Actually, depression never says knocks. It’s not that polite. It actually just comes in without knocking. When I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder I tried to draw pictures of what it felt like to have this illness. I drew a picture of a hotel- naturally called the Julie Hotel! There was a door to the hotel and outside I drew a huge monster with big teeth- it was much larger than the hotel itself. The caption was..
When bipolar comes knocking- don’t let it in!
Maybe that was a bit naïve. You don’t have to even open the door sometimes. It comes in anyway. Most of my books are about prevention- including recognizing triggers, keeping your relationships stable, knowing your first signs of mania, limiting the alcohol and partying, etc. etc. But I also write a lot about how you can keep going even when you’re depressed.
It’s true that no matter how diligent you may be, the illness just shows up anyway. It’s often hard to know what to do. The answer is…. You just keep going with your treatment plan and try to shut the door as much as possible. When I get depressed, I remind myself that I’ve been here before and I will be here again. What matters is how I manage it in the moment.
1. Keep working on whatever you need to do. You don’t have to feel good in order to work.
2. Keep moving forward when the depression makes you feel stuck to your chair.
3. Put your body and face into an expression of healthy instead of depression. ie, the slumping, crying, sagging, turned inward feeling of depression can at least be changed outwardly.
4. Remind yourself it’s an illness and it goes away. Bipolar is episodic. There are periods of stability- and they get longer and longer the more you work at treating this illness.
Bipolar! You can’t come in my hotel!
Julie
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hi… im 27, married (female) no kids but I do have dogs and cats…. I think I had depression most of my childhood, and at 21 finally realized it and started medication and therapy (which has been off and on). I have been on so many medications, too many to name. Nothing has worked. At best, they keep me “hanging on”. I don’t have “happy” type mania, but sometimes I will stay awake for days, nervous, agitated. That’s pretty rare though. Usually it’s just getting through the day… the bad times are when I take sleeping pills because I know I’m suicidal and if I sleep for a few days it will go away. I can’t work and I just started going to a class one day a week- pride is the only thing that has kept me going, cause I can’t face everyone having failed. My husband is the only one who understands, and even he doesn’t really get it. I just want something to work- it seems like everyone else finds their magic drug or therapy or combo- why not me?
We can never avoid depression, but it’s true that if comes knocking, don’t ever open your door. Instead find ways to cheer you up, going out with friends and spoiling yourself in a spa may work. thanks for sharing this one!