If you have just been newly diagnosed then I know that you are full of all kinds of emotions. You're probably mad, sad, confused ....or maybe you're even a bit relieved to find out what has been wrong with you all this time. I was relieved when I was dianosed with Bipolar Disorder, but at the same time I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness because I knew that this was something that I was never going to be "cured" of, and would have to live with it the rest of my life. But, I've since found out that the treatment success rate for Bipolar is 70-80 %. So this means that a lot of people are going to be able to take medicine for their illness and be able to live a pretty normal life because of the medications. This is encouraging! Without medication, living life with this illness is devastating!! So please always take your medicine every single day. You'll find that there are side effects with the medications that you are given. Most of the side effects will go away. When I took my first antidepressant, I got a super dry mouth, dizzy, groggy beyond belief...so I gave up on the first day. The next one that I tried did the same thing but I stuck it out for 3 days before I stopped taking it. I did this with a lot of the meds that I tried. Finally, I came to realize that I was very med sensitive and needed to take smaller doses. With my psychiatrists approval, I got him to give me the smallest dose there was, then I cut the pill in 1/4ths ! Then every few days, I'd increase the dosage until I was taking enough to help me. If you are med sensitive, you might talk with your pdoc about doing this, too.
Don't give up on a medicine until you have been on it for at least a month unless your're having a really bad time with it. Also, you need to be good about seeing your pdoc (pdoc is the shortened version of saying psychiatrist) when you are having problems, or at least call him/her to ask for another prescription that will help you sleep, or whatever the problem is.

Don't let the label of being mentally ill take over your life. Don't let it make you feel like you are unworthy of being alive. We are generally wonderful people that are so full of life, and see beauty in the world that a lot of other people are incapable of seeing. We can let our strong emotions ruin our lives or we can use them to our advantage. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves, too. If we take ourselves too seriously then we'll always be unhappy. Be able to joke around about having a bad memory (seems like that is the one thing that ALL Bipolars that I have met so far share in common), and instead of getting mad when someone comments on your lack of memory or how you're always late, laugh and say something like "yeah, you know us Bipolars" or something like that. LOL
A lot of our mental well being is taking our meds, but the rest is up to us. Attitude is EVERYTHING!! Try to replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts. I'm serious, that is so very important! I am just guilty of having pitty partys as the next person, but I've found that life is so much more bearable and enjoyable when I readjust my attitude.

Do things that make you happy when you're feeling bad. Take a nice hot bath, bubbles if you prefer, light some candles, listen to some soothing music, eat your favorite snacks, (my comfort food is Dark Chocolate), talk a walk, work on crafts or hobbies, etc.
Also, if you need to be alone and need some space, tell your family and friends that it is important to you to be alone sometimes and that it isn't anything personal.

Another thing that is helpful is to be able to talk to other people that are Bipolar, too. Join a support group in your area for Bipolar individuals, and if there isn't one, you can start one. Call your local hospital or mental health clinic and ask them if they have a room that you can use for an hour once a month (or more often) to host a Bipolar Support Group. If you are too shy and don't like to get out of the house very often, then you can participate in a Bipolar chatroom or mailing list or bulletin board. It's important for you to know that you're not alone and to be able to talk about the things that are important to you, and to hear what others are going through helps alot.

Avoid stress at all costs. When there is a problem, people have a tendency to want to fix it right away. But the trouble is, is that it usally dosen't work this way. Things take time to work themselves out. Don't be so hard on yourself if there is something wrong and you feel like the situation is not changing fast enough. Eliminate the things that are stressful to you if they are not healthy things. If it is something that cannot be eliminated then work on it in such a fashion that you are not stressing over it. Remember the Serenity Prayer:

You'll find that there is a lot of stigmatism with mental illnesses. The world has a long way to go before it more understood and accepted. If you choose to let someone know that you are Bipolar, be sure to tell them that it is a physical illness that causes mental problems. There are still people that think that mental illnesses are the result of a character flaw, that if a person wanted to be well they would be.
You and I know that it dosen't work that way. Bipolar is caused by neurotransmitters in the brain being devective somehow. That is NOT our fault!! If someone makes a nasty remark, ask them if they would choose to have diabetes, or a bad heart, or a kidney that malfunctions...it's all the same. Our malfunction/illness is in the brain, that dosen't make it any less of an illness. We were not born unto this world as perfect humans, and we will not leave the world as such, either.

Adolescent Bipolar | Bipolar in Depth | Bookstore | Cartoons | Classifieds | Contact Us | Deserata | Disclaimer | Donations | Feedback | Guestbook | Free Stuff | Friends | Games | Home | Instructions 4 Life | Links | Mailing List | Mental Health News | Message Boards | Newly Diagnosed | Newsletter | Peer Counselors Bio's | Petspage | Poetry | Polls | Resources | Siglets | Suicide Prevention | Web Rings | Welcome Letter

Last Modified: 05-06-01