I don’t believe in diagnoses, but I do have a fragile mental health. I am vulnerable to ‘psychoses’, which for me are incredible spiritual experiences, but they are considered as mental illness by the psychiatry. I do take medication for it, simply because even if I find my psychoses beautiful, they bring havoc to my life. When they happen I have to go to a psychiatric hospital, declare myself as sick at work, and create a safe environment for my son. It’s simply too much.
It has been a long time that I remain stable, and now, when I regained some confidence back in myself, I looked at what has been keeping me well grounded, and realized that subconsciously I developed some tricks to cope.
I would like to share them with you.
- Have a strict daily routine. Go to bed at the same time, make sure you rest sufficiently, and stick to the habits that keep you sane, such as a short exercise in the morning, a daily walk, nutritious breakfast, preparing a nice delicious dinner, reading a book or watching something nice on TV. Routine is good.
- Sleep is the most important thing for good mental health. Make sure you sleep. If for that you need to resort to sleeping pills, don’t blame yourself. Avoid any pill shaming!
- While I don’t believe in diagnoses, I do believe in science and progress in medicine. If keeping stable happens thanks to medication, then in case you consider any changes to it, discuss it with a competent doctor. Don’t stop your treatment simply because you saw a tweet from someone who is against ALL psychiatric medication. It’s dangerous! Don’t play with your health!
- Finding a good doctor, who might be a psychiatrist, helps. Here, in the Netherlands I am lucky. My psychiatrist is amazing. He was able to find me medication that seems to keep me stable, without side-effects.
- Learn how to manage stress. ‘Bipolar’ people have a lower stress ladder than others. It means that you might be affected too much by stress and this can lead to being unwell. I try to avoid stress all together, but since it’s impossible (I do have a stressful life) then I try to manage it, by making sure I sleep well and have something to help me with anxiety, which for me, means additional medication when I feel I need it.
- Try to build some deep friendships. It helps. I am blessed in this domain. I have many wonderful friends in different countries, and they all know me well enough to support me if I do become unwell. They never drop me, because they know the real, ‘normal’ me. I can always call them and get moral support.
- Don’t blame yourself in case you have some bad habits. I drink a lot of coffee in the morning and I vape. It keeps me sane. It helps me psychologically. Becoming a health guru when you are on tons of medication is impossible. Leave it to those who never experienced any mental health problems.
- But do avoid alcohol (or have it in reasonable quantities) and drugs. Drugs kill.
- Try to limit the amount of your ambitions. ‘Bipolar’ people are very creative, the mind is always busy with something. I had to learn it the hard way, but eventually had to recognize that I am not fit enough to climb on the career ladder. I am at my best when I just do well at my job. I used to be a portfolio manager in the past. It was way too much!
- Find a good hobby that would help you spiritually. I write. I write every day and I find that it has helps me tremendously. It’s like talking to your best friend who is always available.
But most importantly, know, that recovery is possible and you can lead a good and fulfilling life.
I try to do it, I really try.
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