4 Essential Coping Strategies for Living with Bipolar Disorder
These strategies help me live better with mental illness.
Learning to live well and cope with bipolar disorder is an extremely challenging process. I was diagnosed with it in 2009 and it has been a daily struggle. At times, coping with bipolar disorder feels like a full-time job as it takes up so much of my time and energy. I’ve been stable for approximately four years now but it is still a daily struggle.
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that affects approximately 2.6 percent of the population in the US. More than just affecting your mood, it affects every aspect of your life including sleep, behavior, and overall daily functioning.
Sadly there is no cure for bipolar disorder. Managing this mental illness typically involved psychiatric care and medication, sometimes therapy, as well as making some lifestyle changes. These coping skills and treatment strategies can help those of us with this illness to make our lives better. Without some coping skills, managing the disorder becomes much more difficult.
As I mentioned, medication and therapy are just one part of the treatment. Learning specific coping skills have absolutely made a positive difference with the stability and quality of my daily life. The following are some…
