Manic depression, or bipolar disorder, feels like an emotional roller coaster for people who are diagnosed with it, as well as their friends and family members.
It is considered a long-term condition, and there is a wide variety of effective treatments to consider. Individuals who respond well to treatment can often go several years between severe manic/depressive episodes, making it possible for them to live fulfilling and happy lives despite their illness.
It’s crucial to seek assistance from a qualified medical professional to manage manic depression. Most patients usually receive medication such as lithium, which is one of the older treatments for manic depression, but still viewed as very reliable and useful.
Meeting with a psychiatrist for counseling can also be very effective in helping people work through the strong emotions that tend to characterize episodes of manic depression. In combination with these things, several self-help strategies can help you keep a clearer perspective and brighter outlook when dealing with manic depression.
Keep reading to learn more.
Keep A Daily Routine
When you’re in the middle of a depressive period, it can feel as if life, as you know it, grinds to a halt, and maintaining a daily routine may help you stave off those depressive states and get things moving again. Your routine may be as simple as getting up at a specific time each morning and making the effort to become engaged in a productive activity.
Consider maintaining a gratitude journal to keep an account of the things for which you are grateful, even during your darkest days; you can look back upon those wonderful things to help boost your mood when you’re feeling down. Sticking to such a routine helps you keep trying to make progress even as your disease attempts to derail your aspirations.
Recognize That Your Disease Does Not Define You
Although manic depression is often characterized by periods of intense despair and bleakness, keep telling yourself that those are just factors of your condition and are never traits that define you as a person.
Once you begin to recognize that those feelings are not an accurate representation of who you really are, you, yourself, become a powerful reminder that it is possible to return to a happier state. Getting there may require new medication, an adjustment to your current dosage or other lifestyle changes, but it’s not an impossible goal to love yourself for you.
Accurately Describe Your Symptoms To Mental Health Providers
Having access to medical professionals and seeing them regularly is a huge part of managing manic depression well and making it more likely that you’ll experience more happiness than you might expect.
Meet with your physician and decide together how often to see him or her when things are going well; then, when things are tougher, plan for more frequent appointments. Also, don’t be afraid to look for another doctor if it becomes clear your current one is not the right fit for you.
Even though medical professionals are an essential part of treatment for manic depression, you might do more harm than good by continuing to see one that doesn’t seem to listen to your concerns and take them seriously. Be very persistent when describing your symptoms to your mental healthcare providers, and clearly describe the symptoms you experience.
If it seems a course of treatment is not working as well as expected, there may be a simple way to improve things, but it’ll be harder to make progress if you’re not open and honest as possible about how you’re feeling.
Although it can be extremely difficult to stay upbeat while living with bipolar disorder, the three tips you’ve just read can help you be proactive when taking self-help routes to find more happiness while coping with your condition and managing the complexities of bipolar disorder.
