Thread by @joelsax47

Elements of my management of #bipolardisorder: a thread

1.) Medication. I couldn't work on many of these things until this laid down a foundation.

2.) Sleep. If I don't get enough of this, I will invite mania. But I've noticed something unusual lately...

...I am becoming manic even with enough sleep. I'm not sure of what is happening but it may be resolved with

3.) Stress control. Like everyone else, #QuarantineLife is taking its toll on me. I hardly see my friends except on Zoom. Socializing helps dispel the little blue devils.

4.) Exercise. I could do more of this but the heat wave has limited the hours I can get out.

5.) Diet. High blood sugar can lead me to depression, so watching what I eat is critical.

The next items pertain to habits of mind.

6.) Accountability. I recognized early on that too many people see mania as a get out of jail free card. I realized that this led them to put less effort into preventing it. If you blamed the things you said and did on your illness instead of recognizing...

...that you, not the illness, were the one who did them, you lost your sense of ownership. People living with #bipolardisorder don't have split personalities. The person who did things in mania is the same one who gets depressed and who exists in a place of stability....

I am adamant that I own everything I do regardless of the state of my mind. I offer apologies where there are merited, and I do not use my mania as an excuse. If you want to forgive me on the basis of my frantic state of mind, then you can do so, but...

...I only cite my mania as an explanation. In other words "This is why that happened and I am sorry that I caused you to suffer because of it." Or simply "I am sorry."

7.) Feeling emotions. I think my secret of never having to resort on self medication was that...

...I did not try to obliterate my feelings but engaged them, no matter how painful they were. Numbing my feelings is not a way to successful life with #bipolardisorder.

8.) Eliminating toxic people from my life. These include those who see my episodes as character flaws and...

...those who believe mental illness is a myth. I must also include those who think I shouldn't be taking medication, those who think I am faking it, and those who think I am less intelligent because I have a #mentalillness.

9.) Use mute and block to dispense with difficult people in social media. I am under no obligation to engage anyone in an argument.

10.) Helping others going through bad times by being a listener not an advisor. In the professional training I have received...

...it has been drilled into me that I shouldn't prime myself with answers before I have heard what the other person had to say and then speak to that. I believe most people will find their own solutions if you help them talk about their problems....

I do my best not to give advice. I show empathy. I let them choose the end of their treatment. I might offer myself as an example, -- e.g. meds helped me -- but I do not press my solution as the only one.

11.) I strive to be honest. This can be two edged --

-- my wife likes to say that my honesty is both my best and worst quality. Before so else. I must be honest with myself -- what are my motivations, why did I do this, what do I expect from it? Do I have a need to see a problemm for what it is?

12.) My solutions work for me but they can be improved upon. And you don't have to adopt them.

That's it. Perhaps you have something to add?