Bipolar disorder is a devastating mental illness, not just for the person with the disease, but also for his friends and family. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV/TR) defines the specific diagnostic criteria, but in general, bipolar disorder is defined by wild swings between depression and mania. The two extremes have both psychological and physiological symptoms. Bipolar disorder is a permanent and chronic illness, like diabetes. It cannot be cured, but the symptoms and their effects can be controlled.
Instructions
1. Accept your diagnosis. You can not treat the symptoms of a disease you don't believe you have. Educate yourself on the disease and chart your symptoms. Bipolar disorder will affect individuals differently, so learn to recognize how it affects you.
2. Take your medication without fail. This is the most crucial step to conquering your symptoms once you have accepted the diagnosis. Work with a therapist and a physician to find the right mix of medications for you. This may take time, even several years, to get right, but getting it right is crucial.
3. Find a therapist that specializes in bipolar disorder and work with her regularly. The ideal therapist will be able to educate you about symptoms and medications, as well as provide you with strategies for deal with them. She can also help you identify or build a support network and, in some cases, help educate your family so loved ones can become part of your healing process.
4. Get a schedule and stick to it. Stress exacerbates bipolar symptoms. Having a daily routine and keeping a strict schedule is one of the best ways to prevent a lot of stress. Knowing what to expect and being able to plan ahead reduces the amount of surprises in your life and makes symptoms easier to control.
5. Trust your support network. When you can no longer trust your own mind, you must have something to fall back on. Talk to your friends, family, therapist and anyone else whom you have built a trusting relationship with about your symptoms. They are there to help you when you can no longer help yourself, so let them.
6. Realize that bipolar disorder will never go away and you will always feel the symptoms to some degree. Your job is not to eliminate the symptoms, but to control and conquer them.
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