Does bipolar disorder depression keep you from getting things done? It’s a life long struggle for me and I will get through it and you can too!
Here I am sitting in my car with my typical bipolar disorder dilemma. What to do next? I’m amazed at how my brain works just fine one morning and then without any changes in my life, I’m sitting in my car and it’s absolutely painful to make a simple decision.
This is bipolar disorder in a nut shell! Having trouble getting things done is a bipolar disorder symptom. Most of us have it. It’s not personal. We are not lazy. It’s even worse when you’re depressed. If you love someone with this illness, you might wonder why the person you care about simply can’t work they way they want to. This is why. It’s insidious and has to be managed or work becomes impossible. The good news is that we CAN manage it!
This is why I wrote Get it Done When You’re Depressed. This inability to make a decision is about the illness. I have learned to override my brain- it takes time and effort and I lose work hours that I really need, but at least I do get started.
Once the engine is fired up, I can work! That’s me in my office. I lost a few hours, but I’m working now! I always tell people to measure themselves off of other people with the illness. I know that if I compare my work rate with people who don’t have bipolar disorder, I will be miserable. Considering how many symptoms I deal with daily, I guess I do ok. We have to take bipolar disorder into account. If getting out of bed and making breakfast is all you can do right now, that is a huge accomplishment. That is getting things done. They start to add up and then we are back in the real world. I can do it. You can do it. We can get things done when we have bipolar disorder!
PS: Get it Done When You’re Depressed is my favorite book. I use the strategies constantly. If there were a thought bubble on the picture of me in the car, you could see me going through the strategies in order to get myself out of the car. Put yourself in a place you can work is one of my favorites and that’s what I did on this day!
