I’ve always known that it has always taken really big changes for me to stay well enough to work. Here are some of the changes I have made in the past few years.
– Celibacy (yes, celibacy!)
– Less travel
– No contentious relationships
– Avoid work situations that will make me sick
– Using my Health Cards daily
– Visualizing my strategies from Get it Done When You’re Depressed
– Watch inspirational reality TV instead of downer TV
I could write a lot more here! By the way, the celibacy thing is just a choice and not something people with bipolar disorder have to do to stay stable! Haha. But my goodness, it has helped. Especially when I get hypomanic and just want to drink beer and meet people.
My problem is that the bipolar has not being doing well. This means that I work every day to stay stable and sometimes the bipolar is stronger than the work I do all day to stay stable! But I keep going and always will. It’s a tough illness.
Regarding reality TV, I love to watch So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars- they show me that it really is all about hard work on a daily basis. If a bull rider, football player, an actor who has never danced and the star from the Jackass movies can learn to dance, I can use the same skills to get better. I feel my brain switch back into a more positive and hopeful mood when I watch these shows. It is up to me to make it happen when I have a goal.
Julie
If bull rider Ty Murray can learn to dance... anything is possible!
