uplifts mood and is suitable for health. So making exercising a habit can always help an individual control themselves better.
Conclusion
It may seem complicated, and you may feel lonely, but you are not the only one. There are others out there too who are facing the same thing, so you should not feel low about it. Just like any other disease if you follow some guidelines along with those set by doctors you can also adjust to life and start living normally. If you ever feel like you need to talk to someone contact your local therapists in Champaign.